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EmailJUDICIAL ASSISTANCE IN THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA
DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IN THIS CIRCULAR RELATING TO THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN COUNTRIES IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND MAY NOT BE TOTALLY ACCURATE IN A PARTICULAR CASE. QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO FOREIGN COUNSEL.
PROVISIO: This flyer seeks only to provide information; it is not an opinion on any aspect of U.S., foreign, or international law. The U.S. Department of State does not intend by the contents of this flyer to take a position on any aspect of any pending litigation.
APPLICABLE TREATIES OR OTHER AGREEMENTS
The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 21 UST 77; 596 UNTS 261; TIAS 6820 (Article 5):
Extradition Treaty: By constitutional law in 1991, Slovenia assumed succession of all conventions that were binding for the former Yugoslavia. There is an Extradition Treaty dated October 25, 1901 between the former Yugoslavia and the U.S. Slovenia acceded to the European Convention on Extradition on December 13, 1957, which has two protocols, dated October 15, 1975 and March 17, 1978. 33 countries are parties to this convention but not the U.S.
Prisoner Transfer Treaty: Slovenia acceded to the convention of the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons on March 21, 1983.
Hague Conventions: Hague Legalization Convention
SERVICE OF PROCESS
General: SLOVENIA is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra-Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters. Therefore, service of process may be effected by letters rogatory only.
LETTERS ROGATORY
Slovenian internal legislation does not prescribe any special form for the composition of letters rogatory. However the following information must be included in the request: the name of the court and judge requesting judicial assistance; a description of the case (or a description of the criminal offenses if it is a criminal matter); and any other information necessary to explain the request for judicial assistance. It may be necessary to consult local foreign consul on this matter.
Authentication: Slovenia does not require authentication of letters rogatory by the Embassy of Slovenia in the United States.
Letters rogatory must be signed and stamped by the issuing agency. In addition, letters rogatory and enclosures must be in the Slovene language or have a Slovene translation attached. Slovene authorities do not charge a fee for effecting letters rogatory.
See our general service of process flyer for more information.
Consular Assistance : As the Republic of Slovenia has acceded to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, consular officers technically may serve federal or state criminal subpoenas as stipulated by the convention. However, this has not yet occurred in practice.
OBTAINING EVIDENCE
COMPULSION OF EVIDENCE : Testimony of an unwilling witness and other evidence may be compelled in Slovenia pursuant to letters rogatory. Letters rogatory generally are transmitted through the diplomatic channel. For further information about the letters rogatory process, see the Office of American Citizen Service’s information flyer, Preparation of Letters Rogatory . Requesting counsel should be aware that when letters rogatory are executed by foreign courts which compel the appearance of a witness to answer written interrogatories, the evidence is taken in accordance with the rules of the foreign court. In most cases an American attorney will not be permitted to participate in such a proceeding. Occasionally a foreign attorney may be permitted to participate in such a proceeding and even put forth additional questions to the witness. Not all foreign countries utilize the services of court reporters or routinely provide verbatim transcripts. Sometimes the presiding judge will dictate his recollection of the witness’s responses to his secretary. Generally, letters rogatory worldwide, including those sent to the United States, take from six months to a year to execute.
COMMERICAL COURT SERVICES
There are no free court translation or interpretation services in Slovenia. Private attorneys and public notaries can perform these services for a fee.
ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGEMENTS
There is no treaty, convention or other international agreement in force between the Republic of Slovenia and the United States regarding the enforcement of judgments. Expedited enforcement of U.S. judgments, therefore, is not available and each case must be tried in the Republic of Slovenia on its merits.
U.S. EMBASSY LOCATION :
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U.S. Embassy Consular Section telephone number: 386 - 61-200 -55 -00 |
LISTS OF FOREIGN ATTORNEYS: Lists of foreign attorneys willing to represent U.S. citizens have been prepared by the U.S. Embassy may be obtained from the Department of State, Office of American Citizen Services or directly from the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
Additional Information: The Office of American Citizens Services has available general information flyers on international judicial assistance. These topics include country-specific information about service of process and obtaining evidence abroad.
Using the Internet:
Many of our judicial assistance flyers are also available on the Internet via the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs home page under Judicial Assistance . See also, the Department of State, Office of the Legal Adviser for Private International Law for information about the work of the Hague Conference on Private International Law and the OAS in private international law unification. See also the home pages for many of our embassies.
Treaty Databases on the Internet: Information on which countries are party to a particular treaty is available from the following databases:
- United Nations (UN): Databases/Treaties at http://untreaty.un.org
- Organization of American States (OAS): http://www.oas.org under Documents/Treaties and Conventions.
Questions: For additional information, contact the European Division of the Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management at telephone (202) 647-6178.
