For all legal actions brought, judgments given and acts issued until 28 January 2019 and in accordance with the general rules of jurisdiction, Slovenian courts have international jurisdiction for disputes over matrimonial property if the defendant has his/her permanent residence in the Republic of Slovenia. If the defendant has no permanent residence in any other country, the jurisdiction can also be based on his/her temporary residence in Slovenia (Art. 48 of the Private International Law and Procedure Act). If disputes over matrimonial property concern property which is located in the Republic of Slovenia, a Slovenian court has jurisdiction even if the defendant does not have a residence in the Republic of Slovenia. If the majority of the property is located in the Republic of Slovenia and the rest is located abroad, the court can decide on the property that is located abroad only when it decides on the property located in the Republic of Slovenia and only when the defendant agrees to this (Art. 67 of the Private International Law and Procedure Act).

For all legal actions brought, judgments given and acts issued on or after 29 January 2019, regardless of the date of marriage, Council Regulation (EU) No 2016/1103 of 24 June 2016 will apply.

This Regulation provides that the competent authorities will be as follows:

- For matters relating to the matrimonial regime in the event of the death of one of the spouses, jurisdiction lies with the court competent for the succession (Art. 4).

- In matters relating to the matrimonial property regime in the event of an application for divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment, jurisdiction generally falls to the court competent to rule on the matrimonial dispute.

- In other cases, the spouses may agree that jurisdiction shall lie with the Member State whose law is applicable or with the Member State where the marriage is concluded. Such an agreement must be in writing, dated and signed by the parties. In the absence of an agreement, the courts of the Member State shall, as a general rule, have jurisdiction to settle any question relating to their matrimonial property regime other than in the event of the death of one of the spouses or a matrimonial dispute:

• of the spouses’ common habitual residence at the time the court is seised; or failing that
• of the spouses’ last habitual residence, insofar as one of them still resides there; or failing that
• of the habitual residence of the respondent; or failing that
• of the spouses’ common nationality.

With the exception of any litigation, notaries are not bound by these rules of jurisdiction and may therefore act freely, for example in drafting a marriage contract or a choice of law agreement. The possibility to conclude a marriage contract in Slovenia will be available as from 15 April 2019 and it will require the form of a notarial act.

Print this topic

back to top