Limitation under the Civil Code bill: generally three years

A question that should have a simple answer currently does not: when does your claim become time-barred? Slovak law has two regimes, a three-year civil limitation period and a four-year commercial one (§ 397 of the Commercial Code), with different calculation rules. The draft Civil Code would end this.

What recodification proposes

According to the recodification commission’s brochure, limitation rules will align with modern European trends and become considerably simpler. Today, even specialists often struggle to determine a limitation period, undermining legal certainty. The proposal unifies civil and commercial limitation regimes and standardises and simplifies periods as far as possible. The government’s draft introduces a uniform general three-year limitation period unless the law provides otherwise (§ 138 of parliamentary print 1312). The parties could shorten or extend it in writing to no less than one and no more than ten years, but not to the detriment of a consumer (§ 142 of parliamentary print 1312).

One caveat is important for commercial relationships. The obligations part of the Commercial Code, including the four-year period, is to be removed only by a separate implementing amendment, which the Ministry has said will follow the code’s approval. The three-year period would apply in commercial dealings only from the effective date of that amendment; its wording is not yet known.

The government approved the draft code on 6 May 2026, and Parliament advanced it to second reading on 9 June 2026. On 15 September 2026, the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee recommended approving it with amendments that leave the limitation periods essentially unchanged, and on 22 September 2026 MPs tabled further amendments in the plenary; the plenary will decide on the final wording. The proposed effective date is 1 July 2027. This article reflects the position as at 26 September 2026.

Why the dual system causes problems

Two regimes mean two sets of rules, and one mistake is enough. In a mixed relationship, misidentifying whether a claim is governed by the Civil or Commercial Code means relying on the wrong deadline. A time-barred claim is difficult to enforce: if the debtor raises limitation, the court dismisses the claim even though the underlying entitlement exists.

What this means for creditors

Unification is good for legal certainty, but commercial creditors would lose today’s “fourth year” unless they agree a longer period with their counterparty in writing. In practice, this means:

• Adjust internal monitoring of due dates: set reminders, escalation and referral for recovery to fit within a three-year horizon.
• Do not delay recovery: claims that can currently “wait a little longer” would have one year less under the new regime.
• Consider agreeing the period: in new contracts, the parties could agree a longer period in writing, up to ten years.
• Manage the transition: under the transitional provisions of the government’s draft, periods that began to run before the effective date would run their course under the previous rules, and obligations under contracts concluded before the effective date would continue to be governed by the previous law. The plenary may still change the wording.

Prepare in advance

Limitation is only one area recodification would change. If your business relies on templates and receivables, it is worth starting preparation for the new Civil Code in good time. If claims are already approaching limitation under current rules, we can help with debt recovery today, regardless of when the new code takes effect.