A misdemeanor is an act that constitutes a violation of a law, a government regulation, a decree of a self-governing, local community, which is defined as a misdemeanor and is subject to a misdemeanor sanction. A fine is prescribed for the offense committed, against which the offender can file a legal remedy – a request for judicial protection.
The offender who committed the offense negligently or intentionally is responsible for the misdemeanor. The misdemeanor regulation may stipulate that the offender is liable only if the offense was committed with intent. The misdemeanor authority and the court may issue a warning for a misdemeanor committed under such extenuating circumstances as to make it particularly light. A reprimand may also be issued if the misdemeanor is that a prescribed obligation was not fulfilled, or damage was caused by the misdemeanor, and the offender fulfilled the prescribed obligation or repaired or reimbursed the damage caused before the issuance of the decision or judgment on the misdemeanor.
Proceedings on misdemeanors are not admissible if two years have passed since the day when the misdemeanor was committed. Irrespective of the previous paragraph, proceedings for a misdemeanor for which a fine is prescribed in accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 17 of this law shall not be admissible if three years have passed since the date on which the misdemeanor was committed. Irrespective of the first paragraph of this article, proceedings for a misdemeanor for which a fine is prescribed in accordance with the fifth or sixth paragraph of Article 17 of this law shall not be admissible if five years have passed since the date on which the misdemeanor was committed. Regardless of the first paragraph of this article, the procedure for an offense against road traffic safety, which was established by technical means, cannot be started if more than 30 days have passed since the offense was committed. The statute of limitations does not run during the time when, according to the law, the offense procedure may not be started or continued. The statute of limitations interrupts any action of the authority responsible for the procedure aimed at prosecuting the offender, including the action taken for the purpose of filing an indictment. After each interruption, the statute of limitations begins to run again, but in no case can a misdemeanor proceeding be terminated after twice the time required by law for a misdemeanor statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is also interrupted if the offender commits an equally serious or more serious offense of the same type during the period of limitation. If a final decision on a misdemeanor is annulled in a procedure with an extraordinary legal remedy or a constitutional appeal, the time limit within which the procedure for a new decision must be legally completed is two years from the annulment.
Misdemeanors are decided by a speedy procedure, except in cases where this law stipulates otherwise. Express procedure is not allowed:
– if the proposer of the regular court procedure considers, based on the nature of the violation, that the conditions for imposing a collateral sanction under this law are met;
– if a side sanction of banning driving a motor vehicle is prescribed;
– if a side sanction of exclusion from the public procurement procedure is prescribed;
– against minor offenders;
– for misdemeanors in the field of defense duties and for misdemeanors in the field of incompatibility of public functions with gainful activity;
– for misdemeanors against road traffic safety, for which a side sanction of penalty points is prescribed in the number due to which, according to the law, the offender’s driver’s license is revoked;
– for misdemeanors in the field of political parties and election and referendum campaigns, the control of which is the responsibility of the Audit Court of the Republic of Slovenia;
– if the indictment for a misdemeanor in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 103 of this Act is filed by the authority that, according to the law, supervises the work of the misdemeanor authority.
In the expedited procedure, the offender is fined in the prescribed amount, or if it is prescribed in a range, the lowest prescribed amount of the fine is imposed, unless otherwise stipulated by law.
Instead of issuing a sanction, an authorized official of the offense authority may warn the violator if the offense committed is of insignificant importance and if the authorized official assesses that, given the importance of the act, a warning is a sufficient measure. The authorized official from the previous paragraph presents the committed offense to the offender at the same time as a warning. The offense authority may keep a record of the issued warnings, but may not process personal data.
A request for judicial protection may be filed against a decision on a misdemeanor issued in the first instance by the misdemeanor authority following the expedited procedure. The request may be submitted by the person who was sanctioned, their legal representative or advocate, and the owner of the seized objects, provided that the beneficiary has announced its submission in a timely manner in accordance with Article 59a of this Act. The request for judicial protection from the previous paragraph suspends the execution of the decision on the misdemeanor. Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, the provisions of the appeal procedure in the regular court procedure shall be applied mutatis mutandis in the procedure with a request for judicial protection. In proceedings with a request for judicial protection, a judgment cannot be issued without reasons.
A request for judicial protection can be filed within eight days of service of the decision on the misdemeanor, in writing to the competent misdemeanor authority. The local court of first instance is competent to decide on a request for judicial protection, which is competent to decide on a misdemeanor according to the provisions of the regular court procedure.
