The evolving legal framework for private sector activity in Slovenia

The government of Slovenia is moving rapidly to promote the growth of an efficient market economy and the private sector. One of the major tasks it faces is the development of a legal framework that can act as a decentralized"invisible hand"to replace previous administrative controls and steer the private market in an efficient direction. This paper describes the current legal framework in Slovenia in several areas -- including constitutional, real property, intellectual property, company, foreign investment, bankruptcy, contract, and antimonopoly law. These areas of law serve to define: (a) property rights; (b) the means to exchange them; and (c) the rules for competitive market behavior. In essence they form the bedrock of a legal system for a market economy.