Agricultural land is a valuable resource and represents an enormous importance for society, because of which restrictions of contracts involving agricultural land were established. The restrictions are mostly related to the freedom of choosing the contracting partner by the owner of the property and to the administrative control of the contracts involving agricultural land. In the Republic of Slovenia, the abovementioned restrictions are presented as a legal construct of pre-emptors and as an administrative control by the administrative unit. In accordance with European acquis, these restrictions must be proportional and must not be discriminatory. In conjunction with legal transactions of agricultural land, the European acquis protects two fundamental freedoms: free movement of capital and freedom of establishment.
Provisions of Agricultural Land Act (ALA) is governing transactions with agricultural land and are emphasized in this thesis, including the two main terms which have a significant effect on whether and how is ALA applying. These two terms are agricultural land and farmer status.
Sale contract is the most typical and common contract, which is why it is highlighted in this thesis including the restrictions, which are laid down in ALA and the procedure of approval or non-approval by the administrative unit. The legal construct of pre-emptors is the most problematic for sellers and potential buyers, which is why they are using various methods to avoid peremptory norms of ALA. These methods are presented in detail, based on case law and author's own experience.
Lease of agricultural land is also extremely important for both farmers and society, but the practical implementation of the lease is completely different from its legal regime.
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