In the administrative court, the burden of proving that decisions or actions of state institutions were correct is on state authorities.
This also means that you cannot be asked to prove or to give to the court information that the state institutions should have. The state institution has to provide you and the court with all information that is relevant for the case.
In an administrative case, you have the right to submit as much evidence as you can gather, granted that your opponent is the State. It is important to remember that the court can only accept evidence which is obtained lawfully, and which is important, and thus relevant, for the case.
Types of evidence
There are many types of evidence which you can use: written documents, video, audio and other data files, witness statements, the statements of an expert or other competent institution, and physical evidence.
Permissible evidence
According to Slovenian law, all evidence submitted to the court must be lawfully obtained, that is, according to the procedures prescribed by law. If certain evidence has been obtained in violation of your rights (such as the right to private life or secrecy of correspondence) it will not automatically make the proceedings unfair.
The court must first assess the impact of such a violation on your rights and the case as a whole. In any case, the use of evidence obtained by torture or inhumane treatment (for example, by hitting someone or threatening them) is not permissible and will violate your right to a fair trial.
Furthermore, in an administrative dispute, you cannot propose evidence if you have had the opportunity to propose this evidence already in the administrative procedure before the disputed act of the state institution was issued.
example If your partner can confirm that you as a foreigner have built a private and family life in Slovenia, you have to propose for him/her to be interrogated as a witness already in front of the administrative unit deciding on your application for a residence permit.
Witnesses
You can ask the court to invite a witness to give a statement about the circumstances or facts that are relevant to your case. The court does not have to invite all the witnesses you have proposed. However, if the court refuses to call your witness, it has to give sufficient reasons for such refusal.
How to complain
A refusal to accept evidence cannot be appealed separately, but if you consider that the court has made a mistake by refusing to accept your evidence or call your witness, you must make that argument in your submission to the Supreme court.