The Provisional Measures Act regarding judicial, administrative and other public-law matters to control the spread of the infectious disease SARS-CoV2 (CoVID-19) (hereinafter ZZUSUDJZ) will enter into force on the 29th of March 2020. The provisional measures it introduces shall be valid only for the duration of reasons for them (whereby the termination of the conditions will be determined by the Government by a decision to be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia) or by the 1st of July 2020 at the latest.
Below, we outline some of the measures that will have the broadest impact on our day-to-day operations.
Measures in court cases
On the basis of the Decree of the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia (VSRS), which was adopted and published in the Official Gazette no. 21/2020 on March 13th, 2020, the President of the Supreme Court determined that in all cases except the cases referred to in the second paragraph of Article 83 of the Courts Act (ZS), the procedural deadlines are not pending and that court documents are not served during this time. Since the adoption of the Decree, the courts in Slovenia have been operating in the same way as during the so-called judicial holidays.
From March 29th, however, the running of material deadlines is also suspended (this is a statutory deadline within which a lawsuit must be filed, or a specific act must be performed, because otherwise the right would be lost). Furthermore, ZZUSUDJZ stipulates that no other deadlines, both procedural and material deadlines, run in all court cases (including criminal cases), except in urgent court cases.
Urgent court cases are those defined in the second paragraph of Article 83 ZS, and ZZUSUDJZ provides the basis for the President of the Supreme Court to issue a Decree and, from urgent court cases, exclude cases from 2 and 5 to 9 of the second paragraph of Article 83 ZS. Given the epidemiological situation currently prevailing in Slovenia, we expect that the President of the Supreme Court will take this opportunity. If this happens, only the following measures will be taken: (i) investigations and trials in criminal cases in which the accused is deprived of liberty or has restricted liberty, and in criminal cases of aliens who are not residents in the Republic of Slovenia, (ii) matters relating to the upbringing and care of children and child support obligations arising from the law; and (iii) non-judicial matters concerning the detention of persons in psychiatric healthcare organizations.
Furthermore, ZZUSUDJZ explicitly stipulates that the deadlines for lodging a constitutional complaint are not running.
Measures concerning notary offices
ZZUSUDJZ provides the basis on which the President of the Chamber of Notaries of Slovenia may take provisional measures concerning the business of notary offices, which relate in particular to the manner or limitation of office hours for receiving clients. The measures are expected to focus on the operation of (only) the most urgent matters, where individual tasks cannot be postponed.
If the situation in Slovenia gets worse, the Chamber of Notaries of Slovenia may also propose the complete closure of notary offices, which will then be decided by the Minister of Justice.
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