Slovenia - Central Authority (Art. 2) and practical information

Central Authority(ies):

Ministry of Justice

Contact details:

Address: Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia
Župančičeva 3
1000 LJUBLJANA
Telephone: +386 (1) 369 5394
Fax: +386 (1) 369 5233
E-mail: gp.mp@gov.si
General website: https://www.gov.si/drzavni-organi/ministrstva/ministrstvo-za-pravosodje/
Contact person: mag. Špela Štebal Renčelj, Head of Department for Mutual Legal Assistance
Languages spoken by staff: English, German, French

 

Practical Information

Blocking statutes:

Yes, there are two European instruments of this nature:

Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 protecting against the effects of the extra-territorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom (see, Article 5(1))

Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (See, Art. 25(1)).

Chapter I
(Letters of Requests)

Transmission of Letters of Requests: Letters of Request are sent directly from a judicial authority in the requesting State to the Central Authority of the requested State. Slovenian Central Authority sends the request to the competent district court.
Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request
(Art. 7):
Central Authority.
Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): No declaration.
Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution
(Art. 11):
No declaration.
Translation requirements
Arts 4(2) and 33):
No declaration.
Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request
(Arts 14(2)(3) and 26):
 
Time for execution: usually up to three months (depending on the complexity of the request)
Pre-trial discovery of documents
Art. 23):
No declaration.
Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence:  Chapter 18 (Articles 212-263) of the Slovenian Civil Procedure Act - CPA (Zakon o pravdnem postopku); http://pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO1212

Witness examination under Chapter I

Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? Article 87 of the Court Rules (Sodni red) prescribes that outgoing requests should include specific questions for the witness; however it is useful if this is respected also in the case of incoming requests.
Is it a public or private hearing? Generally main hearings are public, in some cases can the public be excluded from the main hearing (where so required by the interest of official, business or personal secrets, or for moral considerations, when by application of measures for maintenance of order it cannot secure an undisturbed progress of the proceedings (Art. 294 CPA), always in matrimonial actions and in actions concerning the relations between parents and children (Art. 43 of the Non-Contentious Civil Procedure Act).
Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? No.
Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? No.
Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? No.
Is an oath generally administered to the witness? No. Prior to examination, a witness shall be advised of their duty to speak the truth and not to withhold anything, whereupon they shall be warned of the consequences of perjury (Art. 238 CPA).
Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? Yes.
Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? Yes. If a witness who has been duly summoned fails to appear without justifying their non-appearance, or if they leave the place of appearance without permission or other justified reasons, they may be subjected to a compulsory appearance, ordered to pay the costs of production, and/or have a fine imposed upon them in the amount not exceeding up to €1300 (Art. 241 CPA).
Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? Yes.
How is the testimony transcribed? During the testimony of the witness the minutes is taken down or the testimony is recorded, and the written transcription of the testimony is made later.

Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners)

Article 15 Applicable
Article 16 Applicable
Article 17 Applicable
Article 18 No declaration of applicability

Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter)

Chapter I

Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links?  
Technology used:  
Level of interpretation required:  
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation:  
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction?  
Who pays for the interpretation?  
How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing?  

Chapter II

Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links?  
Technology used:  
Level of interpretation required:  
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation:  
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction?  
Who pays for the interpretation?  

Other Information

Bilateral or multilateral agreements

Bilateral conventions on judicial co-operation: Algeria (31 March 1982); Bosnia and Herzegovina (21 September 2009); Croatia (7 February 1994); Republic of North Macedonia (6 February 1996); Mongolia (8 June 1961); Russian federation (24 February 1962); Turkey (3 July 1934); United Kingdom (27 February 1936 - applicability extended to Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Borneo, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Fiji, Falkland Islands, Gambia, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Canada, Kenya, Malta, Mauritius, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Uganda, Tonga, Somalia, Seychelles).

Council Regulation (EC) No 1206/2001 of 28 May 2001 on cooperation between the courts of the Member States in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters

Useful links:

http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO1212

http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pravniRedRSDrzavniNivoKazalaTematskoKazaloPredpis?pog1=2&pog2=2&pog3=2&pog4=0&treeId=89

Competent authorities (Art. 17)  
Additional authorities (Art. 24)  

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