Slovak Law Research Articles

A few remarks on professional and expert activities in criminal proceedings

In criminal proceedings, the establishment of facts beyond reasonable doubt is a cornerstone principle, ensuring that criminal offenses are accurately identified and perpetrators are justly punished while respecting the rights of all parties involved. The proof process is vital, with evidence playing an essential role in determining the outcomes of various procedural stages. Among the types of evidence, expert evidence has become increasingly significant, especially with advances in science and technology broadening the scope of issues requiring specialized knowledge. This paper aims to analyze the roles and impacts of professional and expert activities in criminal procedures. It seeks to highlight the distinctions between expert reports and professional statements, illustrating their respective legal standings and importance in the context of Slovak law. By examining the regulatory framework, specifically Act No. 382/2004 Coll. on experts, interpreters, and translators, and the Criminal Procedure Code (Act No. 301/2005 Coll.), the paper delves into the conditions, rights, and obligations of experts. Additionally, it addresses the significance of expert consultants introduced by the Criminal Procedure Code, who provide advisory services without precluding the involvement of expert witnesses for comprehensive technical assessments. Expert reports, governed by stringent formalities, are pivotal in addressing complex technical issues within criminal cases. These reports must be produced by court-appointed experts and include detailed descriptions of the methods used and the conclusions drawn. Conversely, professional statements, considered documentary evidence, do not carry the same legal weight and lack the formalities required for expert reports. The Criminal Procedure Code also ensures that expert evidence is used appropriately by stipulating when and how expert opinions should be sought. This comprehensive approach ensures that all technical and scientific issues are thoroughly examined, contributing to the fair administration of justice. In conclusion, the integration of expert and professional activities in criminal proceedings enhances the accuracy and reliability of judicial decisions. By leveraging specialized knowledge, the legal system can better fulfill its mandate of delivering justice while upholding the principles of fairness and due process. This paper underscores the necessity of clear regulatory frameworks and the proper application of expert evidence to achieve these aims.

Disappearance of a Natural Person Who Is a Sole Proprietor (Self-Employed)

The disappearance of a natural person, especially when he or she is also a sole proprietor of a business, causes legal problems. Such situations are not directly regulated by legal acts, i.e., the legislators do not refer to the impact and consequences of the disappearance on the performed business activity. Meanwhile, the fact that a sole proprietor goes missing may have a negative impact on his or her situation, including the content of the obligations binding on him or her. This paper discusses how the relatives, in particular the spouse of the missing person, may behave in such circumstances. The considerations carried out concern Polish law and Slovak law, as there is no specific regulation of the declaration of missing person who is a sole proprietor introduced on the model of foreign regulations, the article places emphasis on the comparison of both selected regulations. The conclusion indicated that until the missing person is recognised as dead, family members or other relatives do not have any competence to take any action on behalf of the missing sole proprietorship circumstances, other entities may operate, i.e., attorney-in-fact, proxy, according to Polish law custodian established pursuant to Art. 184 of the Family Code, the custodian established pursuant to Art. 144 of the Code of Contentious Civil Procedure, or prosecutor. Similarly, under the Slovak law, until the missing person is declared dead, a guardian, or a representative appointed by the court pursuant to Section 68 of the Civil Procedure Code, acts for such person.

PRIVATE EXPERT OPINION – LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND MEANING

The Slovak law on expertness defines an expert opinion, determining who can venture it and how to bring it before the court. Yet, do the courts consider expert opinions as their own? The presented study explores the incentives to commissioning expert opinions and the legal environment of this institute. The community of experts has found flaws in the legislation governing expert opinions, arguing that experts tend to bias their opinion in favour of the client and break the oath they took on behalf of the law. Although the Slovak legislation sets parameters to avoid abuse or defamation of the expert opinion, the judicial practice will show if the degree of acceptance of this opinion is higher than in countries with non-enacted legislation on these opinions despite their wide use in legal proceedings.

