Slovenian Judicial System

Dr Janja Hojnik

Organisation of the Judicial System

The uniform judicial system of RS: courts of general and specialised jurisdiction. There are four levels of the courts of general jurisdiction: 44 local courts, 11 district courts, 4 higher courts and the Supreme Court

Local (county) courts

-courts of the first instance and are vested:
- with jurisdiction over less serious criminal cases; - civil cases concerning claims for damages or property rights up to a certain value; - all civil cases concerning disturbance of possession, tenancy relations etc.; - probate and other non-litigious matters; keeping of land registers; civil enforcement.

District courts courts of the first instance as well. They are vested with jurisdiction: - over criminal and civil cases which exceed the jurisdiction of county courts; - juvenile criminal cases; - execution of criminal sentences; - family disputes, excepting maintenance disputes; - recognition of rulings of a foreign court;
- commercial disputes;

- bankruptcy, forced settlements and liquidation; - copyright and intellectual property cases; - keeping of the company register. 4

Higher courts
courts of appellate jurisdiction - determination of appeals against decisions of the local and district courts in their territories
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determine disputes of jurisdiction between local and district courts.

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Supreme Court
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the highest appellate court in the state;

functions as a court of cassation - a court of appellate jurisdiction in criminal and civil cases, in commercial lawsuits, in cases of administrative review and in labour and social security disputes.
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the court of the third instance;

the grounds of appeal to the Supreme Court (defined as extraordinary legal remedies) are limited to issues of substantive law and to the most severe breaches of procedure.

Specialised courts
Four specialised courts of the first instance - competent for determination of labour disputes, and one of them also for determination of social security disputes;

The Administrative Court of the Republic of Slovenia has the status of a higher court.

Constitutional Court
on the conformity of statutes and other regulations with the Constitution, ratified treaties and with general principles of international law; on constitutional complaints stemming from the violation of human rights; on certain jurisdictional disputes; on the unconstitutionality of the acts and activities of political parties; on impeachment against the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and Ministers; and issues an opinion on the conformity of a treaty with the Constitution in the process of ratifying such treaty.
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TITLES

Vrhovni sodnik Supreme Court Judge Viji sodnik Higher Court Judge Okroni sodnik District Court Judge Okrajni sodnik Local Court Judge Sodnik za prekrke Misdemeanours Judge Sodnik svetnik Senior Judge Predsednik sodia President of the Court
Other titles in judiciary Generalni dravni toilec State Prosecutor General Okroni dravni toilec District State Prosecutor Viji dravni toilec - Higher State Prosecutor Vrhovni dravni toilec Supreme State Prosecutor Generalni dravni pravobranilec State Attorney General

EVROTERM http://www.gov.si/evroterm/
Evroterm is a database of terms established in the course of preparing the Slovene version of legal acts of the European Union.

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Judiciary in Constitution
Article 125 Independence of Judges Judges shall be independent in the performance of the judicial function. They shall be bound by the Constitution and laws.

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Judiciary in Constitution
Article 129 Permanence of Judicial Office

The office of a judge is permanent. The age requirement and other conditions for election are determined by law.

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Judiciary in Constitution
Article 134 Immunity of Judges No one who participates in making judicial decisions may be held accountable for an opinion expressed during decision-making in court.

If a judge is suspected of a criminal offence in the performance of judicial office, he may not be detained nor may criminal proceedings be initiated against him without the consent of the National Assembly.

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Court procedures

Civil procedure

Parties: claimant & defendant Claim/petition/application ascertained demand Summons service on the defendant Reply to the claim --- default judgement Hearing of the action Defendant may:

admit liability make payment dispute the claim contests the action make a counterclaim

Judgement

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Civil procedure

Pre-trial review - settlement

Trial:

Opening statements of claimant and defendant; Examination of proofs (interrogation); Final statements; Deliberation; Proclamation of the judgement

Judgement in default when the defendant fails to take the appropriate steps Warrant of seizure

Enforcement of Court Judgments

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Criminal procedure

Parties: prosecutor & defendant (accused, convicted) Burden of proof Commit the offence Arrest detained in custody In the name of the peoples Preliminary investigation Indictment: accusation of the crime for which a person is to be tried by the court (charge) a bill of indictment Trial (oath false oath/perjury) Deliberation (in secret) Judgement verdict sentence warrant Service of the sentence Legal remedies

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