Co-authors of the Chambers Global Practice Guides 2026.
In 2025 alone, we achieved four landmark victories at the Constitutional Court of Slovenia.
CUKROV. – law firm for public procurement, DKOM and artificial intelligence (AI) law, Ljubljana, Slovenia
We know the law from every side of the table: as co-authors of legislation, regulators, board members, court-appointed experts and attorneys.
That is why we understand not only the law, but decision-making itself.
In complex situations, the question is not who is right. It is who sets the framework.
We work where new standards of legal assessment are set.
We do not collect cases. We choose them.
Our work focuses on the most demanding regulatory, infrastructure and investment projects, where the risks are greatest and the consequences of decisions are far-reaching. We represent management boards, investors and supervisory boards in matters of importance to the market, the state and critical infrastructure.
We build the team around the matter. We combine our expertise with top experts from our network – always according to the specific matter and the knowledge it requires.
As authors, we contributed to the Chambers Global Practice Guides 2026 for International Arbitration.
Leadership
Vesna Cukrov, CEO
She knows decision-making from every side.
President of DKOM. Chair of the Supervisory Board of HSE. Co-author of the commentary on ZJN-3. Attorney and court-appointed expert.
At the National Review Commission for Public Procurement (DKOM), she served a full term as President, heading the country’s highest public procurement review body. She served a full term on the supervisory board of Holding Slovenske elektrarne, one of the largest companies in the country – as a member, deputy chair and chair. As co-author of several regulations and of the commentary on the Public Procurement Act (ZJN-3), she helped shape the rules by which others operate.
She built her expertise in senior positions across public administration and the judiciary, business and academia: at the Ministry of Justice, the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office and the Higher Court in Ljubljana, and at the School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana. Today she brings that expertise together as an attorney and court-appointed expert in law and public procurement, and as a two-time recipient of the international Leaders in Law award (2021 and 2025) for excellence in public procurement.
Veronika Cukrov, COO
She sees the law in the wider context of technology, society and European regulation.
Among her central professional interests are questions of individual autonomy, data and the impact of technology on society, which she was already writing about in 2018 in the Saturday supplement of the daily Delo – today she focuses above all on artificial intelligence, its governance and the implementation of European regulation in business practice. As AI Expert of the Year in Slovenia & the EU (Leaders in Law, 2026), she is a recognised expert in artificial intelligence, its governance and the implementation of European regulation in business practice – a field that is only now becoming decisive for companies.
Her strength is breadth. She has an excellent command of European law – as part of a wider team, she was involved in an action against the European Commission before the Court of Justice of the European Union – and pursued further studies in European and competition law at Oxford and at the Academy of European Law (ERA). A polyglot, she moves between legal systems and languages with equal ease. Before joining the firm she worked at Deloitte, and she has also left her mark in academia and public discourse – as editor-in-chief of the faculty’s law journal, a columnist for the daily Delo and a regular speaker, including at an energy conference in Brussels.
NOTABLE CASES
FOUR LANDMARK CONSTITUTIONAL WINS
Four landmark victories before the Constitutional Court (published in 2025), in which municipal spatial plans were found unconstitutional, made a significant contribution to protecting private property from arbitrary interference by municipalities or the state:
- SDH d.d. (decision U-I-265/22-21)
- Mercator d.o.o. (decision U-I-218/22-18)
- Roltek d.o.o. (decision U-I-268/22-19)
- Rovanova d.o.o. (decision U-I-269/22-19)
CARTEL ALLEGATIONS: UKC MARIBOR CONSTRUCTION
In a case concerning allegations of cartel conduct in the construction of UKC Maribor, we secured for our client the annulment of the Competition Protection Agency’s decision before the Administrative Court of the Republic of Slovenia (judgment I U 881/2015-23 of 30 May 2017). Following the judgment, the Agency discontinued the proceedings by its decision No. 3060-5/2013-144.
RAIL FREIGHT TRANSPORT: EXPOSURE TO COMPETITION
On behalf of its client Slovenske železnice – Tovorni promet, d.o.o., Odvetniška družba Cukrov o.p., d.o.o. successfully conducted the procedure for obtaining an opinion from the Competition Protection Agency under Article 30(6) and (8) of ZJN-3 (opinion No. 3060-11/2019-72 of 12 June 2019). The Agency found that rail freight transport in Slovenia is directly exposed to competition and that access to the market is not restricted, a major success for our client.