Slovakia: Private foundations and trust-like institutes in Slovakia

Abstract Slovak private law significantly lags behind modern European trends. Family foundations and trusts or trust-like institutions are unknown to Slovak law. None of the recently proposed reforms has yet remedied this inappropriate state. The intergenerational transfer of family property remains very complicated. The use of foreign trust structures is also restricted by Slovak private international law and negative tax consequences. This article provides an overview of the development of Slovak legislation, its current state, efforts to change the regulation of foundations, and the practical ways of evading Slovak law by using foreign legal structures—private foundations and trusts.

Bird crime and the assessment of risk areas in Slovakia

Abstract Bird crime is a serious problem in many countries around the world. This study focuses on the situation in Slovakia, summarising data on bird crime in the country between 2016 and 2022. Over the course of that period, 92 cases were recorded in 27 districts involving 33 animal species. At least 249 protected birds and 78 mammals fell victim to illegal activities, and 61 poisoned baits were discovered. Social value is the monetary value which state institutions use to quantify the damage incurred to wildlife. Slovak law determines whether an illegal act is an offence or a criminal act based on the value of the incurred damage. The total social value of all of the protected animals as a result of illegal activities was estimated at € 696,250. Intentional poisoning, typically using carbofuran, was the most common of illegal act identified in the recorded cases, followed by shooting and trapping. An analysis of the recorded cases of bird crime was also used to assess the risk in each of Slovakia’s districts in relation to landscape structure variables. The percentage share of arable land was found to be a reliable predictor of bird crime, regardless of whether the birds had been poisoned or shot. These findings can help to develop better preventive inspections to detect bird crime incidents. We also recommended several management measures to help tackle bird crime more quickly and effectively.

Pre-Trial Detention and It‘s Alternatives in Lithuania, Estonia, Romania and Slovakia

The article deals with the regulation of grounds and duration of the pre-trial detention, as well as its alternative measures during pre-trial investigation stage in Estonian, Lithuanian, Romania and Slovak law. In addition, the article compares the available statistical data on the application of pre-trial detention and its alternative measures in the mentioned countries, as well as evaluates the significance of the trends of pre-trial detention and its alternative measures to the total number of imprisoned persons.

Substantive and procedural aspects of disinheritance under the Slovak law

Substantive and procedural aspects of disinheritance under the Slovak law

Assignments of Receivables in Civil and Commercial Matters Under the Laws of the Slovak Republic

Background: Receivables play an increasingly important role in the financing of particularly small and medium-sized businesses. This importance has been recognised by many international organisations, including UNIDROIT, which is slated to adopt a Model Law on Factoring in 2023. The purpose of the Model Law is to encourage States to modernise their legal frameworks for absolute and security assignments, as well as pledges of receivables. The EU has been struggling to find common ground with respect to a regulation on the law applicable to assignments that would build on the Rome I Regulation. A modern receivables regime rests on several key foundation blocks that include the ability to describe receivables generically, achievement of third-party effectiveness by registration, and predictable priority rules. Much of the law of assignments is of contractual nature, which is suitable to party autonomy. Party autonomy in the field of contractual obligations is a recognised institution under the national substantive law of the legal order of the Slovak Republic. In some respects, the Slovak legal regime would benefit from modernisation, such as in requiring all types of assignments and pledges to be registered, which facilitates the determination of priorities. This article examines the law governing assignments of receivables in civil and commercial matters in the Slovak Republic. It not only analyses the statutory law but also surveys the relevant case law that fills gaps in the legislation. Methods: The author uses traditional scientific methods: logical methods - the method of analysis, the method of synthesis, the method of analogy, the descriptive method, as well as comparative method. First, the descriptive method was used to familiarise the reader with the applicable statutory provisions governing assignments of receivables in civil and commercial matters in the Slovak Republic. Second, the author analyses specific provisions with regard to current developments and practical applications. Third, the author uses a comparative method in highlighting the practical needs that incentivise the modernisation of the current legislation in light of recent developments, especially the upcoming adoption of the UNIDROIT Model Law on Factoring. Results and Conclusions: The Slovak regime for absolute assignments of receivables is governed by the Civil Code, which also applies to assignments in commercial transactions. The Code also recognises a security assignment of receivable. The pledge law reform in 2002 introduced a registration system for pledges of receivables. Special laws continue to govern specific types of receivables. Case law has addressed several aspects of transfers of receivables, particularly in insolvency. However, no statutory provision provides a priority rule among the statutorily-recognised types of transfers. Several other aspects have been clarified in case law. For instance, the Supreme Court of Slovakia defined a description standard for future receivables, which must be identified by the name of the transferor, debtor, and a category, such as a receivable arising from the following contract. The degree of specificity is driven by doctrinal considerations rather than the needs of practice. Several important practical aspects are neither grounded in a statutory foundation nor case law. One example is the lack of recognition of transfers of partial interests in a receivable, a practice that is common in the Slovak market. The law recognises and enforces an anti-assignment clause that would make a transfer ineffective. However, such a clause would be ineffective in the insolvency of the transferor, so the insolvency estate would include the receivable. In this aspect, Slovak law falls short of the international standards that override the effect of anti-assignment clauses. Since the pledge law reform over two decades ago, no statutory changes concerning transfers of receivables have been introduced. The interpretation of the existing framework by the courts exacerbates uncertainty. The lack of certainty and predictability embedded in the statutory framework that falls short of international standards are good reasons to consider reforming the framework.

