In Slovenia, a child (minor) may bear criminal liability from the age of fourteen. There are specific requirements that must be observed when dealing with a child who is suspected of having committed a crime or is being examined as a witness or victim in criminal proceedings.
Detention on remand
In criminal proceedings against a minor, detention on remand is an exceptional measure that may only be used in objectively justified cases that require a stricter assessment than that applicable to adult offenders. Other general requirements for detention on remand are the same.
example A minor cannot be detained on remand for being suspected of having committed less severe criminal offences and every effort must be made to pursue the goal of detention using the mildest means (i.e., house arrest, other).
Penalty
A convicted minor may only be punished with certain types of criminal penalties as provided by the former Criminal Code from 1994. The purpose of imposing punishment is to ensure the upbringing, re-education and proper development of juvenile offenders through protection and assistance, supervision, professional training and the development of their personal responsibility.
Juvenile offenders who were between age of 14 and 16 when committing a criminal offence may only be punished by an educational measure (vzgojni ukrep).
Juvenile offenders who were already 16 years of age at the time of committing the criminal offence may be punished by educational measures or exceptionally by a fine or juvenile imprisonment. In addition to these penalties, a ban on driving a motor vehicle or expulsion of an alien from the country may also be imposed as an ancillary penalty.
Convicted minors may also be subject to security measures, except for a ban on practicing a profession, if an educational measure, a fine or juvenile imprisonment has been imposed on them.
Child victim
In pre-trial and criminal proceedings, when a victim is a minor, they may be accompanied by a person whom they trust, if required by the nature and gravity of the crime, the victim’s personal circumstances or the degree of the victim’s endangerment, unless this would be contrary to the interests of the successful conduct of the pre-trial or criminal proceedings.
Special conditions for criminal proceedings when a child is victim to crimes against sexual integrity, against marital, familial and children’s matters, crime of enslavement or trafficking in human beings
In such criminal proceedings the child victim must have a lawyer representative, who is entrusted with protecting his/her rights during the criminal proceedings, especially with safeguarding the child’s integrity during examinations and asserting a compensation claim.
The defendant may not be present during the examination of a child victim of such a crime.
Examination of a witness who is a minor
When questioning a child, especially if the child was a victim of the crime, the court has to take special care that the hearing does not adversely affect his/her mental state. If necessary, the examination is carried out with the help of a pedagogue or some other expert.
The child witness under the age of 15 may be accompanied by a person whom he/she trusts.
There are categories of witnesses who do not need to give their accounts (right not to testify), per example if they hold a close family bond with the defendant. A minor witness who, given his/her age and mental development, cannot understand the meaning of the right not to testify is not allowed to be heard as a witness, unless the defendant himself so requests or the court considers it to be in the child’s best interests.
Read more about the rights and obligations of witnesses.