New Law on Administrative Measures for the Collection of Electronic Evidence in Criminal Proceedings
On August 20, 2025, the Government of the Slovak Republic, at its meeting, approved the Draft Law on Certain Administrative Measures Related to the Collection of Electronic Evidence in Criminal Proceedings and on Amendments to Certain Laws (material no. 24466/2025).
The draft law transposes Directive (EU) 2023/1544 of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 12, 2023, which establishes harmonized rules for the designation of establishments and the appointment of legal representatives for the purpose of collecting electronic evidence in criminal proceedings (e.g., emails, messages, application data). The law is key to the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 on European Production Orders and European Preservation Orders for electronic evidence in criminal proceedings and for the execution of custodial sentences in connection with criminal proceedings.
The law applies to entities providing services:
Electronic communication services (e.g., telecommunications services).
Services related to internet domains and IP addresses (e.g., domain management, IP address allocation, privacy protection services, or proxy services).
Other information society services that enable users to communicate or store data, where data storage is a key component of the service (e.g., cloud services).
The law does not regulate the obligations of service providers operating exclusively within the territory of Slovakia. The territorial scope of the law covers:
Companies based in Slovakia providing services in the EU (e.g., telecommunications services, domain management, cloud services).
Companies based in the EU operating in Slovakia.
Companies outside the EU offering their services in Slovakia.
The new regulation introduces an obligation for service providers to designate an establishment or appoint a legal representative with a registered office or residence in Slovakia within six months of starting to offer the relevant services. Service providers must notify the Council for Media Services of the designation of the establishment or legal representative within 15 days, including identification details and official languages of communication (including Slovak if the registered office is in Slovakia).
For non-compliance with the obligations under the law, the Council for Media Services is authorized to impose fines ranging from €1,000 to €100,000.
Service providers must designate an establishment or legal representative and fulfill the notification obligation to the Council for Media Services no later than August 18, 2026. The relevant provisions of the law will take effect on February 18, 2026.
