If the court finds that you have overstepped the permissible borders of criticism and defamed another person, the sanctions applied to you must be proportional. Overly severe sanctions can still violate freedom of expression even if your statements have amounted to defamation.
example The amount of compensation for the defamatory expressions should not be so high as to lead the media to insolvency or to deter the particular journalist from reporting on matters of public interest again.
Civil remedies: compensation, retraction
Civil remedies are used most commonly in defamation cases. Civil remedies may include monetary compensation and an obligation to retract the defamatory statements. In choosing the type of remedy or amount of compensation, the courts must balance the gravity of the damage to a person’s reputation and the importance of freedom of expression of the other person.
example If the court of final instance awards compensation which is approximately four times larger than previously awarded by courts in defamation cases, this will not be proportional, unless there are exceptional circumstances justifying such an amount of damages.
Criminal sanctions
Criminal sanctions are an exception in defamation cases and must be applied very cautiously. Criminal sanctions are the most severe type of penalty, and therefore, they are usually applied for the most serious violations, such as statements inciting hatred or violence.
They should also be applied only as an exception, because criminal sanctions could also deter the media from fulfilling their role in future.
The Slovenian Criminal Code provides for criminal sanctions for offences against honour and reputation. These are: insult, slander, defamation, calumny and malicious false accusation of crime. These criminal offences include special provisions for journalists and media outlets, highlighting their role in the society on the one hand, as well as the potentially bigger harm caused by defamation through public media outlets.
It also provides for criminal sanctions for public incitement to hatred, violence or intolerance. Anyone who publicly incites or stirs up ethical, racial, religious or other hatred, clashes or intolerance, or who incites any other inequality on the grounds of physical or mental disability or sexual orientation, is punishable. Slander is offensive language that is intentional, contains untrue facts and is expressed in public or published in the press or other media. However, criminal sanctions are also an exception in these cases. The authorities have to prove the need for criminal sanctions and why other, less restrictive sanctions, such as a claim for monetary damages in civil proceedings, are not sufficient.