Ljubljana - The government on Thursday signed off the appointments of 13 state prosecutors that had been stalled under the Janez Janša government. The move had been announced by Dominika Švarc Pipan in her presentation in parliament before her confirmation as justice minister on Wednesday.

According to a press release issued by the Justice Ministry, the government appointed, on Švarc Pipan's proposal, two prosecutors at the supreme state prosecution office and eleven prosecutors at district prosecution offices; four in Ljubljana, three in Celje, two in Koper and one each in Maribor and Kranj.

Švarc Pipan noted that the candidates had been vetted by the State Prosecutorial Council. "From the aspect of modern democracy and rule of law values, blocking appointments of state prosecutors is an unacceptable practice which has resulted in significant staff shortages," the minister was quoted as saying.

The state prosecution service has been warning of acute staff shortages because the previous government failed to decide on the nomination proposals.

According to Justice Ministry data, only 75% of the classified state prosecution jobs, or 203 posts were filled at the end of last year.

The ministry said Švarc Pipan would continue to aspire for prompt management of nomination procedures and optimisation of appointments through legislative changes.