Slovenia creates specialised prosecution and court for top-level corruption cases

Slovenia has created a specialised prosecution service and a specialised criminal court to investigate, prosecute and try the country’s most demanding corruption, organised crime and terrorism cases. The Act on Specialised Bodies for Dealing with Corruption Offences and Organised Crime (ZSOKOK) was published in Uradni list Republike Slovenije no. 1568/2026 of 2 October 2026 and promulgated the same day by decree no. 003-02-1/2026-196 issued by President Nataša Pirc Musar. It applies from 1 July 2027.

The law was adopted by the Državni zbor under decision no. 214-02/26-21/36 of 24 September 2026, signed by its president Zoran Stevanović, with the file references EVA 2026-2030-0043 and EPA 188-X. It amends five statutes: the Police Organisation and Work Act, the State Prosecution Act, the Courts Act, the Judges Act and the Act on the Protection of the Right to Trial without Unnecessary Delay. The act enters into force on the fifteenth day after publication, but is applied from 1 July 2027; until then the existing rules continue to apply.

A new prosecution service, StKOK

The Specializirano državno tožilstvo Republike Slovenije continues its work as the Specializirano tožilstvo za pregon korupcije in organiziranega kriminala (StKOK), taking over its funds, premises, equipment and documentary and archival material, while its prosecutors keep the cases assigned to them. The head of StKOK must have at least three years of experience in the service’s field of work, and the Državnotožilski svet decides on transfers and assignments on the proposal of the head after an opinion from the general state prosecutor. The number set in Article 193(2) of the State Prosecution Act rises from ten to 25, and an internal organisational unit for analytical support to StKOK prosecutors is established.

The service’s catalogue of offences covers:

• Electoral offences under Articles 151 and 157 of the Criminal Code, and bribery and trading in influence under Articles 261 to 264.
• Economic crimes from Chapter 24, including unlawful restriction of competition (225), unlawful acceptance and giving of gifts (241, 242) and money laundering (245), plus other offences punishable by eight years or more, except business fraud under Article 228(2).
• Damage to public funds under Article 257a(2).
• Terrorism offences under Articles 108 to 111, enslavement under Article 112 and human trafficking under Article 113.
• Other intentional offences punishable by ten years or more when committed in a criminal organisation, except Article 308.

Cases in which the perpetrator is an official are handled as a priority.

A specialised criminal court in Ljubljana

The Specializirano kazensko sodišče Republike Slovenije begins judicial work on 1 July 2027, with nationwide territorial jurisdiction and the status of a district court, seated in Ljubljana. It takes over the cases, documentation and assets of the specialised departments at district courts sitting where higher courts are based, which cease to operate; the judges handling those cases continue their work. Appeals against its first-instance decisions go exclusively to the Višje sodišče v Mariboru, which also decides deadline motions in its cases. The court may have two vice-presidents, and its president and judges are paid at the salary grades of the vice-president and judges of the Vrhovno sodišče.

Investigators, deadlines and the transition

The Nacionalni preiskovalni urad must always open or take over investigations in the catalogue of offences within StKOK’s remit, and state bodies and public legal entities in corruption prevention, money laundering, tax, financial operations, securities, competition, drugs and inspection must inform StKOK immediately and cooperate with it. Until the Criminal Procedure Act is aligned, proceedings follow the rules for cases under Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 on the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The transition timetable is fixed by the act:

• The Ministrstvo za pravosodje advertises the post of head of StKOK within one month of the start of application; the current head of the specialised prosecution acts in the interim.
• The Sodni svet advertises the post of president of the specialised court within 15 days of entry into force; the head of the specialised department of Okrožno sodišče v Ljubljani serves as temporary president.
• The president of the Vrhovno sodišče sets the number of judicial posts within 30 days, the court’s internal organisation act is adopted within three months, and vacancies are advertised within 30 days after that.
• The annual schedule for 1 July to 31 December 2027 is published by 20 May 2027, and time standards for 2027 are set by 15 June 2027.
• The minister of justice aligns the decree on the number of state prosecutor posts by 15 May 2027.

The act concentrates the most sensitive corruption and organised crime cases in a single prosecution service and a single first-instance court, with higher pay and a dedicated appeal court, reshaping how Slovenia’s judiciary and police handle high-level cases from mid-2027.

Source: Uradni list Republike Slovenije, no. 1568/2026, 2 October 2026, section I (official reference: 2026-01-2228).