Slovakia: Justitia 4.0 – the pros and cons of digital court proceedings and notarial records in Slovakia

So-called dunning proceedings, in the context of which the court issues a payment order (dunning notice) in accelerated proceedings, are handled in electronic form if the court considers the claim asserted by the plaintiff to be justified on the basis of the submitted application and the attached evidence (without taking evidence in a court hearing). Execution proceedings are also carried out exclusively electronically. Other court proceedings and notarial hearings generally require the presence of participants, but digital tools are also used in some cases in these proceedings (electronic delivery of documents with electronic signature, electronic conversion of pleadings, electronic digital recording of hearings, creation of electronic court files). Entries in the commercial register are also made electronically.

Correspondence between courts and parties to the proceedings shall be done exclusively electronically if all parties have the required electronic reception media and a guaranteed electronic signature. The video hearings of witnesses are carried out as an exception, in particular in criminal proceedings. In practice, we are already working with the above-mentioned electronic tools, which are used in the Slovakian judicial system.

Autor: Monika Wetzlerová-Deisler