LEGISLATION CHANGES - PERMANENT PART OF CRIMINAL PEOCEDURAL LAW IN SLOVENIA

Abstract

     

In 2016, the legislator has changed or tried to change the Criminal Procedure Act (hereinafter: CPA) for the fourteenth time since 1995 in order to achieve a more efficient and economical performance of criminal proceedings while ensuring an appropriate level of rights protection of participants in proceedings, a more adversarial nature of criminal proceedings, elimination of shortcomings and greater legal certainty and legality in proceedings. Unfortunately, the Act was not adopted by the National Assembly. However, the latter has changed this year. The aim of the revision was also the different regulation of certain investigative acts. Taking into account the recent practice of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Court of Human Rights, the Act systematically regulates the seizure of objects, files and electronic devices of lawyers and other persons in the case of their material containing privileged communication, or if it is necessary to investigate the electronic device that was seized and contains information that are  not secured and sealed but may also be part of the so-called (professional) secrecy. A large part of the novelty also refers to the modification and completion of the regime of undercover investigative measures. Moreover, according to the needs of the police, a catalogue of serious criminal offences has been completed, in respect of which this measure is permissible. CPA - N thus improves the legal basis for the cooperation of competent authorities and a faster progress of criminal proceedings. In this way, the balance between the guarantee and the protective function of the procedure is ensured.