Inheritance Law in Europe and Its Metamorphoses in Territory and Time with an Emphasis on Development Trends and Social Contexts

Inheritance law in Europe has undergone considerable development and its roots can be found, as in most areas of private law, in the Roman law. The aim of the paper is to provide a brief comparison of the view of inheritance law and its content within the framework of the Roman law, the Medieval law and the contemporary Slovak law and Czech law, with an overlap into the intended recodification. We will be particularly interested in the view on the purpose of inheritance law in these different historical epochs and the possibilities of the disposition mortis causa in them. We will also point out how the approach to inheritance law affects the society in which it is constituted. We will also pay attention to those historical institutes of inheritance law that could be applicable within the framework of the planned recodification of the Slovak private law.

Restriction of Legal Capacity in the Slovak Law and Related Court Practice

In the first part of the article, the author makes an excursion into history and gives the reader information about the legal capacity of persons in Slovak legal history. This part includes information about feudal law, the first related codification of 1877, the Czechoslovak Civil Code of 1950, and the Czechoslovak Civil Code of 1964. Further on, the author presents the up-to-date effective regulation encompassed in the Slovak Civil Code and in the procedural act, i.e., the Act on Non-Contentious Civil Procedure. At the center of attention is the abolishment of deprivation of legal capacity, introduced in 2016. The author reasons that this abolition was a response to the caselaw of the European Court of Human Rights and to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Inevitable for this article, were the practice and experiences of The Office of the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. From the practical point of view, the most important is the last part of the article, where the author lists some examples of good and bad practices of the Slovak Courts concerning legal capacity. The author deems it necessary to pay attention to this important topic. The improvement of the legal position of adults with disabilities definitely contributes to legal certainty and the rule of law in modern societies. Last but not least, it reflects the degree of social forwardness.

Linguistic Discrimination as a Social, Legal and Human Rights Phenomenon

Abstract This article explores the difference between equality and the absence of discrimination within the area of language use. It draws on examples of social practices of linguistic inequality in Slovakia, and analyses how these are regulated by Slovak law, international law and laws of countries of best practices. The article argues that these examples represent three different models of linguistic equality: formal equality, equality of opportunities and substantive linguistic equality. It will analyse how these approaches empower or disadvantage speakers of minority languages, and what normative guide they provide for linguistic equality.

