Family Law in Slovenia

Updated on Wednesday 18th January 2023

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Family Law in Slovenia represents a part of the national Slovenian law that relates to the legal duties and responsibilities of individuals who are in a domestic relation. It includes the regulations regarding marriage, divorce, child custody, adoption, domestic violence and others aspects deriving from the mentioned ones. Family Law in Slovenia is an important part of the legal system, indicating the care and concern that the Slovenian government offers to this basic cell of the society-the family.

Our team of Slovenian lawyers can provide an extensive presentation on the main types of provisions that are included in this legislation and can also offer legal representation to those who are interested in any of the branches of the legislation regulating family relations in this country.

What is the latest revised version of the Slovenian Family Law?

As presented above, the Slovenian Family Law suffered a set of modification throughout the last decades. The latest revisited version of the legislation took place in April 2019, as a consequence of the modified provisions that were adopted two years ago. Under the new regulations of the law, partnerships and family relations are regulated under a more comprehensive manner; our team of Slovenian lawyers can present the latest version of the law, which enables the following:

• the protection of children’s interests are now under the jurisdiction of the Slovenian district courts;
• the district courts are the ones that can decide on whether a child should be taken away from his or her parents;
• previously, this right was granted to social work centers;
• the district courts can decide if a child should be placed in foster care;
• the purpose of the new regulations is to protect the children and to respect parental rights, based on the specific situation of a case;
• the legislation introduced new measures concerning the adoption of children;
• the law also aims at improving the procedures related to couples mediation;
• it also provides the legal grounds through which shared custody can be granted in case of divorce.

As we presented above, the legislation also aims at regulating civil partnerships, which can now take place at the Registry Office without having witnesses. It is necessary to know that the new legislation also provides a legal framework for couples wishing to renew their wedding vows.

Under the new provisions of the law, the concept of family revolves around the child/children, in the sense that the idea of family is defined as the child’s community. This is applicable regardless of the age of the child and it is defined by a classic family, formed by two persons, or by a single person taking care of a child; our team of lawyers in Slovenia can provide further details on other new provisions.

It is also worth knowing that the new regulations provided by the Family Law provide a new legal framework in relation with the matrimonial property. In this sense, the law stipulates that married persons can enter a matrimonial property agreement, in which they are basically free to determine the property regime; we strongly advise those who want to draft and sign this type of agreement to request legal advice on this matter from our Slovenian law firm.

What are the statistics on marriages in Slovenia?

Since the marriage is at the core of the family legislation in Slovenia, we’ll present below the latest information on the matter. The data is collected by the Slovenian Statistics Office, the country’s main statistics institution. It is necessary to know that foreigners can also get married here and for information on the documents they should submit, we invite them to address to our team of Slovenian lawyers. With regards to the Slovenian marriages, the following apply:

• in 2018, at a national level, there were 7,256 marriages, an increase of 12% compared to 2017;
• most of the marriages registered here took place on Sundays, accounting for 66.8% of all the marriages registered in 2018;
• the highest number of marriages, of 276, was registered on 18 August 2018;
• on a monthly basis, the highest number of marriages were concluded in June 2018 (accounting for more than 1,100 marriages);
• the average age at which a Slovenian man gets married is of 36.6 years;
• the average age for a woman getting married here is of 33.9 years;
• 81.7% of all the marriages registered in 2018 were concluded by Slovenian citizens.

As we presented earlier, foreigners are also welcome to get married here. In this sense, the data provided by the Slovenian Statistics Office show that in 2018, 596 men with Slovene citizenship married brides with a foreign citizenship (accounting for 8.2% of all the marriages registered in that year), while 563 Slovenian women married grooms from other countries (accounting for 7.8% of all the marriages).

Our law firm in Slovenia can assist foreigners with advice on the formalities of getting married here; this can also apply in the case of those wishing to get married in this country and who have foreign nationalities. In this sense, at the level of 2018, there were 168 marriages concluded by couples formed by persons who both had foreign citizenship.

If you are a foreigner and you want to relocate here for the purpose of getting married with your Slovenian partner, you will need to complete certain procedures on immigration to Slovenia.

Our lawyers can advise on the main rules you must follow, as well as on the rights, benefits and obligations you can have after you will be relocated here as the spouse of Slovenian national.

You should know that you are entitled to apply for Slovenian citizenship if you have been married to your Slovenian partner for minimum 3 years. If not, you need to wait until the marriage reaches its 3rd anniversary.

Also, you must provide evidence of living in Slovenia for minimum 1 year (on a continuous basis) at the moment when you initiate the application for citizenship.

Family legislation in Slovenia – a short history

In Slovenia, the family regulations are established by the Ministry of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. The fundamental legal source regarding family law in Slovenia is the Law on Marriage and Family Relations, that was adopted back in 1976. Although Slovenia became an independent state in 1991, this act, that was passed when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia, is still in force nowadays.

The Law on Marriage and Family Relations has been renewed several times; the latest changes were made in 2004 with alterations in the field of custody and raising children. This law is divided in seven parts, starting with the introductory provisions: “This law shall regulate marriage, relations between parents and children and among other relatives, adoption, fostering and the protection of the rights and benefits of young children and other persons who are not capable of taking care of themselves.”

The rest of the law’s content refers to marriage in Slovenia, relations between parents and children, adoption or fostering, guardianship and it concludes with the transitional and final provisions. Another important act when it comes to family law in Slovenia is the Constitution of Republic of Slovenia adopted in 1991. Chapter II of the Constitution, “Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom,” states the family relations principles, underlining the protection that the state provides both to the children and the parents.

In January 2007, the authorities that administer the Slovenian family law adopted the Parental Protection and Family Benefits Act that regulates the rights deriving from parental protection, insurance and the benefits that families are provided by the state. The Family Violence Prevention Act is also part of the Slovenian law regarding family; in 2009 Slovenia has adopted a resolution on the 2009-2014 national program on the prevention of family violence; our law firm in Slovenia can offer more information on these regulations.

Slovenian legislation has also implemented the EU Mediation Directive, one of its chapters describing the specific rules on mediation procedures in family issues. For more information about the family law in Slovenia or if you need assistance in any kind of legal issues, please contact our law firm in Slovenia.