Legislative Framework of the Crime of Torture in the Regulation and Jurisdiction of Slovenia

Abstract

The article aims to explore the Slovenian regime on the crime of torture by presenting the genesis of the Slovenian incrimination of torture and its adequacy in the light of international law. The overview of the Slovenian legislative framework and case law involving the crime of torture begins with a presentation of the relevant international and national legal acts. This is followed by an analysis of the content of the relevant provisions in the Slovenian Constitution and in the Criminal Code, which is examined considering the international legal sources that bind Slovenia. By closely examining the genesis and the content of incrimination of torture, as it is known in the Slovenian Criminal Code, the article presents to foreign readers and the international professional audience the specific features of Slovenian incrimination of torture and its deviations from the international legal framework. In the following, the sanction system and the actors in the process of enforcement of particular norms aiming at the crime of torture are presented. The article concludes with an analysis of the case law on torture. Slovenian courts have not yet encountered the crime of torture. Therefore, the focus is on Slovenia’s convictions before the European Court of Human Rights for violation of Art. 3 of the Convention on Human Rights.