You will be considered a victim of crime if you have suffered damage, e.g. you have been injured or your property has been damaged or stolen, etc., as a result of an incident, which constitutes a crime according to national law. As a victim of crime, the law confers to you certain individual rights before, during and after court proceedings (trial).
Criminal proceedings in Slovenia starts with a police inquiry, which usually includes informal interviews with suspect and witnesses, examination of the scene of the crime, search of the premises, etc. At the end of the inquiry the police will send the case to the public prosecutor. For less serious offences the public prosecutor will bring the case to court for trial. If the offence is a serious one the public prosecutor will forward the case to an investigative judge to conduct a formal investigation. At the end of the formal investigation the case will be sent to the public prosecutor again to bring the case to court for trial.
During the trial the court will examine the collected evidence in a court hearing and will decide on the guilt of the offender. If the offender is found guilty, the court will impose a penalty.
The following factsheets will take you through the different steps of the procedure, describing your rights during the investigation of the crime, during the trial or after the first trial. Also, read more about the help and support you can get.