If the prison staff, the Prison and Judicial Guard Corps or other authorities have violated your human rights, you may ask for the harm done to you to be remedied.
You can seek compensation if you have suffered damages as a result of mistreatment in the prison. Damages can result from a wide range of behavior. For example, the excessive use of force, physical and verbal abuse, poor conditions in a prison contrary to the law etc. Therefore, you can seek compensation for both – material losses and moral damages.
However, you will not be eligible for compensation of damage caused by a member of prison guards if the damage was caused as a result of your unlawful act or as a result of legitimate intervention of prison guards.
To obtain a remedy for a violation of your rights, you first need to:
- establish that there was a violation of your rights
- claim compensation
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If a violation of your rights amounts to a crime against you, you can ask for compensation during the criminal proceedings. An investigator of the Bureau of the Inspection Service of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic may open a criminal case against a member of prison guards on the basis of your complaint. In this situation you can seek compensation for damages as a victim in criminal proceedings.
If the compensation claim cannot or cannot fully redress your damages within criminal proceedings, you have the right to seek these damages by filing a civil claim as well. In some cases, you as a victim, also have the right to receive compensation from the State. Read more about rights of victim.
There may also be situations where the actions of prison guards are considered as unlawful by the Bureau of the Inspection Service but will not qualify as a criminal offence. If this is the case, a violation of your rights that caused you a harm must be compensated. In this case, you can seek compensation from the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic on behalf of the state. Unless the Ministry pay compensation, you can lodge a civil claim for damages. This claim must be submitted to the civil court (court of general jurisdiction).
Based on the general rules of civil law, you are able to get compensation also for damage caused by your inmates via civil claim.
When filing the claim, you should explain all the relevant facts, the rights which, in your opinion, have been violated and how. If you want to receive a certain amount of money, you must explain why you are asking for that specific amount of money.
The compensation claim can include both material damages (for example, a loss of profit because you could not work in prison) and moral compensation (for example, the humiliation you suffered from being detained).