The Procedure of Transforming the Constitution of the Republic Of Slovenia Into an Easy-To-Read Form

Živa Jakšić Ivačič, Nina Fricelj, Tim Savelli and Natalija Golob

Summary:  At every stage of one‘s life there is a need for accessible information, which must be tailored to his or her needs and abilities. The Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia is one of the most important documents, which contains key information on the basic principles and laws and defines the main rights and duties of people in Slovenia. Despite the importance of its contents, the Constitution is inaccessible to many citizens, as it is written in legal language. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) declares that each contry must ensure equal access to information, using accessible formats and technologies, for individuals with various types of disability. The easy-to-read method is an procedure of creating and adapting information, which is accessible to readers who have difficulty with reading or comprehension. In the following article, we present the process of adapting the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia into easy-to-read format through three phases: preparation, editing and review. For every phase we emphasize the importance of a multidisciplinary approach. We recommend that multidisciplinary team includes legal experts, easy-to-read experts, illustrators, designers and, most importantly, test readers who represent the target group and check whether the transformed text in fact readable and understandable.