A C T AMENDING THE CIVIL PROCEDURE ACT (ZPP-C)
Article 1
In the Civil Procedure Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia No. 36/04 – officially consolidated text), a new article 16.a shall be added after Article 16 which shall read as follows:
»Article 16.a
Where a written form is required in the present Act, electronic form shall be considered to be equal to the written form provided the information in electronic form is suitable for processing by courts, available and appropriate for later use.
The information in electronic form shall not be denied their evidentiary value simply because it is provided in electronic form.«
Article 2
A new second sentence shall be added after the first sentence of the first paragraph of Article 23 which shall read as follows: »For files in electronic form, this shall be done by electronic means.«
Article 3
The first paragraph of Article 105 shall be amended to read as follows:
»A motion pursuant to provisions of the present Act shall mean an action, a defence plea, a legal instrument, and other statements, motions and notices which shall be made out of hearing.«
In the second paragraph, the comma after the word »dispute« shall be deleted, the word »and« added, and the wording »and the signature of the person who has made the pleading« deleted. The third sentence shall be deleted.
A new third paragraph shall be added which shall read as follows:
»Unless this is impossible due to the form of the motion, the motion shall be signed by the party making the motion. The original signature of the party making the motion shall be his/her personal signature as well as a signature by a secure electronic signature certified by a qualified certificate. If the person making the motion cannot write or cannot sign in person, a print of his/her index finger shall be placed on the motion instead of the signature. If the court has any doubts about the authenticity of any such motion, it shall order the motion to be made with a certified signature. No special appeal shall be allowed against such order.«
The current third paragraph shall become the fourth paragraph.
Article 4
Two new sentences shall be added at the end of the first paragraph of Article 105.a which shall read as follows: »Evidence of payment of the court fees due need not be submitted provided the court fees have been paid by electronic means, or other valid payment instruments. In any such case, the payment of the court fees shall be verified by an official of the competent court, or the information system automatically.
In the second paragraph, the wording »or if the official of the competent court finds that the court fees have not been paid« shall be added after the word »fees«, and a comma and the wording »or if the official of the competent court finds that the court fees have not been paid«, and a comma after the word »submitted«.
Article 5
A new Article 105.b shall be added after Article 105.a which shall read as follows:
»Article 105.b
Motions shall be submitted in writing. A motion in writing shall be a motion which has been written, or printed, and signed in person (motion in physical form), or a motion submitted in electronic form and signed by a secure electronic signature certified by a qualified certificate. A motion in writing shall be submitted by mail, by electronic means, by use of means of communication technology, delivered directly to the authority, or by a person, who is engaged in serving motions as his/her activity (business supplier). A motion in electronic form shall be submitted by electronic means to the information system. Receipt of the motion shall be confirmed automatically by the information system.
A motion can also be made on a prescribed, or otherwise prepared, form. Irrespective of any provisions of other regulations, forms in electronic form shall have the same contents as the forms prescribed in physical form only.
A uniform information system shall be set up for courts by the competent authority.
The Minister of Justice shall prescribe the conditions and the manner for submission of motions in electronic form, or by electronic means, the form of the motion in electronic form, and the organization and performance of the information system.
Irrespective of provisions of the first and second paragraphs of the present Article, the Minister of Justice shall specify the motions that can also be made by phone, or by electronic means without a secure electronic signature certified by a qualified certificate, and the means of identification of the parties in any such case.
The certifying bodies issuing qualified certificates related to officially awarded identification marks may ask the national body awarding such marks to verify the correctness of any such mark by providing information on the holder of the certificate, or any third party, or the identification mark, that the information in the certificate relates to, and to give them a reply confirming that the submitted information corresponds to the information in the official files.«
Article 6
A new second paragraph shall be added in Article 106 which shall read as follows:
»Motions and attachments submitted by electronic means which are to be sent to the opposing party shall be sent in a single copy. The court shall make as many electronic copies, or photocopies, as are required for the opposing party.«
The current second paragraph shall become the third paragraph.
