In some situations you have to submit your complaint to special institutions created for dealing with a specific type of claim, such as the investigation of crimes or the assessment of the quality of medical care.
Generally, you have to submit your complaint to a specific body, when the prison administration would not be considered sufficiently qualified or independent to review your complaint, and when there are other institutions created for the examination of such types of claims.
The most common exceptions to the general procedure are:
If a fellow inmate has committed a crime against you, it will be examined by an investigator who is usually a member of the prison staff. This investigation will be carried out according to the Code of Criminal Procedure. If you believe that a crime has been committed against you, you should alert the prison staff or the head of the prison. They should pass that information on further to the official responsible or to the investigator.
You may file a special complaint with the Bureau of the Inspection Service of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, which inspects members of the armed corps, including members of the Prison Corps.
If you have doubts about the adequacy of the conduct of the prison guards or if you are of the opinion that the conduct was not in accordance with the law, you have the opportunity to file a complaint. You can file a complaint in accordance with the Act on the Complaints. The complaint must be sufficiently specific in the description of the facts and circumstances which you object to the investigation. It must also contain your name, surname, permanent residence address, it must be signed and it must be clear what you are looking for by that complaint.
The standard time limit for handling complaint is 60 days. The result of the examination of the complaint may be the basis for further effective application of the protection of your rights in accordance with the law.
If you have a reasonable suspicion that a member of the Prison Corps has committed a crime by conduct towards a sentenced person, you can also file a criminal complaint directly with the Bureau of the Inspection Service.
If another inmate commits a crime against you and you believe that the crime has not been investigated properly by the prison investigator – e.g. criminal proceedings have not been initiated, when they should have been, or the investigation is ineffective or inappropriate – you should complain about this to the prosecutor.
If you do not know which prosecutor to write to, you can simply address your complaint to the prosecution in general. Your complaint will be forwarded to the relevant official within the prosecution.
If you were seen by a doctor during serving the prison sentence or if you were treated in the Hospital for accused and convicted in Trenčín and you were not satisfied with the quality of the treatment received, you have the right to file a complaint with the Health Care Surveillance Authority.
The complaint must be submitted in writing and must be signed. It must also include the name and surname of the applicant, the name of the medical facility and a detailed description of the problem. The Health Authority shall notify the applicant in writing of the commencement of supervision. However, the deadline for its completion is not set by the law.
If you work for a prison you must have ensured safety and health protection at work. It means that all rules regulating safety and health protection at work apply to you. In case of any work accident a prison administration must investigate reasons and adopt measures to prevent any future work accidents. If you have doubts regarding measures to ensure your safety and health protection at work you may file a complaint to locally competent Labor Inspection Office.
If you do not know which Labor Inspection Office to write to, you can simply address your complaint to the National Labor Inspectorate in Košice. Your complaint will be forwarded to the relevant office.
If you receive bad quality food (for example, expired products or an inappropriately prepared meal etc.) or the portions are too small, you should first complain to the head of the prison. If you are not satisfied with the decision you should follow general complaints procedure. Read more about the general complaints procedure.