Slovak Share in the Unification and Codification Efforts in Interwar Czechoslovakia

The creation of the Czechoslovak Republic and its legal system had its basis in the Act No. 11/1918 Coll. The Act preserved in force former Hungarian law in the territory of Slovakia. In Czech lands, former Austrian law was to be used further on. Quite understandably, attempts were present already in the interwar period to unify the legal system of Czechoslovakia. Analysis of the process and results of unification of law in Czechoslovakia reveals the participation of broad-scale of Slovak lawyers in the process and partial influence of law valid in Slovakia in the projects of new Czechoslovak codes. In the area of substantive law, the revised Austrian Civil Code (ABGB) was to become the basis of the new Czechoslovak Civil Code and therefore, not much space was left for “Slovak law”to influence the final version of the Civil Code project. In the area of procedural law, however, the codes of civil procedure valid in the Czech part and in the Slovak part of the Republic were not as different as it was the case with the substantive civil law. Therefore, the unification process was easier and many institutes of law valid in Slovakia were to be preserved in the project of the Czechoslovak Civil Procedure Code. Unfortunately, the events of the years 1938–1939 was the reason for none of the prepared projects being actually enacted. It was only after the Second World War (mostly in 1950) that the legal order was finally unified in Czechoslovakia.

Statutory approach to the act of robbery in the Czech and Slovak law as compared to the solutions adopted in the Polish penal code

This article introduces readers to the regulation of the act of robbery in the Czech and Slovak penal codes. The solutions adopted in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been presented by comparing them to the regulation of the act of robbery contained in the Polish Penal Code. The perormed analysis showed that there are significant differences between the regulation of the act of robbery in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and the solutions adopted in the Polish Penal Code. For example, the qualifying types of robbery were presented differently. Moreover, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia the act of robbery takes place already at the moment of conducting violence to seize property, while in Poland it takes place at a later stage – with the actual seizure of someone else’s property. What is already a robbery under Czech and Slovak law, is only an attempt according to the Polish Penal Code. The article also compares severity of penalties for robbery in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and presents the options for liability of collective entities for robbery in these three countries.

Smart marriage contracts

This paper is intended to serve as an introductory treatise on the subject of smart marriage contracts (SMC) as a manifestation of blockchain in matrimonial property law of contracts. It starts with a description of the origin and functioning of an SMC from a technical standpoint, while evaluating the legal nature thereof at the same time. Afterwards, we focus on the possibilities and means of an SMC’s establishment under German, Austrian, and Slovak law. Moving on, issues related to the content of a marriage contract establishing an SMC are examined. Then it is tested the permissibility of an SMC-related provision in a marriage contract referred to as a “registration clause”. Finally, it is delved into the question whether the appearance of an SMC in a marriage contract introduces any peculiarities to issues of private international law, namely from the perspective of the EU Regulations on property regimes of international couples.

Collections Mobility Today: How is the mobility of collections encouraged in Slovakia and Czechia?

The article is focused on the mobility of museum collections today in Slovakia and Czechia. The paper begins with a brief overview of the first specialist conferences to focus on the issue of collections mobility in Europe. It continues with an overview of present-day information support for sharing collections between museums in Slovakia and Czechia. It analyses the online activities of museums and cultural institutions and currently literature on the issue, as well as changes to legislation which affect the awareness of collections mobility and facilitate the process of loaning collection objects between museums. In particular, it summarises changes to the Slovak Law no. 207/2009 on conditions pertaining to the export and import of objects of cultural significance, which was amended in 2018. The conclusion includes a brief list of the most basic and, at the same time, the latest approaches to collections mobility in Europe.

Development and Application of the Principle “nemo plus iuris” in the Roman Law and the Contemporary Slovak Law

Development and Application of the Principle “nemo plus iuris” in the Roman Law and the Contemporary Slovak Law

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for consumer disputes in the Slovak republic

Abstract This paper aims to analyse alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for consumer disputes in the Slovak Republic according to Act No. 391/2015 Coll. on consumer alternative dispute resolution as amended. Through this act Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC (Directive on consumer ADR) has been transposed into Slovak law. Author of the paper used scientific methods of analysis, comparison, deduction, induction and synthesis. She tried to evaluate the application of consumer ADR by Slovak ADR entities, development of ADR between 2016 and 2019, current situation, and to provide conclusions and suggest changes for future.

