Slovakia · Overview
The legal system of Slovakia
A civil-law system that kept the 1964 Czechoslovak Civil Code — unlike Czechia, which replaced its own in 2014 — while recodifying civil procedure in 2016 into three separate codes. The euro has been legal tender since 2009, and a 2020 judicial-map reform reorganised the courts.
Legal tradition
Slovakia belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system that kept the 1964 Czechoslovak Civil Code — unlike Czechia, which replaced its own in 2014 — while recodifying civil procedure in 2016 into three separate codes. The euro has been legal tender since 2009, and a 2020 judicial-map reform reorganised the courts.
How power is divided
A single-chamber parliament, a directly elected President with a weak veto, and a Constitutional Court whose thirteen judges are appointed by the President from a parliamentary list.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- Includes the catalogue of fundamental rights.
- EU law
- Applicable since 2004; precedence within its field.
- International treaties
- Human-rights treaties rank above statute under Article 7(5).
- Statutes
- Civil Code (40/1964), Criminal Code (300/2005), the 2016 procedure codes.
- Government regulations and decrees
- Issued to implement statutes.
The legal profession
Advocates (advokáti) are regulated by the Slovak Bar Association after a traineeship and examination; notaries and enforcement officers (exekútori) are separate chambers.
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