The Directive 2010/64/EU on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings lays down common minimum rules to be applied in the fields of interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings with a view to enhancing mutual trust among EU Member States. The aim of the Directive is, in particular, to ensure that suspected or accused persons who do not speak or understand the language of the criminal proceedings receive free and adequate linguistic assistance, since it is absolutely necessary to allow them fully to exercise their right of defence and to safeguard the fairness of the proceedings. The right to use one's language had already been guaranteed in the Slovenian legal order before the implementation of the Directive, however, the provisions were not defined as precisely as stipulated in the Directive. With the implementation of the Directive, or more specifically, with the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act (ZKP-M), it is explicitly stipulated that translation and interpretation in criminal proceedings must be performed by court interpreters and the right to use one's language has become part of the right of the persons deprived of their liberty to be informed about their rights. In addition to the right to use their language, suspected or accused persons also have the right to translation of essential documents. Upon a request of the accused person deprived of his/her liberty or his/her lawyer, an interpreter must be provided for the confidential communication between the accused person and his/her lawyer. If the interpretation or translation is not adequate or if it is not provided because the competent authorities find that it is not needed, the suspected or accused person may challenge this finding, and in some cases his/her right is also protected by the possibility of lodging an appeal against the judgment.
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