Judiciary of Slovenia

Judges enjoy a permanent mandate and are appointed by the National Assembly (Slovene: Državni zbor) after they have been nominated by the Judicial Council (Sodni svet), which itself is not part of the judicial branch of the government.

Judges are usually not chosen from practicing lawyers but rather they follow a training at a court as one of the judicial officials.

The judicial system comprises several types of courts and is hierarchically divided in three instances.

On the second instance, there are four appellate courts (Višja sodišča) located in Celje, Koper, Ljubljana and Maribor and a specialised appellate court for labour and social security located in Ljubljana.

The Constitutional Court of Slovenia (Ustavno sodišče Republike Slovenije)is separated from the regular judiciary system, but is nevertheless the highest court in matters of constitutionality and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.