Article 5

Business of the court shall be conducted in the Slovene language.

In the territories in which the autochthonous Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities live, the business of the court shall also be conducted in the Italian or the Hungarian language if a party who lives in that territory uses the Italian or the Hungarian language.

If a court of higher instance judges appeals in matters tried by a court of lower instance in the Italian or the Hungarian language, the judgement issues by the court of higher instance shall be issued in translation in the Italian or the Hungarian language.

If, in a court of higher instance, matters referred to in the preceding paragraph are decided by trial, the provisions of the second paragraph of this Article shall apply.

Expenses connected with the use in court of the Italian or the Hungarian language shall be borne by the Republic of Slovenia.

Article 45

Candidates for lay judges at regional courts may be proposed by representative bodies of municipalities in the territory of the court to which the lay judges are to be appointed, and by interest groups registered and active in that region as societies or associations, excepting political parties which may not directly propose candidates.

The president of the high court shall from among the proposed candidates appoint lay judges to individual courts in proportion to the size of the population in the municipality which proposed the candidates, or in proportion to the size of membership of the interest groups.

In the areas where the autochthonous Italian or Hungarian ethnic communities live, the president of the high court shall appoint the required number of lay judges who have an active command of the Italian or Hungarian language.