The agreement also does not stipulate an obligation of internet service providers to monitor or censor the communication of their users, the ministry further wrote in the press release.

According to the outgoing government, public debate in the following months will provide answers to all the questions of the Slovenian public on the issue of the agreement on the protection of intellectual property violating human rights.

ACTA has not stepped into force with the signing last week, as it needs to be ratified to be valid in Slovenia, the release reads, adding that the country is now only obliged not to act contrary to the subject and purpose of the agreement under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

The government further noted that its decision to sign the document was backed by the parliamentary Economy Committee on 27 September 2011 and by the parliamentary EU Affairs Committee on 7 October 2011.

The signing of ACTA last week provoked outrage around Europe. The accord is designed to protect copyright and crack down on online piracy, but critics say it will lead to intrusive surveillance and censorship.

Protests against ACTA are scheduled to take place on Saturday in Ljubljana's Congress Square and Maribor's Leon Štukelj Square. Attendance has so far been confirmed on Facebook by over 8,500 people.