In Slovenia (as well as throughout Europe), conditional release (parole) is becoming an increasingly important means of obtaining early release from prison. The authors consider the Slovenian legal regime for conditional release from the perspective of European prison law and policy. They argue that the Slovenian parole system, which has remained practically unchanged since the 1950s, needs certain improvements, especially regarding procedural safeguards in the decision-making process. Deciding whether to grant parole remains, for the time being, an administrative procedure without real possibilities for the prisoner to appeal when parole is refused. As there is hardly any decision of greater importance to imprisoned persons than that which determines the date of their release, the authors argue that the safeguards to the procedure by which prisoners "get out" should in principle be taken as seriously as those which govern the manner in which they "get in." Good practices derived from comparative law are also discussed and taken into consideration in the authors' proposals for possible improvements to the Slovenian parole system de lege ferenda.

While many EU countries are seeing an increase in the number of prisoners being recalled to prison from release on parole, Slovenia presents an exception: although the Slovenian system does legislate for revoking parole the measure is hardly ever used in practice. This article explores legal and practical aspects of parole revocation in Slovenia, the role of the judiciary, the attitudes to revocation of the parole shaped by Slovenia's legal culture, and possible reasons for the rarity of parole being revoked in Slovenian penal practice.

A. Einleitende Bemerkungen Das slowenische Strafgesetzbuch (StGB) wurde im September 1994 vom Parlament verabschiedet und trat am 1. Januar 1995 in Kraft. Im Jahr 1999 erfuhr es relativ unwesentliche Änderungen und Ergänzungen, jüngste Änderungen fanden im Jahr 2004 statt. Sie traten am 5. Mai 2004 in Kraft und betreffen hauptsächlich den besonderen Teil des StGB. Es handelt sich vor allem um die Verschärfung und Erweiterung der typischen Straftatbestände für die organisierte Kriminalität, die Korruption, den Terrorismus und den Menschenhandel im weiteren Sinn und die Neugestaltung einiger Sexualstraftatbestände, vor allem bezüglich der Prostitution und sexueller Angriffe auf Minderjährige. Einige dieser Neuerungen, insbesondere auf dem Gebiet der völkerrechtlichen Verbrechen, werden als Annäherung Sloweniens an den so genannten europäischen Strafrechtsraum verstanden (und in der Literatur bereits überwiegend als übereilt kritisiert) und verdienen damit am Ende dieser Darstellung besondere Aufmerksamkeit.

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