Mandatory and Default Regulation in the Slovak Commercial Law

The aim of this contribution is to provide the reader with an understanding of the concept of mandatory and default regulation within the Slovak commercial law. Private law regulation is in the Slovak Republic quite specific, as the Commercial Code covers not only companies (and cooperatives), but contractual aspects of the commercial law as well, which interferes with the contractual regulation stipulated in the Civil Code and causes duality. The Commercial Code and the Civil Code differently regulates the matter of mandatory and default regulation and therefore we found it crucial to provide the reader, who (most likely) does not have a detailed knowledge about these specificities in the Slovak law, with a more theoretical and descriptive introduction. Such an introduction is crucial in order to understand the following contextual analysis of the issue of mandatory and default regulation in the Slovak commercial law. However, the main aim of this contribution is to tackle the specific angles of the topic, in concrete, a possible judicial interference into the mandatory and default regulation of the commercial law and its impact on this concept. Moreover, the authors address the matter of possible avoidance of mandatory regulation in the commercial law through the contract on the sale of an enterprise and shareholders’ agreements, which are uniquely regulated in the Commercial Code. Moreover, the contribution addresses a hypothesis, that despite the need for simplification of the commercial law, the latest amendments of the Commercial Code goes opposite direction by introducing new mandatory provisions into the code, due to the abuse of a company as a legal form.

The legal implication of certain interventions prohibited by law in the United Kingdom and Slovakia – a review

Mutilation of dogs is an emotive and controversial subject for veterinarians and animal keepers. The elective docking of a dog’s tail is illegal under both UK and Slovak law except for specific breeds that are intended to be used for specific purposes while the elective cropping of dogs’ ears is illegal under all circumstances. In the EU, there is much variation between countries with some having a total ban on these procedures and others allowing elective ear cropping specifically. Under the current UK as well as Slovak legislation there is no legal requirement for a central monitoring of the number of docking procedures undertaken, therefore it is not possible to analyse the efficacy of the legislation, specifically, the monitoring of the number of legally docked dogs that are not eventually used for the purpose for which their exemption was granted. There is also no certification scheme for dogs undergoing ear cropping legally in EU countries that permit it. It is suggested that greater monitoring be implemented of the eventual use of docked dogs and the EU granting proof of legality to ear cropped dogs in order to understand how great a risk is posed by illegal docking and cropping procedures.

Some Principles of Civil and Family Law under the Legislation of Slovakia and Russia

In the modern science of civil law, the role of comparative legal analysis of the principles of various states is undeniable. The main task of comparative legal research is to obtain profound knowledge about the principles of civil and family law of different legal systems. In this work the basic comparison of principles will be carried out according to the civil legislation of two countries: Slovakia and Russia, because both of these countries are former members of the socialist bloc and have much in common, but Slovak legislation is known for its unique combination of respect for the established traditions of Slovak law and following the guideline of the legal doctrines of the European Union. The authors considered such principles as: equality of the legal regime for all subjects of civil legal relations; individual autonomy (or the principle of freedom of contract); prohibition of abuse of subjective rights; justice and the principle of stability of private law. For the most complete disclosure and analysis of the interaction, the following issues were raised: the essence of the principles, their possible relationship with other foundations of civil law, the role of judicial practice and the opinion of legislators regarding the application and interpretation of these principles. As a result of the analysis, the authors concluded that the guiding foundations of the civil law of the above-mentioned countries coincide, or have their own “analogues” in the legislation of another country. Also, the system of principles of the civil law of the Slovak Republic contains such principles that are only fragmentarily disclosed as principles in the civil legislation of the Russian Federation. The authors also noted that the judicial practice of using the principles has a certain influence on the application and interpretation of both the principles of Slovakia and Russia. The result of this comparative legal study may be useful for the theory of civil law, and also demonstrates the interaction of the civilistic principles of Slovakia and Russia.