Such an outcome is rare in Slovenia, as the matter combined four demanding areas of law: public procurement law, competition law, EU law (Directive 2014/25/EU, Articles 34 and 35) and railway transport law. It also required an in-depth economic analysis of the relevant market. We subsequently pursued the matter before the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the EU.
KEY PRACTICE AREAS
01
AI and European regulation
Artificial intelligence does not wait for the law to catch up. We anticipate where the law is heading.
02
National Review Commission (DKOM), public procurement and concessions
We represent both bidders and contracting authorities at every stage of proceedings, with particular strength in minor-offence proceedings in the field of public procurement.
03
Advising supervisory and management boards
Dedicated advice for management and supervisory boards on decisions involving significant responsibility and long-term consequences.
04
Infrastructure and investment
We advise on complex infrastructure projects, investments and systems of national importance.
06
Healthcare
We address systemic questions of healthcare, regulation and the organisation of health services.
07
Regulation and the Competition Protection Agency (AVK)
We conduct regulatory proceedings and advise on competition law and on matters with an impact on the market.
08
EU law
We advise and represent clients in matters with an EU-law dimension, all the way to the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the EU.
09
Constitutional law
We represent clients in precedent-setting constitutional cases that shape how the law is applied.
01
AI and European regulation
Artificial intelligence does not wait for the law to catch up. We anticipate where the law is heading.
02
National Review Commission (DKOM), public procurement and concessions
We represent both bidders and contracting authorities at every stage of proceedings, with particular strength in minor-offence proceedings in the field of public procurement.
03
Advising supervisory and management boards
Dedicated advice for management and supervisory boards on decisions involving significant responsibility and long-term consequences.
04
Infrastructure and investment
We advise on complex infrastructure projects, investments and systems of national importance.
07
Regulation and the Competition Protection Agency (AVK)
We conduct regulatory proceedings and advise on competition law and on matters with an impact on the market.
08
EU law
We advise and represent clients in matters with an EU-law dimension, all the way to the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the EU.
09
Constitutional law
We represent clients in precedent-setting constitutional cases that shape how the law is applied.
HOW WE WORK
We do not work within rigid hierarchies.
For each matter we assemble a team tailored to the specific case, led by the attorney with the most experience in that field.
Our strength is not limited to our own offices. Around the firm we have built a permanent network of recognised experts – university professors, former judges and regulators, and specialists from other fields – with whom we work regularly, not as an exception. They include Professor Emeritus Dr Franc Grad in constitutional law.
The client thus gets a team built around their matter, and access to the knowledge that the matter actually requires.
Constitutional law
Here, more is decided than the individual case. The ruling sets the standard by which all later cases will be judged.
We represent clients in precedent-setting constitutional matters that influence the development of the standards of legal judgment.
This is a field of rare cases with the widest reach, where a decision extends beyond the client and shapes the law going forward.
In 2025, the Constitutional Court published four landmark decisions in our clients' favour, finding municipal spatial plans unconstitutional and significantly strengthening the protection of private property against arbitrary interference by municipalities and the state, in the cases of SDH (U-I-265/22), Mercator (U-I-218/22), Roltek (U-I-268/22) and Rovanova (U-I-269/22).
Four decisions in a single year – at the highest level of judicial review.
EU law
More and more of the rules that matter to Slovenian companies are made not in Ljubljana, but in Brussels and Luxembourg. And we know how to act there.
We advise and represent clients in matters with an EU-law dimension, from the interpretation of directives and regulations to proceedings before the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
For us, European law is not a distant framework but the working environment in which we actually operate.
The field is led by Veronika Cukrov, who pursued further studies in European law at the Academy of European Law (ERA) and, as part of a wider team, took part in an action before the Court of Justice of the EU.
An understanding of EU law connects all our practice areas, from public procurement and competition to artificial intelligence.
Regulation and the Competition Protection Agency (AVK)
The market has its own rules and its own guardian. Those who understand both are never caught off guard when it matters most.
We conduct regulatory proceedings across various fields and advise on competition law and on matters with an impact on the market, including allegations of cartel conduct and questions of exposure to competition.
