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1. Source of the legal provision

Article 297 of the Slovenian Criminal Code [Kazenski zakonik][1] Available in the original language via: PISRS; <https://pisrs.si/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO5050>.

2. Legal provision in English

Public promotion of hatred, violence or intolerance […] (2) Anyone who publicly spreads ideas about the superiority of one race over another in the manner referred to in the previous paragraph or provides any assistance in racist activity or denies, diminishes the importance of, approves, justifies, ridicules or defends genocide, Holocaust, crimes against humanity, war crimes, aggression or other crimes against humanity, as defined in the legal order of the Republic of Slovenia, shall be punished in the same manner.   (3) If the act referred to in the preceding paragraphs is committed by publication in the media or on websites, the responsible editor or the person who replaced him shall also be punished with the penalty from the first or second paragraph of this article, unless it was a transmission of the show in live, which he could not prevent, or for publication on websites that allow users to publish content in real time or without prior control.   (4) If the act referred to in the first or second paragraph of this article is committed by coercion, ill treatment, endangering safety, dishonouring ethnic, national, national or religious symbols, damaging foreign property, desecrating monuments, memorials or graves, the perpetrator shall be punished with imprisonment up to three years.   (5) If an official commits the acts referred to in the first or second paragraph of this article by abusing his official position or rights, he shall be punished by imprisonment for up to five years.   […]

3. Legal provision in the original language

Javno spodbujanje sovraštva, nasilja ali nestrpnosti […] (2) Enako se kaznuje, kdor na način iz prejšnjega odstavka javno širi ideje o večvrednosti ene rase nad drugo ali daje kakršnokoli pomoč pri rasistični dejavnosti ali zanika, zmanjšuje pomen, odobrava, opravičuje, smeši ali zagovarja genocid, holokavst, hudodelstvo zoper človečnost, vojno hudodelstvo, agresijo ali druga kazniva dejanja zoper človečnost, kot so opredeljena v pravnem redu Republike Slovenije.   (3) Če je dejanje iz prejšnjih odstavkov storjeno z objavo v sredstvih javnega obveščanja ali na spletnih straneh se s kaznijo iz prvega ali drugega odstavka tega člena kaznuje tudi odgovorni urednik oziroma tisti, ki ga je nadomeščal, razen če je šlo za prenos oddaje v živo, ki ga ni mogel preprečiti ali za objavo na spletnih straneh, ki uporabnikom omogočajo objave vsebin v dejanskem času oziroma brez predhodnega nadzora.   (4) Če je dejanje iz prvega ali drugega odstavka tega člena storjeno s prisilo, grdim ravnanjem, ogrožanjem varnosti, sramotitvijo etničnih, narodnostnih, narodnih ali verskih simbolov, poškodovanjem tujih stvari, skrunitvijo spomenikov, spominskih znamenj ali grobov, se storilec kaznuje z zaporom do treh let.   (5) Če stori dejanja iz prvega ali drugega odstavka tega člena uradna oseba z zlorabo uradnega položaja ali pravic, se kaznuje z zaporom do petih let.   […]  

4. Key points

  • Slovenia has a specific Holocaust denial ban under Article 297 (2) of the Criminal Code. In addition, the provision also prohibits the denial, trivialisation, approval, justification, ridicule, or defence of other genocides, crimes against humanity, war crimes, or crimes of aggression.
  • The provision does not require the relevant crime to be established by a court, nor does it require that it likely incites hatred or causes any likely disturbance of public peace.
  • For the offence of denialism, committed in its basic form, the law stipulates a punishment of imprisonment of up to two years.

5. Background

  Slovenia’s history is marked by its experiences during World War II and the subsequent communist regime. The memory of these events has influenced public discourse and legislative measures aimed at preventing similar occurrences in the future. It seems that the Holocaust, and other Nazi crimes in Slovenia, are generally interpreted within the broader framework of crimes of totalitarian regimes. This perspective has induced criticism from Holocaust remembrance activists.[2]   Thus, in Slovenia, the ban on genocide and Holocaust denial is part of a broader legel system that addresses hate speech and the promotion of totalitarian ideologies. For instance, in 2024, Slovenia had introduced bans for Nazi and Fascist symbols.[3]   The specific legal provisions can be traced back to the Criminal Code of Slovenia, which was amended in 2008. This amendment included provisions that criminalised the public denial, approval, or justification of genocide, including the Holocaust. The introduction of the Holocaust denial ban was part of a broader amendment to Slovenia’s Criminal Code in 2008. During the legislative process, one of the central arguments was balancing freedom of expression with the need to prevent hate speech. Proponents of the ban argued that denying or trivializing the Holocaust undermines historical truth, and can incite hatred against specific groups. Opponents raised concerns about potential overreach, fearing that such laws could infringe upon individual rights to free speech. Public opinion on this issue has varied over time, with some segments advocating for stricter measures against hate speech while others express concerns about governmental control over discourse related to history.[4]

