In the fast-paced life that many people live today, effective mobility is essential, making life without a driving license nearly unimaginable. Thus, the suspension of driving license represents a significant loss for many people. The following article outlines the procedure for the suspension and termination of driving license and legal options that are available to individuals in this process.

As previously mentioned, driving license is of great importance to many people and is therefore extensively regulated by various legal provisions – the Road Traffic Rules Act (ZPrCP), the Misdemeanors Act (ZP-1), the Drivers Act (ZVoz-1), the Execution of Criminal Sanctions Act (ZIKS-1), the Criminal Procedure Act (ZKP), the Criminal Code (KZ-1), and others. The ZKP and KZ-1 regulate the suspension of driving licenses as a security measure for offenders, which is not relevant to this article.

According to Article 22 of the ZPrCP, a police officer can prohibit a driver from continuing to drive and temporarily suspend their driving license:
– if a test shows that the driver has more alcohol in their system than permitted,
– if the driver’s physical or mental state reduces their ability to drive,
– if the driver does not use aids that are listed in their driving license,
– if the driver operates a vehicle contrary to the restrictions noted in their driving license,
– if the driver exceeds the allowed driving time or does not take the prescribed rest period,
– if the driving license is invalid,
– if the driver commits an offence that results in a number of penalty points leading to the termination or suspension of the driving license.

The latter case is the only one to be resolved through court proceedings and is regulated in more details in Articles 113.a and subsequent of the ZP-1, which regulate the procedure for the suspension of driving license, and Articles 202 and subsequent of the ZP-1, which regulate the procedure for the termination of a driving license. In the latter case both of these two procedures are conducted, which will be explained in detail below.

Paragraph 1 of Article 113.a of the ZP-1 states that the misdemeanors authority must, within five days of discovering the offence and the offender, propose to the court to suspend the offender’s driving license if there is a reasonable suspicion that the offender, who holds a valid driving license, has committed an offence against road safety, for which the ancillary sanction of penalty points is prescribed in number, for which the termination of the driving license is imposed by law. According to Article 22 of the ZP-1, this number is 18 penalty points, while Article 6 of the ZPrCP specifies that for novice drivers it is 7 penalty points – if the driver has reached or exceeded 18 (or 7 for novice drivers) penalty points within two years, the court will terminate the driving license for all categories for which the offender held a license unless otherwise specified by law.

18 penalty points, in addition to the fine, are imposed for the following offences:
– driving in the opposite direction on a motorway or expressway (Article 30 of the ZPrCP),
– driving in the opposite direction on a road with at least two traffic lanes (Article 38 of the ZPrCP),
– exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 km/h in a pedestrian zone, calm traffic area, or a shared traffic zone (Article 46 of the ZPrCP),
– exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 km/h in the speed limit zone (Article 46 of the ZPrCP),
– exceeding the speed limit by more than 50 km/h in a settlement (Article 46 of the ZPrCP),
– exceeding the speed limit by more than 50 km/h outside a settlement, except on a motorway or expressway with physically separated directions of travel with at least two traffic lanes and an emergency lane (Article 46 of the ZPrCP),
– driving under the influence of alcohol in the amount of 1.10 grams of alcohol per kilogram of blood or more than 0.52 milligrams of alcohol in a liter of exhaled air (Article 105 of the ZPrCP),
– driving under the influence of prohibited drugs, psychoactive drugs, or other psychoactive substances (Article 106 of the ZPrCP),
– acting contrary to a police officer’s order to test with means or devices for detecting alcohol or an order for a professional examination (Article 107 of the ZPrCP),
– escape of the participant from the scene of the traffic accident (Article 110 of the ZPrCP).

Further, Paragraph 2 of Article 113.a of the ZP-1 states that if an authorized official at the scene of the offence finds that the conditions reffered to in the first paragraph are met, they must immediately prohibit the offender from further driving and must take their driving license, issue a certificate to them and send the driving license to the court with a proposal for suspension. If the offender does not surrender the driving license, the authorized official at the scene must prohibit further driving on the spot and note the prohibition on the certificate, stating that the driving license has not been taken. This note is detrimental to the offender, so it is worth mentioning here that the driver’s license must always be carried with you and always handed over to an authorized official. If the offender does not have a physical driving license with them or evades its confiscation, they can be additionally fined – Article 252 of the ZIKS-1 prescribes a fine of 150,00 EUR to 500,00 EUR for evading the confiscation of a driving license. Paragraph 3 of Article 113.a states that if the offence is detected through technical means or otherwise due to which the offender was not aware and informed of the offence at the scene, the driving license is suspended with a suspension order issued by the court based on the proposal from the misdemeanors authority.

