Protection by the Court

- Constitution of Slovakia

Part Seven - The Right to Protection by the Court and Other Legal Protection

Article 46

(1) Everyone may claim by the established legal procedure his right to an independent and impartial court hearing and, in cases designated by law, to another body of the Slovak Republic.

(2) Anyone who claims to have been deprived of his rights by a decision of a public administration body may appeal to the court for it to reexamine the lawfulness of that decision, unless specified otherwise by law. The reexamination of decisions concerning basic rights and liberties must not, however, be excluded from the court's authority.

(3) Everyone is entitled to compensation for damage incurred as a result of an unlawful decision by a court or another state or public administration body, or as a result of an incorrect official procedure.

(4) Conditions and details concerning court and other legal protection will be set out in a law.

Article 47

(1) Everyone has the right to refuse to testify if, by doing so, he might expose himself or a person close to him to the risk of criminal prosecution.

(2) Everyone has the right to legal assistance in court proceedings or proceedings before other state or public administration bodies. He has this right from the very start of the proceedings, under conditions defined by law.

(3) All participants in proceedings according to section 2 are equal.

(4) Anyone who declares that he does not have a command of the language in which the proceedings according to section 2 are conducted has the right to an interpreter.

Article 48

(1) No one must be removed from the jurisdiction of his law-assigned judge. The jurisdiction of the court is established by law.

(2) Everyone has the right to have his case tried in public, without needless procrastination, and in his presence and to deliver his opinion on all pieces of evidence. The public can be excluded only in cases specified by law.

Article 49

Only the law established which conduct constitutes a criminal act and what punishment or other form of deprivation of rights or property may be inflicted upon those who committed it.

Article 50

(1) Only the court shall decide on guilt and punishment for criminal acts.

(2) Every defendant is considered innocent until the court establishes his guilt by means of a legally valid verdict.

(3) The accused has the right to be granted the time and opportunity to prepare his defense, either himself or through a defense counsel.

(4) The defendant has the right to refuse to testify and must not be denied this right under any circumstances.

(5) No one must be made criminally liable for a deed for which he has already been sentenced or of which he has already been acquitted in a legally valid manner. This principle does not rule out the application of extraordinary corrective means in harmony with the law.

(6) The criminal liability of a deed is assessed, and punishment is meted out, according to the law valid at the time when the offense was committed. A more recent law will be applied if it is more favorable for the perpetrator.