U.S. citizens in Slovenia must follow all Slovenian laws.  See our Slovenia travel information.  Anyone who breaks the law in Slovenia is subject to prosecution under the Slovene legal system.  If a person is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment by a Slovene court, this sentence will be served in a Slovene prison.

The Embassy’s Role 

Under Article 36(1)(b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the Republic of Slovenia must, at the request of any detained American, notify the U.S. Embassy immediately after an arrest takes place.  For information on what consular officers can and cannot do for an arrested citizen, please see the U.S. Department of State’s page on Arrest or Detention of a U.S. Citizen Abroad.  If you become aware of an American citizen who is arrested in Slovenia, please contact the U.S. Embassy – See the box to the right.

Hiring an Attorney

If the case involves anything more serious than a minor traffic violation, we recommend retaining a Slovene attorney.  Slovene court procedures are quite different from those in the United States, especially in that a larger part of the proceedings are conducted through written briefs and motions, as opposed to the oral arguments common in the United States.  As in the U.S., the attorney is obliged to honor the attorney-client privilege.  The attorney may not reveal any confidential information, and the court in turn may not question the attorney.  Note: If you hire an attorney, you will be responsible for paying the attorney’s fees and expenses – the U.S. Government does not cover those costs.  The U.S. Embassy maintains a list of English-speaking attorneys in Slovenia.