The court decides on the proposal from the misdemeanors authority under Paragraph 1 of Article 113.a of the ZP-1 with a ruling, which must be issued within eight days of receiving the case. The defendant has the right to appeal against the court’s ruling within three days. The court then decides on the appeal with a ruling issued within 30 days. Both the defendant and the misdemeanors authority have the right to appeal against this ruling within eight days of its delivery, with the Higher court deciding on the appeal with a ruling issued within 15 days.

Article 113.d of the ZP-1 states that the suspended driving license may be returned to the defendant at their request before the conclusion of the proceedings. The request must be submitted to the court that issued the ruling on the suspension of the driving license and must be accompanied by a medical certificate of a completed control health examination according to the ZVoz-1, otherwise, the request is rejected. The court will then decide on the request based on the medical certificate, the defendant’s personality and other circumstances – it should be noted here that it is advisable to cooperate with the relevant authorities during the process.

As previously mentioned, driving license termination procedure is also pending against the offender. Article 202.č of the ZP-1 states that the court shall issue a ruling on the termination of the driving license ex officio based on the notification from the authority responsible for keeping a record of penalty points. An appeal against the court’s ruling can be filed within eight days of its delivery, with the Higher court deciding on the appeal with a ruling issued within 15 days.

According to Article 202.d of the ZP-1, the offender may submit a request to the court to delay the execution of the termination of the driving license within 15 days of the court’s decision becoming final. The court may delay the execution of the termination of the driving license on the condition that the offender does not commit a serious offence during a probation period of no less than six months and no more than 24 months and fulfills the obligations set by the court according to the ZVoz-1 within the specified period. When deciding on the request, the court takes into account the personality of the offender, their behavior after the offence, the degree of their responsibility, and the circumstances in which the offence occurred, to assess whether it can be expected that the offender will not repeat the offences again and will fulfill the obligations under the ZVoz-1. These obligations are to participate in an additional training program for safe driving, to participate in an appropriate rehabilitation program according to the ZVoz-1, or to participate in both of these programs. The offender must provide proof of participation in the relevant program, including the name of the authorized provider according to the ZVoz-1, within 15 days after the court’s decision to grant a request. If the court finds that the offender has not committed a serious offence during the probation period and has fulfilled the obligations, it will rule that the imposed sanction of terminating the driving license will not be executed. The court must issue this ruling no later than 15 days ex officio after the expiry of one year from the expiry of the probation period.

The offender can appeal against the court’s decision to reject or deny the request to delay the execution of the termination of the driving license within eight days of the delivery of the ruling. The Higher court decides on the appeal with a ruling issued within 15 days of receiving the case. In the event of termination of the driving license, the driver must retake the driving test.

Judicial practice addresses many cases involving the material and procedural misdemeanor law related to the suspension and termination of driving license. In the ruling of the Higher Court in Ljubljana PRp 207/2020 dated October 1, 2020, it is stated that a suspension of a driving license can also be imposed on the holder of a foreign driving license. This is confirmed by the ruling of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia IV Ips 9/2023 dated October 5, 2023, where the court states that the suspension of a driving license under Articles 113.a and 113.b of the ZP-1 does not affect the validity of the document issued by a foreign authority and because the measure aims at the immediate exclusion of dangerous drivers from road traffic to ensure the safety of people and property, it can be imposed on holders of foreign driving licenses as well. Courts furthermore clarify the meaning of “reasonable suspicion” of committing a misdemeanor. For instance, in the rulings of the Higher Court in Celje PRp 43/2023 dated April 14, 2023 and PRp 73/2023 dated June 30, 2023 it is stated that reasonable suspicion arises from records of the procedure for identifying signs or symptoms resulting from the use of prohibited drugs, and from records of alcohol levels. Additionally, the ruling of the Higher Court in Ljubljana PRp 233/2020 dated October 22, 2020, notes that the standard of “reasonable suspicion” of committing an offence is satisfied not only by photographs and records of speed measurements but also by the finding that the defendant is the owner of the vehicle. This establishes the legal presumption under Article 8 of the ZPrCP that, as the owner, the defendant was also the driver of the vehicle at the time of the offence, unless the defendant can provide evidence that reasonably casts doubt on this fact and the validity of the presumption that they were the driver.