Our track record speaks for itself.
In the matter of alleged cartel conduct in the construction of UKC Maribor, we secured the annulment of the AVK's decision before the Administrative Court, after which the Agency discontinued the proceedings.
For Slovenske železnice – Tovorni promet we successfully conducted a procedure in which the AVK found that rail freight transport in Slovenia is directly exposed to competition.
We pursued the matter all the way to the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the EU.
Healthcare
Healthcare is one of the most heavily regulated systems in the country, and one in which legal decisions have a direct impact on people.
We address systemic questions of healthcare, regulation and the organisation of health services, including relations with the sector's regulators and agencies.
We work on matters involving the sector's key regulators, including JAZMP, the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices.
We understand healthcare as a system, not as a series of separate cases.
Energy
Energy is not merely an industry. It is critical infrastructure on which the functioning of the state depends.
We advise on regulation, energy systems and critical infrastructure, where legal questions intertwine with the public interest, security of supply and long-term investment cycles.
We know the sector from the inside: Vesna Cukrov served on the supervisory board of Holding Slovenske elektrarne, one of the largest companies in the country – as a member, deputy chair and chair.
Veronika Cukrov is also a PhD candidate in energy law.
We do not advise the energy sector from the outside, but with an understanding of how such a system actually works and makes decisions.
Infrastructure and investment
Projects of national importance leave no room for improvisation. Every mistake costs years and millions.
We specialise in infrastructure, investment delivery and construction, acting for both contracting authorities and bidders.
We advise contracting authorities at every stage of investment preparation: from land acquisition, building permits and project documentation to contract drafting, with one aim: to prevent disputes before they arise.
We help bidders win contracts, prepare and review contracts, and protect their interests.
Where a dispute cannot be prevented, we represent clients in court proceedings and in claims for damages.
We have been involved in most major infrastructure investments in Slovenia, including projects of national importance on the largest scale.
These are environments where law, economics and the public interest are interwoven.
Advising supervisory and management boards
Decisions at the top cannot be undone.
We provide management and supervisory boards with dedicated strategic legal advice on decisions involving significant responsibility and long-term consequences for the company.
We understand board members' responsibility, risk assessment and the weight of a resolution from first-hand experience, not only from the law that governs them.
This field is led by Vesna Cukrov, who served a full term on the supervisory board of Holding Slovenske elektrarne – as a member, deputy chair and chair – and who holds a certificate of qualification for members of management and supervisory boards.
The advice you receive comes from someone who has sat in that chair, not from theory.
AI and European regulation
Artificial intelligence does not wait for the law to catch up. We anticipate where the law is heading.
We lay the legal foundations for the responsible and compliant adoption of artificial intelligence within the framework of European regulation, from risk assessment and AI governance to the implementation of the AI Act in everyday business practice.
The field is led by Veronika Cukrov, recognised by Leaders in Law in 2026 as AI Expert of the Year in Slovenia & the EU, for her work at exactly this intersection of artificial intelligence, its governance and European regulation.
She speaks regularly on these questions at home and across Europe, in the forums where European law is still being shaped.
We do not just help clients comply with yesterday’s rules. We show them where regulation is heading.
National Review Commission (DKOM), public procurement and concessions
Public procurement is a discipline in which every detail can be decisive, and successful representation in minor-offence proceedings calls for highly specialised expertise.
Vesna Cukrov chaired the National Review Commission, is the co-author of the commentary on the Public Procurement Act (ZJN-3), published in 2016 by Tax-Fin-Lex, and is a court-appointed expert in law and public procurement.
For this field, Odvetniška družba Cukrov received recognition from the international organisation Leaders in Law in 2021 and 2025: "Global Awards winner" and "Public Procurement Expert of the Year in Slovenia".
We represent both bidders and contracting authorities at every stage of public procurement and concession-award procedures: in preparing tender documentation and bids, in negotiations and the conclusion of contracts, in requests for review and legal opinions in complex cases, and in proceedings before the National Review Commission.
We are particularly successful in minor-offence proceedings in this field and in defending against allegations of criminal fraud affecting the EU's financial interests.
We do not just read the commentaries on public procurement law. We helped write them.