6. Application

In 2019, the Slovenian Supreme Court ruled that – in order for Article 297 of the Criminal Code to be actually applied – it is not necessary that a direct threat actually takes place. “It is sufficient that the act, by its content, nature, place or other circumstances in which it was committed, is capable of causing a concrete danger, which manifests itself in endangering or disturbing public order and peace.”[5] In another case involving alleged incitement to hatred, violence, and intolerance against Roma, the Supreme Court set a legal precedent. The court ruled that in cases in which an act is committed by means of a threat, abusive language or insult, with other legal indications of a crime, it does not necessarily need to jeopardise public order and peace to be treated as a crime.[6] Despite the Slovenian Criminal Code prohibiting the expression of ideas of racial superiority and the denial of the Holocaust, the prosecution remains unsteady. The local hotline Spletno oko in 2018 received a slight increase in potential cases of online hate speech compared to 2017.[7]

7. Controversies

Slovenia’s progress in memory politics and remembrance work is evaluated quite positively when it comes to the commemoration of the Holocaust. Slovenia has been a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) since 2011.[8]  According to the IHRA, “the joint efforts of the Slovenian government and NGOs to educate and inform the public about the fate of the Jewish population in the territory of Slovenia during the Holocaust have been well received in schools and beyond”, and “significant developments include visits by groups of Slovenian history teachers to Yad Vashem in 2009, 2015 and 2018, the unveiling of a memorial to Slovenian Holocaust victims – entitled ‘Forgotten Suitcase’ – in the city of Murska Sobota, and the annual symposiums of ‘Each Year One Name’ at the Centre for Jewish Cultural Heritage – Synagogue in Maribor”.[9] Despite the aforementioned efforts to foster Holocaust remembrance, right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi movements have been a matter of concern in Slovenia for decades. During the 2000s, local police statistics indicated a spike in “criminal acts involving public promotion of hatred, violence, or intolerance”, with five incidents in the year 2000, up to 13 in 2005, and 19 in 2008.[10]On 6 September 2011, the prime minister was briefed by the head of the Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency regarding the activities of extremist groups (in particular, Blood & Honour), which, according to the agency’s assessment, presented a clear and present danger to national security.[11] Incidents related to Holocaust denial, right-wing extremism and antisemitism continue to occur. In November 2023, a door of the Jewish Cultural Centre in Ljubljana was vandalised – it was the first known incident of antisemitism in Slovenia since the latest Israel-Hamas war. The antisemitic drawing contained the Star of David and the Nazi swastika with an equals sign between them. The Cultural Centre is home to the Museum of the Holocaust in Slovenia, the Jewish Museum, a synagogue, and an exhibition about Anne Frank’s family.[12]

8. Further reading

[1] The current consolidated version available here: https://pisrs.si/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO5050. [2] Nicholas Haeg, Holocaust Remembrance Project. Slovenia, <https://www.holocaustremembranceproject.com/Countries/slovenia> [3] Slovenia bans Nazi, Fascist symbols, December 19, 2024 <https://sloveniatimes.com/42011/slovenia-bans-nazi-fascist-symbols> [4] The Memory of Guilt Revisited: The Slovenian Post-Socialist Remembrance Landscape in Transition, Oto Luthar, Heidemarie Uhl, et al. (eds), Vienna University Press, 2019; Urška Valentič, Tackling Hate Speech – Examples from Slovenia, Albanian Media Institute, <https://institutemedia.org/urska-valentic-interview/>; Extract of the Strategy of the Republic of Slovenia on Combating Antisemitism until 2033, <https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MP/Antisemitizem/Extract-of-the-Strategy-of-the-Republic-of-Slovenia-on-Combating-Antisemitism-until-2033.pdf>. [5] Judgement of the Slovenian Supreme court, 65803/2012, 4 July 2019 <https://www.sodnapraksa.si/?q=*:*&database[SOVS]=SOVS&database[IESP]=IESP&database[VDSS]=VDSS&database[UPRS]=UPRS&_submit=i%C5%A1%C4%8Di&id=2015081111431656>; ‘Holocaust denial in criminal law. Legal frameworks in selected EU Member States’ (European Parliament) p. 11 <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2021/698043/EPRS_BRI(2021)698043_EN.pdf>. [6] ‘Supreme Court sets important precedent in hate speech case’ (STA, 8 August, 2019), <https://english.sta.si/2665413/supreme-court-sets-important-precedent-in-hate-speech-case> [7] ‘Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Slovenia’, US Department of State <https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/slovenia/>. [8] ‘Slovenia’ (IHRA) <https://holocaustremembrance.com/countries/slovenia>. [9] Ibid. [10] Borut Mekina, ‘Kdo je naslednji?’ (Mladina, 2. July 2009) <https://www.mladina.si/47555/kdo-je-naslednji/>. [11] Borut Mekina, ‘Neonacisti na varnem’ (Mladina, 28. 9. 2014) <https://www.mladina.si/160578/neonacisti-na-varnem/>. [12] Vuk Tesija, ‘Jewish Centre in Slovenia Defaced with Anti-Semitic Graffiti’, (Balkan Insight, 17 November 2023) <https://balkaninsight.com/2023/11/17/jewish-centre-in-slovenia-defaced-with-anti-semitic-graffiti/>.
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