1. Preliminary remarks (Read full CPT report)
77. The administrative detention56 of foreign nationals “who reside illegally” in Slovenia is
governed by the Aliens Act57 while the detention of foreign nationals who have applied for
international protection (asylum) is regulated in the International Protection Act.58
Foreign nationals who are illegally present in Slovenia and those whose identity is unknown
may be detained by the police in a Centre for Foreigners for a maximum of six months. If it is not
possible to deport the foreign national within this period, the police may under certain preconditions
prolong the detention by an additional six months if it is realistic to expect that this will enable
deportation.
As regards asylum seekers, detention may be ordered, but generally for not more than three
months with a possible extension of another month.60 In practice, asylum seekers were usually
accommodated in open asylum homes and resort to the detention of asylum seekers was in the
recent past only made in exceptional cases.61 This is positive.
In addition, the State Border Control Act62 allows detention of foreign nationals at the
border for a maximum of 48 hours.
78. The delegation visited Postojna Detention Centre for Foreigners, the only detention facility
in Slovenia for foreign nationals held under aliens legislation. The centre occupies the premises of a
former military facility built in the 1980s in a rural setting some 50 km from Ljubljana and was
previously visited by the CPT in 2001 and 2006.
Placed under the responsibility of the police, the centre in general accommodates mainly
foreign nationals awaiting deportation (men, women and children including unaccompanied
minors), but occasionally also asylum seekers and persons awaiting transfer to another country
under the Dublin Regulations. On the day of the delegation’s visit, 11 foreign nationals awaiting
deportation (including two women and three unaccompanied minors) and two male asylum-seekers
were being held at the centre for an official capacity64 of 240 places.
The average duration of detention at the centre was 14 days and within the last two years no
foreign national had been held at the centre for more than six months. The foreign nationals who
stayed at the centre at the time of the visit had been held there for periods of between one and
32 days.
79. The delegation was surprised to note that foreign nationals who had sufficient financial
resources had in principle to pay for their stay at the centre, in accordance with Section 84 (1) of the
Aliens Act and Section 45 of the House Rules.65 The CPT would welcome the observations of the
Slovenian authorities regarding the appropriateness of requesting such payment.