Article 7
The first paragraph of Article 107 shall be amended to read as follows:
»Any documents attached to the motion may be submitted either in original, or as a transcript. Pursuant to provisions of the law governing the security of documentary materials, a transcript of a document shall be: a microfilm, or electronic (scanned), copy made and stored, any reproduction, or a certified transcript, thereof but also an ordinary transcript, or a microfilm, or electronic (scanned) copy, photocopy, or any reproduction thereof.«
A new sentence shall be added at the end of the third paragraph which shall read as follows: »The court shall have the right to require the person making a motion to submit the motion in original ex officio as well.«
Article 8
A new sentence shall be added at the end of the first paragraph of Article 108 which shall read as follows: »If a motion submitted by electronic means is not suitable for processing by the court, the court shall in its request inform the party making the motion of the prescribed form of a motion in electronic form.«
Article 9
A new third paragraph shall be added in Article 112 which shall read as follows:
»If a motion is submitted by electronic means, the time when it has been received by the information system shall be regarded as the time of submission of the motion to the court that the motion is addressed to.«
The current third paragraph shall become the fourth paragraph.
In the fourth paragraph which shall become the fifth paragraph, the word »third« shall be replaced by the word »fourth«.
The current fifth and sixth paragraphs shall become the sixth and seventh paragraphs.
In the seventh paragraph which shall become the eighth paragraph, the word »sixth« shall be replaced by the word »seventh«.
Article 10
A new Article 125.a shall be added after Article 125 which shall read as follows:
»Article 125.a
The presiding judge shall have the right to order audio or visual recording of the hearing. The parties and other participants in the hearing shall be informed of any such order.
The recording shall include the following information: the address and composition of the court, the place, date and time of the hearing, the matter in dispute, and the names of the parties and other persons, or their legal representatives, or counsels, present at the hearing. In addition, it shall comprise information for identification of the person whose statement is being recorded, and in which capacity the statement is being given. If statements of several persons are recorded, the recording shall clearly indicate the person who has given the statement.
The records of the hearing shall comprise the information that the hearing has been recorded by audio or visual means and on the person who has ordered the recording, that the parties and other participants in the hearing have been informed of the recording, that the recording has been reproduced at the request of a the party, and the place where the recording is stored if it isn’t attached to the records. The records of the hearing shall be made in electronic form.
A transcript of the audio recording shall be made at three days from the recording having been made. The presiding judge shall verify and confirm the transcript and attach it to the records of the hearing. The parties shall have the right to take insight into the transcript at three days after it has been made and to complain about any incorrectness of the transcript. The presiding judge shall decide about the complaint without conducting a hearing.
Audio and visual recordings shall be kept by the court as long as the file itself is kept. The existence and contents of the records shall automatically be filed in the information system.«
Article 11
The wording of Article 126 shall be amended to read as follows:
»The records shall be signed by the presiding judge and the person making the records. The signatures shall not be required provided the information on the time and place of the records is in electronic form and provided the information on the person who has made up the records and the judge keeping the records by appropriate technical means is automatically filed in the information system.«
Article 12
A new sentence shall be added at the end of the first paragraph of Article 127 which shall read as follows: »In any file kept in electronic form, a memo of consultation and voting shall be made in electronic form in a separate file which shall be inseparably attached to the decision.«
The fourth paragraph shall be amended to read as follows:
»The records, or memo, of voting issued in physical form shall be signed by all members of the penal and by the person making the records. »The records, or memo, of voting issued in electronic form shall be signed by all members of the penal and by the person making the records by their secure electronic signatures and a secure electronic signature of the court certified by a qualified certificate. If the secure electronic signature of a member of the panel, or of the person making the records, is certified by a qualified certificate comprising an identification of the court, a secure electronic signature of the court shall not be required.«
The fifth paragraph shall be amended to read as follows:
»The records, or memo, of consultation and voting issued in physical form shall be closed under a separate cover. »Any record, or memo, of voting issued in electronic form shall be kept in the information system in a separate file, so that it shall be accessible in connection with the case in question. Any such records can only be inspected by a superior court deciding about the legal remedy; in any such case, the superior court shall again close the records under a separate cover, or in a separate folder, and shall make a notice on the cover, or folder, that it has inspected the records.«
A new sixth paragraph shall be added which shall read as follows:
»The Minister of Justice shall lay down the manner of storage and traceability of the records, or memo, of the voting issued in electronic form.«
Article 13
In the first paragraph of Article 132, the wording »by secure electronic means" shall be added after the word »by postal channels«.
