Independent legal practice was established pursuant to Act of the Slovak National Council No. 132/1990 Coll. on the Legal Profession, effective from 1 July 1990. The Slovak Bar Association is an independent, self-governing professional organisation representing more than 5,600 lawyers and 1,300 trainee lawyers. The legal profession helps uphold citizens’ constitutional right to defence and protects the other rights and interests of individuals and legal entities in accordance with the Constitution of the Slovak Republic and applicable laws. Lawyers fulfil these responsibilities primarily by defending individuals in criminal proceedings, representing individuals and legal entities before courts, public authorities and other legal bodies, drafting legal documents, providing legal advice and preparing legal analyses.
A lawyer is a person who meets all the requirements laid down in the Act on the Legal Profession, namely Act No. 586/2003 Coll. of 4 December 2003 on the Legal Profession and on Amendments to Act No. 455/1991 Coll. on Trade Licensing, as amended, and who is entered in the register of lawyers maintained by the Slovak Bar Association. The register allows lawyers to be listed not only alphabetically, but also by registered office, area of specialisation and language proficiency.
A lawyer is authorised to provide legal services throughout the territory of the Slovak Republic. The practice of the legal profession is governed by the Act on the Legal Profession, the Rules of Professional Conduct and other professional regulations.
The governing bodies of the legal profession are the Conference of Lawyers, the Presidium, the Audit Committee, the Disciplinary Committee and the Appellate Disciplinary Committee. The Presidium consists of nine members and three substitute members. The Audit Committee consists of nine members and three substitute members. The Disciplinary Committee consists of 31 members and five substitute members. The Appellate Disciplinary Committee consists of ten members and three substitute members.
The Slovak Bar Association has exclusive disciplinary authority and, through this authority, supervises the practice of the legal profession. Complaints are investigated by the Audit Committee of the Slovak Bar Association. If the Audit Committee concludes that a disciplinary offence may have been committed, it submits a motion to initiate disciplinary proceedings. The motion is decided by a disciplinary panel. An appeal may be lodged against the decision of the disciplinary panel, and the appeal is decided by an appellate disciplinary panel.
The Slovak Bar Association is headquartered at:
Kolárska 4
813 42 Bratislava
Slovak Republic
Tel.: +421 2 204 227 42
Email: office@sak.sk