Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije Perić is mentioned in the final judgment as one of the key figures connected to the persecution of employed priest Željko Lubarda. The dispute was brought before the Higher Labor and Social Court in Ljubljana regarding compensation for damages due to mobbing, and following a lawsuit filed by former priest Željko Lubarda, in whose case the State Prosecutor's Office in Ljubljana also filed an indictment against the patriarch. Lubarda received 13.000 euros in compensation in this dispute, and the finality of the judgment was also confirmed by the Supreme Court of Slovenia.
The Nova.rs portal published the verdict issued by the Labor and Social Court, which was confirmed by the Higher Labor and Social Court and the Supreme Court in Ljubljana.
The Judgment and Decision of the Higher Labor and Social Court in Ljubljana is dated January 9, 2020 and represents a decision of the second instance court (appellate court) that confirmed the majority of the judgment of the first instance court, with a partial amendment regarding the costs of the proceedings. This judgment was also appealed by the defendant, subordinate to the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfiry, but the Supreme Court, as the highest instance, confirmed this judgment and dismissed the appeal of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Court's assessment
The Labor and Social Court has determined a series of actions that constitute mobbing, which took place between 2014 and 2017 while Lubarda was employed at the Church Municipality of Ljubljana.
Unequal treatment and finances - The prosecutor was excluded from a more equal distribution of contributions from believers, was in a worse financial situation, and his salary was not in line with the decision of the metropolitan (author's note: Porfirije was the metropolitan of Zagreb-Ljubljana at the time), which led to a lower net salary than agreed.
Withdrawing assistance and delaying wages - His monthly financial assistance of 500,00 euros was terminated, even though he was in a difficult financial situation. His salaries were paid with great delay (e.g. the salary for July 2015 was only received on September 14, 2015).
Limiting communication and threats - The Metropolitan made it difficult for him to access and communicate. He was accused of embarrassing the Serbian Orthodox Church by filing a criminal complaint and was told to expect a transfer.
Prohibition of participation and testimony - He was forbidden from participating in public worship in Zagreb (in retaliation for the criminal proceedings against Peran Bošković). The Metropolitan ordered him not to testify in court without his blessing, or rather, his approval.
Unfair transfers - Lubarda was transferred first to the parish of Novo Mjesto, which was financially weak, and then to Koprivnica (in another country), which he refused. The court found that the transfers were not objectively conditioned by the needs of the service, but rather had a subjective character (loss of trust), with the aim of forcing him to leave the service.
Prohibition of performing service - Due to his refusal to be transferred to Koprivnica, the Metropolitan banned him from performing his priestly duties on March 28, 2016.
Harm to health
According to Nova.rs, based on the opinion of a psychiatric expert, it was determined that Lubarda suffered psychological problems due to mobbing, including anxiety, tension, shame, feelings of worthlessness and powerlessness, sleep disorders, and physical symptoms.
He was diagnosed with adjustment disorder due to long-term stress at work.
Final verdict
The Supreme Court of Slovenia ruled in favor of Željko Lubarda on February 16, 2021, confirming earlier decisions by lower courts that Lubarda was a victim of workplace harassment.
The court rejected the revision filed by the Serbian Orthodox Church against the ruling of the Higher Labor and Social Court from January 2020, which made the decision that the church municipality should pay Lubarda 13.000 euros in compensation for "harassment at the workplace", i.e. abuse, with statutory interest, Nova reports.
Previously, in April 2019, the Labor and Social Court in Ljubljana found that Lubarda was exposed to behavior that constituted workplace harassment during his work and awarded him compensation for non-pecuniary damage.
The Supreme Court concluded that there were no grounds for reviewing the lower courts' decision, which is why the defendant's appeal was rejected.
In addition to compensation, the court ordered the Serbian Orthodox Church to reimburse Lubarda for additional costs of responding to the audit in the amount of 892,80 euros, with statutory default interest.
On January 12th of this year, the State Prosecutor's Office in Ljubljana filed an indictment against the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije Perić, on charges of workplace harassment in the case of priest Željko Lubarda, who claims he was subjected to long-term persecution because he refused to give false testimony to cover up financial embezzlement in the church treasury.
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