Rights of accused person in Slovakia

In case of any questions regarding your rights in criminal law, let me know. I will connect you to our colleague who specializes in criminal law.

Here are some taughts from our cooperating colleague:

Any person suspected of having committed a crime in Slovakia shall be considered as accused and the measures provided for under the present Act shall be used in respect of such person only after he was charged with the crime.

The accused in Slovakia from the commencement of the proceedings held against him, shall have the right to give his opinion on any allegation of his guilt and the supporting evidence without, however, having the obligation to testify. He may state the circumstances, move, give and obtain evidence for his defence, file motions and petitions and apply for legal remedies. He shall have the right to elect and consult a counsel also in the course of procedures carried out by the bodies involved in criminal proceedings or by the court.

The accused in Slovakia, however, shall not have the right to consult his counsel on how to respond to question raised during the interrogation. He may ask to be interrogated in the presence of his counsel and to have the counsel present also when other procedures of pre-trial proceedings are conducted. If he is apprehended, remanded in custody or serves an imprisonment sentence, he may speak with his counsel in the absence of a third person; this shall not apply to a telephone call of the accused with his counsel during serving custody, the conditions and mode whereof are set forth under a separate regulation. In the proceedings held before the court, the accused shall have the right to examine witnesses who were moved by him or upon his consent by his counsel, and put questions to the witnesses. The accused may exercise his rights on his own or via his counsel.

The accused in Slovakia may, as early as at the beginning of the proceedings before the first-instance court, give all evidence known to him that he moved to be produced. If, after filing an indictment, the accused files a motion to produce evidence before the commencement of the proceedings before the first-instance court, the court shall be obliged to forthwith serve such motion on the prosecutor and the injured party.

The accused in Slovakia who cannot afford to pay the defence costs shall have the right to a free counsel or to the defence for a reduced legal fee; the accused shall have to prove the entitlement for a free counsel or to the defence for a reduced legal fee at the latest when taking decision about reimbursement of court costs. The bodies involved in criminal proceedings and the court shall at any moment be obliged to advise the accused of his rights, including the advantage of pleading guilty, and give him a possibility to fully exercise his rights.

The accused in Slovakia shall be obliged, at the beginning of the first examination, to give his address for service of process, including personal service, as well as to specify the mode of service of process, and he shall have to forthwith notify the relevant authority of any change in the address or in the mode of service of process; the body involved in criminal proceedings or the court shall advise the accused of service of process and the related consequences.

Only a lawyer may serve as a defence counsel in criminal proceedings. During different stages of criminal proceedings, except for judicial proceedings, a defence counsel may be represented by his lawyer clerk. No person summoned to appear at the main hearing and open court hearing as a witness, expert or interpreter may act as a defence counsel therein.

If you have any questions in your case, let me know, I will connect you to our colleague to answer them.