In the second paragraph, the wording »documents in physical form, or by secure electronic means« shall be added after the word »service« and the wording »on the basis of a special permit issued by the Minister of Justice« deleted.
New fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh paragraphs shall be added which shall read as follows:
»A party may inform the court that it wants the documents to be served by electronic means into a secure post box, the address of which the party shall indicate in the motion. The aforesaid address of a secure post box shall be considered to be equal to the address of the party's residence, or registered office. »If a party submits a document by secure electronic means, it shall be considered that the party wants documents to be served by secure electronic means until the party informs the court to the contrary.
If that the court has found service of process into a secure post box to be impossible, the document shall be served in physical form, and the reasons for such service given.
The Minister of Justice shall prescribe which means are secure electronic means and which motions shall be sent and served by secure electronic means.
Irrespective of provisions of the fourth paragraph hereof, service to state authorities, lawyers, notaries, executors, court experts, court assessors, court interpreters, official receivers, and other persons, or bodies, for which a higher reliability can be assumed due to the nature of their work, service of process shall always be effected by electronic means into a secure post box.
The list of the persons and bodies from the preceding paragraph shall be set up by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia and published on its webside. The persons and bodies specified in the aforesaid list shall open a secure post box and shall inform the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia of the address of the secure post box, and any change thereof. The official address of a secure post box specified in the preceding paragraph shall be the address published in the aforesaid list.«
The current fourth paragraph which shall become the ninth paragraph shall be amended to read as follows:
»The Minister of Justice shall set up the rules for the services of legal entities and natural persons engaged in service in civil procedure.«
Article 14
In the first paragraph of Article 139, the point at the end of the sentence shall be replaced by a comma and the wording »by electronic means 24 hours a day« added.
The second paragraph shall be amended to read as follows:
»Service of process shall be effected at the place of residence, or the place of work of the person to whom the process is to be served, in court, if the addressee is in court, or, as laid down in the fourth and seventh paragraphs of Article 132, to the appropriate e-mail address.«
Article 15
A new Article 141.a shall be added after Article 141 which shall read as follows:
»Article 141.a
Documents in electronic form can be served in physical form, or by secure electronic means.
Certified documents in physical form shall be served in conformity with provisions of the present Act governing service of process in physical form.
Documents shall be served by secure electronic means via the information system and by agency of an organization specialized in service of process by electronic means.
The process shall automatically be served to the addressee's secure post box by the information system and taken receipt of by the addressee at 15 days in order to avoid the consequences laid down in the seventh paragraph of this Article.
At the same time as being served the process from the preceding paragraph, the addressee who has informed the court of its e-mail address shall automatically be sent a message by the information system informing the addressee of a document in the information system which the addressee shall take receipt of at 15 days from the day it was served into the addressee's secure post box. The message shall explicitly inform the addressee of the legal consequences laid down in the seventh paragraph hereof.
The addressee shall take receipt of the process from the information system specified in the first paragraph hereof by proving his/her/their identity by using a qualified certificate for a secure electronic signature, taking insight into the secure post box and signing the service form with his/her/their electronic signature.
The service specified in the third paragraph hereof shall be considered to have been effected on the day the addressee takes receipt of the process. If the document has not been taken receipt of at 15 days, the service shall be regarded to have been effected on the day it was automatically delivered into the addressee's secure post box by the information system. After expiry of the 15-day term, the document shall automatically be deleted and an e-mail message that the document has been deleted from the information system and that the addressee can take receipt of it at the court having ordered the service sent to the addressee and the court.
The court having ordered the service shall be informed of the service process by a service form in electronic form.
Service by secure electronic means may also be used for the documents, the originals of which are in physical form, provided the electronic (scanned) transcript made on the basis of the original in physical form is signed by the court's secure electronic signature certified by a qualified certificate.«
Article 16
In the first paragraph of Article 142, the point at the end of the sentence shall be replaced by a comma and the wording »with service in conformity with provisions of Article 141.a hereof also being regarded as service in person« added.