When you are detained on remand, you have the right to regular review of the need to continue the detention.
Who?
When the reason for detention on remand ceases to exist, or the maximum period of detention expires, the accused must be released immediately. In Slovakia, the police officer, the prosecutor, the pre-trial judge and the court are obliged to examine in each period of criminal prosecution whether the reasons for detention on remand persist or whether they have changed.
Moreover, you or your lawyer can ask the pre-trial judge, or the president of court's senate if the trial has started, to re-evaluate whether it is still necessary to continue your detention.
In the pre-trial proceedings, the prosecutor may comply with the request. If the prosecutor does not comply, the request and the prosecutor's opinion is submitted to the pre-trial judge. He must decide on request without delay. In the court proceedings, the president of the court's senate decides.
Participation
Human rights standards require that an accused person is given the opportunity to be heard in person by a judge who decides on his detention on remand. However, not every decision in absentia constitutes a violation of fundamental rights. The law does not specify when a person's hearing is necessary and when it is not. A judge should diligently consider your request to be able to explain personally important circumstances of your case in relation to grounds for detention on remand.
Reasoned decision
The pre-trial judge or the president of court's senate has to examine all the facts for and against your continued detention on remand. The judge must issue a well-reasoned decision, especially if he or she has decided to continue to keep you on remand. This means that the decision must very clearly explain the grounds on which you will be kept detained and why that is still necessary at this stage of the proceedings. The reasons cannot be superficial, generic or repeat the same reasoning as in the previous detention reviews.
The longer you have been detained, the more thorough and well-founded the reasons for prolonging your detention should be.
If you do not understand Slovak, the court must provide you with a translation of the decision in a language that you understand.
Timely decision
Human rights require that the lawfulness of your detention must be decided speedily. It means that the pre-trial judge or the court's senate has to consider your application carefully and without unjustified delay.
Appeals
Slovak law foresees a possibility of appealing the decision on detention within 3 day.
Moreover, you may ask for a repeated review of the lawfulness of your detention at any time. In case your request for review is rejected, the accused may, unless he gives other reasons, repeat it only thirty days after the previous decision.
What human rights violation may there be?
If the review process was not made available to you or did not correspond to the given requirements, it may result in a violation of the right to liberty and security of a person.