Practical insights, legal updates and analysis from practice — by JUDr. Zuzana Vlková, PhD.
Individuals with a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent who was a Czechoslovak citizen born in the territory of Slovakia can apply for Slovak citizenship without prior residence. To qualify, applicants must establish their family link and satisfy all legal conditions, as citizenship is not granted automatically. You can submit your application directly at a Slovak embassy or consulate abroad. Properly retrieving and verifying historical vital records to prove your lineage is a crucial step in the preparation process.
Can a tenant stop paying rent because of defects in the flat? See the conditions for claiming a rent reduction, the procedure for setting off claims, and the rules on subletting a flat.
Non-payment of rent is the most common ground for a notice of termination. Find out how the three months of arrears are counted, why paying off the debt later does not undo the notice, and what role the good-morals test plays.
Read how the courts assess the intensity of a gross breach of the tenant's obligations under § 711 of the Slovak Civil Code, how it differs from a breach of good morals in the building, and why contractual clauses labelling any breach whatsoever as gross are absolutely invalid.
Are you about to serve a notice of termination of a residential lease, or have you received one as a tenant? Read what requirements the notice must satisfy, how to identify the flat precisely, and why a bare reference to a statutory provision is not enough.
If your landlord has served you with a notice of termination of the lease of a flat and you disagree with it, the law gives you a precisely defined but short window to defend yourself. We explain how an action for a declaration that the notice is invalid works, what the time limits are, and on what grounds it can be brought.
Buying real estate is, for most people, the largest financial investment of their life. Although estate agencies usually supply their own draft purchase agreements, their primary goal is to broker the deal and protect their own commission. A lawyer acts as your personal legal representative, who assesses the agreement from your perspective (e.g. as the buyer), uncovers hidden risks, tailors contractual penalties and the conditions for releasing the purchase price to your situation, and is liable by law for any damage through their professional insurance.
The Slovak Family Act does not contain a precise list of grounds for divorce. The only statutory basis is the so-called qualified breakdown of the relationship, where the marriage no longer fulfils its purpose and a restoration of cohabitation cannot be expected. In practice, the statistics have long been dominated by differences in personality and opinions (approximately 70% of cases) and infidelity (around 8.5%), complemented by other subjective and society-wide influences.
An interim measure (neodkladné opatrenie) serves only to secure a child's basic needs temporarily, to the necessary extent, and the court does not grant it automatically. If the obliged parent's circumstances are not proven, the court generally awards 30% of the subsistence minimum for a dependent child (EUR 40.44 from 1 July 2026); where income is proven, it may award a higher amount.
Spousal maintenance serves to secure an equal standard of living for both spouses during the marriage and cannot be limited or excluded by contract. If one spouse fails to fulfil this obligation, the other may seek to have it determined by a court, and maintenance may be awarded at the earliest from the date the application is filed with the court. The entitlement ends upon divorce, annulment of the marriage, or the death of one of the spouses.
If one parent prevents the other from having contact with a minor child – whether after a separation or during divorce proceedings and proceedings on the exercise of parental rights and duties – the solution may be to apply for an interim measure (neodkladné opatrenie) under § 325(2)(d) of the Slovak Code of Civil Contentious Procedure. Through it, the court can temporarily, and with immediate enforceability, regulate contact (including precise days, times and handover obligations), thereby preventing the loss of the emotional bond and estrangement. An interim measure does not predetermine the final decision on the merits, but it protects the child's best interest in maintaining ties with both parents.
Parents manage the assets of a minor child, but for substantial property transactions (e.g. selling or encumbering real estate, dealing with savings, accepting or refusing an inheritance) they must decide jointly, and every such transaction must be approved by a court. Without court approval, the legal act is ineffective and does not produce the intended legal consequences. If the interests of the parent and the child conflict, the court appoints a conflict-of-interest guardian (kolízny opatrovník) for the child for the given transaction.
The maintenance contribution for a divorced spouse is an institution designed to secure adequate maintenance for a former spouse who is unable to support themselves. The court awards it on application, taking into account the circumstances of both parties, the causes of the marriage breakdown, and good morals. The entitlement lasts for a maximum of 5 years as standard, but may be extended for serious reasons. It ceases on death, on the entitled spouse's remarriage, or when cancelled by the court following a change in circumstances.
Find out up to what amount an heir is liable for the deceased's debts, how the notary ascertains and deals with contested creditors' claims, and why a creditor must pursue their claim by an action for payment, not a declaratory action.
The final, seventh part of our series on the dispute over immovable property in an estate. Find out how the lawyer's fee and the court fee are calculated in this type of proceedings.
