Judicial Assistance

Judicial Assistance in Slovenia

This is a summary of judicial assistance in Slovenia. For the most up-to-date and complete information, please see the State Department's judicial assistance web page.

English-Speaking Attorneys in Slovenia 

For a list English-speaking attorneys in Slovenia, please click here. 

Service of Process

Service of process can be accomplished in civil cases through the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra-Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters.
 
Service of process in criminal cases is accomplished only through the letter rogatory process.  

Obtaining Evidence

In civil cases, where a witness is willing to testify voluntarily, a deposition may be conducted at the U.S. Embassy in Slovenia. Depositions may be taken on notice or by issuance of a commission by an American court to a consular officer under the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters. 
 
The Hague Evidence Convention does not apply to criminal cases. Obtaining evidence in criminal cases must be handled by a Slovenian court pursuant to written questions submitted under cover of a letter rogatory.

Depositions

As noted above, when a witness is willing to testify voluntarily in a civil case, a deposition may be conducted at the U.S. Embassy in Slovenia. 

General Procedure

The deposition must be of a voluntary witness; testimony must be given without coercion or threat of future sanctions. Therefore, prior to the taking of testimony and in accordance with Slovene law, the consular officer will administer a voluntariness advisement to each witness.

As per Article 15 of the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, the Embassy can assist with depositions of U.S. citizen witnesses resident in Slovenia without prior consultation with the Government of Slovenia. However, as per Article 16, we can only assist with depositions of anyone other than U.S. citizens if we first obtain permission from the Slovene Ministry of Justice on a case-by-base basis. Please allow additional time for us to obtain this permission.  In any case, the attorney arranging the deposition(s) should contact the American Citizen Services Unit as soon as possible to discuss procedures, scheduling, and payment of fees. 

A minimum of four weeks prior to the agreed-upon deposition date, the attorney must provide to the American Citizen Services Unit either:

1. a copy of his/her notice to opposing counsel of anticipated taking of testimony; or
2. a copy of the court order commissioning the consular officer to take testimony.

The notice or order should include the following: 

• Case name and docket number
• Court where case is pending
• Name/citizenship/address/telephone number of witness(es)
• Date and place of depositions  

It is the responsibility of the attorney arranging the depositions to engage a court reporter and, if necessary, a translator or interpreter. Please provide the American Citizen Services Unit with the names and contact information of the court reporter and translator/interpreter in advance of the deposition(s). 
 
NOTE: To locate translators or interpreters, please consult a local attorney or the web site of the Society of Scientific and Technical Translators of Slovenia. To locate court reporters, it is best to work through a local attorney. Please note that the testimony of witnesses in Slovene courts usually is not taken verbatim. Accordingly, court reporters in Slovenia may or may not be capable of recording the deposition(s) in a manner acceptable to an American court. It is the responsibility of the attorney arranging the deposition(s) to make certain the proceedings are recorded and transcribed in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the case is pending. 

Post Deposition Proceedings

Absent a waiver on the record by the attorneys for the parties, following the deposition:

1. the court reporter and the translator/interpreter must execute affidavits of accuracy before the consular officer; and
2. the witness, after reviewing the transcript of his testimony and making any corrections in the manner prescribed by the attorneys or by the court having jurisdiction over the matter, must sign the transcript in the presence of the consular officer; and
3. the consular officer must prepare a deposition closing certificate. 

Fees

All fees must be paid prior to the swearing of the participants and the taking of testimony. 

Nonrefundable scheduling fee

Arranging attorney must deposit $475.00 at the time of requesting scheduling, to cover consular time spent scheduling and arranging the deposition. The entire deposit is forfeited if the deposition is canceled or rescheduled for any reason, unless at the request of the pertinent consular section. To reschedule a deposition, the arranging attorney must deposit an additional $475.00. 

Consular Hourly Rate/Costs

In addition to the nonrefundable scheduling fee, the arranging attorney must pay an hourly rate of $265 per hour, assessed in minimum increments of one hour, for non-scheduling related services rendered in connection with the deposition, e.g., administration of oaths and witness voluntariness statements, the consular officer's time spent presiding over the deposition, packaging of the deposition for mailing to the U.S., and any other deposition related service. In the exceptional case where the consular officer must travel outside the Embassy, in addition to the hourly rate the arranging attorney must pay the consular officer's transportation costs. In such a case, the Embassy will require the arranging attorney to deposit the estimated amount of transportation costs before the swearing of participants. 

Post-Deposition Matters/Deposition Closing Certificate

The charge for the court reporter's and translator/interpreter's affidavit of accuracy and the charge for the witness' signing of the transcript are included in the original hourly fee for the oath. Therefore, there is no additional charge for these services. The fee for a deposition closing certificate is $70.00. 

Postage

Unless other arrangements for filing the original transcript(s) of the deposition(s) are made beforehand, the attorney arranging the deposition must deposit an additional $100.00 to cover registered postage and incidental expenses related to the handling of the transcript. Any unused amount will be returned. 

Miscellaneous

The fee for photocopies is $1.00 per page.