An expert is a individual or legal personwho is entered in the list of experts maintained by the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic. Expert activity is a specialized professional activity performed by an expert for the contracting authority (courts, public authorities, natural or legal persons) under the conditions established by the Act of the National Council of the Slovak Republic no. 382/2004 Coll. on experts, interpreters and translators, as amended.
The expert is obliged to perform the expert activity in person, properly and within a specified period of time, purposefully, economically and impartially. He is obliged to maintain secrecy about all facts of which he learned during the performance or in connection with the performance of the activity, unless he is relieved of this obligation by the contracting authority or the minister or unless a special regulation provides otherwise.
An expert entered in the list may not unreasonably refuse to perform an expert act only if he is involved in the performance of the act, is not registered in the field or branch in which the act is to be performed, the court or public authority did not grant him an advance or another contracting authority, performance of the act, serious family, health, work problems do not allow him to perform the act properly and on time and is not insured for liability for damage that may arise in connection with his activities.
The expert performs his activity for the contracting authority for remuneration, reimbursement of cash expenses and compensation for loss of time – expert costs.