For 18 years Zalar served as a judge and President of the District Court in Ljubljana. During that period he was also President of the Slovenian Association of Judges (SAJ) for four years and was a member of the Consultative Council of the European Judges (CCJE). He is the ‘Founding Father’ and member of the International Association for Court Administration (IACA). Zalar served at the Venice Commission as an expert for constitutional law. From 2008–2012 he was Slovenian Minister of Justice and Minister for Home Affairs (2011–2012). Currently Zalar is President of the European Centre for Dispute Resolution (ECDR), and an independent consultant, working in various EU and international rule of law projects.

He contributed to the ELI’s project on the Relationship between Formal and Informal Justice: The Courts and ADR, as a Project Team member and set up the ELI Slovenian Hub.

Zalar has received awards of honour from the SJA (2001), the Kentucky Bar Association (2004) and the Netherlands Mediation Institute (2005). He was also given an award and medal for contribution to rule of law development from the Slovenian Supreme Court (2008) and was awarded with International Leadership Gold Star by US Department of State (2013).