Slovenia raises prison term for offence under Article 173.a of Criminal Code

Slovenia has raised the prison sentence for the criminal offence defined in Article 173.a of the Kazenski zakonik, replacing a term of up to one year with a term of one to three years. The change is made by the Zakon o spremembi Kazenskega zakonika (KZ-1K), published in the Uradni list Republike Slovenije no. 1564/2026 of 2 October 2026, and it enters into force on the fifteenth day after publication.

The amendment was adopted by the Državni zbor Republike Slovenije under parliamentary file EPA 10-X and impact-assessment code EVA 2026-1211-0010, and signed in Ljubljana on 24 September 2026 under reference 713-01/26-4/21. It was promulgated by the President of the Republic, Nataša Pirc Musar, through decree no. 003-02-1/2026-197 of 2 October 2026, and appears in the gazette over the signature of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Zoran Stevanović.

The act is a single-article amendment to the Kazenski zakonik (KZ-1), whose consolidated text is cited in the enactment as Uradni list RS no. 50/12 – official consolidated text, together with the later amendments 54/15, 6/16 – corr., 38/16, 27/17, 23/20, 91/20, 95/21, 186/21, 105/22 – ZZNŠPP, 16/23 and 107/24 – Constitutional Court decision.

What the amendment changes

Article 1 of the new law amends the first paragraph of Article 173.a of the Kazenski zakonik. The wording “up to one year” is deleted and replaced by “from one to three years”.

The effect is to convert a maximum-only penalty into a fixed range: courts will have to impose a custodial sentence of at least one year, with a ceiling of three years, for the offence covered by that provision. The act consists of two articles only — the operative amendment and the final provision on entry into force.

Procedure, promulgation and publication

• Adopted by the Državni zbor Republike Slovenije; parliamentary file EPA 10-X.
• Impact-assessment code EVA 2026-1211-0010; act reference 713-01/26-4/21.
• Promulgation decree 003-02-1/2026-197, issued by President Nataša Pirc Musar on 2 October 2026.
• Published in the Uradni list Republike Slovenije, edition 1564/2026 of 2 October 2026, document number 2026-01-2224.
• Publisher: Služba Vlade Republike Slovenije za zakonodajo, Mestni trg 4, Ljubljana; ISSN 1580-3074, volume XXXVI; electronic edition, free of charge, financed by the Republic of Slovenia.

Entry into force and impact

Article 2, the final provision, states that the law enters into force on the fifteenth day after publication in the Uradni list Republike Slovenije, which falls on 17 October 2026. Until that date the previous wording of Article 173.a continues to apply.

The same edition of the gazette also carried the Zakon o specializiranih organih za obravnavo korupcijskih kaznivih dejanj in organiziranega kriminala (ZSOKOK), promulgated the same day, which establishes the Specializirano kazensko sodišče Republike Slovenije and provides that it begins to exercise judicial functions on 1 July 2027.

For readers, the amendment raises the sentencing floor for the offence under Article 173.a from a maximum of one year to a minimum of one year, tightening criminal policy for that conduct from mid-October 2026.

Source: Uradni list Republike Slovenije, št. 1564/2026, 2 October 2026, section I (official reference: 2026-01-2224; EPA 10-X; EVA 2026-1211-0010).