The legal system consists of 43 district courts, four regional courts, and a Supreme Court, all under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. In addition, there is a Constitutional Court independent of government control. Judges are appointed for an initial four-year term and are subsequently either appointed for life or removed from office. Once appointed for life, judges may be removed only for cause. Constitutional Court judges are appointed by the President to a single, seven-year term.
District courts are courts of first instance in most criminal cases and minor civil cases.
Regional courts are courts of appeal, but also of first instance in major criminal and civil cases. The Supreme Court in Bratislava is the court of final review except for constitutional cases, which are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court in Kosice. Property and contractual rights are enforced within the legal structure, but decisions may take years, thus limiting the attractiveness of the system for dispute resolution. Slovak courts recognize and enforce foreign judgments, subject to the same delays. The Commercial Code seems con- sistently applied.