Arbitration proceeding

Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) using independent and impartial arbitrators and offered as an alternative to litigation for property disputes. The greatest advantages of arbitration are: closed sessions, speedy resolution and cost-efficiency as compared to dispute resolution before general courts (please see more below).

Arbitration in the Czech Republic is regulated under Act No. 216/1994 Coll., on Arbitration and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards, which took effect on 1 January 1995. Until the passage of the 1994 Act, arbitration was regulated under Act No. 98/1963 Coll., which only allowed arbitration for disputes arising out of international commercial transactions. The new regulation opened the door for a large scope of disputes to be resolved outside the state courts since now it is possible to arbitrate all property disputes except for disputes arising in connection with a court order execution and disputes arising out of bankruptcy and composition proceedings, unless the parties to such disputes agree on arbitration.

However, commerce remains the traditional area where arbitration is most often sought, and today it is no longer restricted to international commerce but also includes domestic commerce. Arbitration may be conducted by one or more arbitrators appointed by the disputing parties for the particular dispute (ad hoc arbitration) or as proceedings before an institutionalized arbitration court established by the law (institutional arbitration).

Another advantage of arbitration is that arbitral awards are easily enforceable since the New York Convention from 1958 guarantees the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in over 144 signatory countries.

What we arbitrate?

Property disputes

  • Domestic disputes
    arbitrating property disputes between parties from the Czech Republic
  • International disputes
    arbitrating property disputes where at least one party is from abroad.

Consumer Disputes

  • Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
    of consumer disputes is a system offering an alternative solution to traditional litigation. Consumer disputes are disputes arising out of contractual obligation breaches between providers and consumers. Most typical consumer disputes concern recognition of claims of defective goods purchased in a shop but, essentially, they can involve most disputes arising between entrepreneurs as providers and consumers.
    Links:
    Ministry of Industry and Trade of CR - http://www.mpo.cz/cz/ochrana-spotrebitele/mimosoudni-reseni/
    Economic Chamber of CR - http://adr.komora.cz/Stranky/default.aspx
  • Healthcare payments disputes
    The Arbitration Court is an independent body without direct ties to the Executive Branch, healthcare providers or health insurers and healthcare funds. For patients the Arbitration Court comes as a long-awaited and desired tool offering independent and effective supervision of decision-making on health insurance claims to which they compulsorily contribute.

On-line arbitration

The Arbitration Court attached to the Economic Chamber and Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic is one of the first institutions in Europe offering arbitration on-line. On-line arbitration is a brand new form of arbitration providing an effective tool especially for resolution of simple commercial disputes. The entire proceedings are electronic and take thirty five days on the average, from electronically filing the lawsuit (including attachments), fee payment, arbitrator appointment, decision, and issuance of the arbitral award. The on-line arbitral award may be obtained in a paper document form from the Courts Secretary.

This modern form of arbitration proceedings is a cost-efficient tool quickly becoming popular among businessmen. Currently, after our successful experience using the product for international arbitration, the number of disputes resolved through on-line arbitration is growing fast. On-line arbitration is a closed session proceeding and we provide a special website for each dispute accessible only to the parties and the arbitrator. If circumstances arise making on-line arbitration inconvenient for a dispute started in this form, it is always possible to terminate the on-line proceedings and complete the arbitration process using the standard arbitration form.

Domain disputes

  • CZ
  • EU
  • .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and other top-level domain names
  • .co.nl

Advantages of arbitrating before the Arbitration Court:

  • arbitration is single-instance, speedy and less formal; it takes a few months, or even a few weeks, from the filing of the lawsuit until the delivery of the arbitral award; the arbitral award takes effect and becomes enforceable by delivery to the parties.
  • arbitral awards are easily enforceable; the New York Convention from 1958 guarantees the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in all signatory countries.
  • choice of arbitrators; the List of Arbitrators includes a number of experts from all areas of the law and economics from the Czech Republic and from abroad.
  • sensible arbitration costs; arbitration fee for domestic disputes with value up to CZK 50,000,000 is 4% from the value in dispute (the minimum fee being CZK 10,000); domestic disputes include disputes where the parties are permanent establishments of foreign entities or foreign bank branch offices in the Czech Republic as long as they are registered in the Commercial Register; international disputes arbitration before the Arbitration Court attached to the Economic and Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic is more cost-effective than arbitrating in abroad; please find detailed information about arbitration costs by clicking on the Tariff section of our website.
  • administrative support is provided by a professional secretariat.
  • publishing the Rules in the Business Bulletin enables anyone interested to learn about the principles and conditions of arbitration conducted before the Arbitration Court.