The pre-action demand in Slovak law: four situations in which a demand has legal consequences

In Slovakia, reimbursement of the costs of proceedings is decided above all by success on the merits (Section 255(1) of the Code of Civil Dispute Procedure), not by whether the creditor called on the debtor before suing. In this the Slovak rules differ from the Czech ones, as we compare in the article a Czech company and a Slovak debtor. It does not follow, however, that a demand is mere courtesy. Slovak legislation attaches consequences to it in four situations that companies recovering debts often encounter only after the event.

1. A lawyer’s fee for the demand forms part of the costs

The Decree on lawyers’ fees lists the acts for which a lawyer is entitled to a tariff fee, and it expressly includes the demand among them:

A fee at the basic rate of the tariff fee is payable for the following acts of legal service: […] (d) a pre-action demand as part of the claim for reimbursement of the costs of proceedings,

— Section 13a(1)(d) of Decree No. 655/2004 Coll. (unofficial English translation)

The act of a “pre-action demand” was added to the Decree with effect from 15 June 2019, and since 1 January 2024 the present wording has applied, which expressly links it to reimbursement of the costs of proceedings. If the demand was drawn up by a lawyer and you win the case, you claim the fee for it together with the other costs of legal representation. A reminder sent to the debtor by the company itself is not such an act. The court awards only proven, justified and purposefully incurred expenses (Section 251 of the Code of Civil Dispute Procedure), so it pays to send a single demand with a complete calculation, which may bring the debtor to pay and at the same time prepares the basis for the application to the court.

2. Consumers and electronic payment order proceedings

Electronic payment order proceedings are a fast and cheaper route to a payment order. For claims against consumers, however, the Act requires a recent demand:

An application is inadmissible where it pursues […] (d) a claim arising from a consumer contract or from other contractual documents related to a consumer contract where the defendant was not called upon to pay it in the last three months before the application was filed,

— Section 3(5)(d) of Act No. 307/2016 Coll. (unofficial English translation)

The court rejects an inadmissible application (Section 6(1)(a)). An e-shop or service provider that sends reminders automatically should therefore be able to prove when and to what address the last demand went out. Between businesses the Act imposes no such condition. If both parties are accounting entities, the application may rely on the invoice or another demand of a similar nature by which performance was required of the debtor, together with a declaration that the claimant records the claim in its accounts (Section 3(3)). With a consumer, the content of the demand must also be watched so that it does not amount to an unfair practice; we discuss the requirements in the question what a payment demand must contain.

3. Enforcement of an old title and interest

A creditor who waits a long time before enforcing may lose part of the accessories. The court will dismiss an application for enforcement as to recurring accessories that arose after the title became enforceable where the application is filed more than three years after enforceability and the obliged person was not called upon to satisfy the claim in the last three months before filing, nor was an agreement on performance by instalments concluded with them (Section 53(3)(g) and (4) of the Enforcement Code). With an old title, a demand before the application for enforcement therefore protects the recurring accessories, above all default interest. We describe how enforcement on a payment order proceeds step by step in the article from a payment order to enforcement.

4. The debtor pays only after the claim is brought

If the debtor pays after the claim has been brought and the creditor withdraws it, costs are decided by procedural fault for the discontinuance of the proceedings (Section 256(1)). Exceptionally the court will not award reimbursement of costs where there are reasons worthy of special consideration (Section 257). A documented demand with a reasonable period helps in such a dispute to prove that the claim was necessary and that the debtor had the opportunity to pay without court proceedings, and weakens any argument that this is a case worthy of special consideration. We discuss the procedure on withdrawal in the question the debtor paid only after the claim was brought.

A demand does not stop limitation

A common misconception is that a demand once sent “stops the clock” on limitation. The Commercial Code ties suspension of the limitation period to court proceedings:

The limitation period ceases to run where the creditor, for the purpose of satisfying or establishing its right, performs any legal act that is regarded under the legislation governing court proceedings as the commencement of such proceedings or as the pursuit of the right in proceedings already commenced.

— Section 402 of the Commercial Code (unofficial English translation)

In commercial relationships, therefore, a demand does not affect the limitation period. The position changes only with a written acknowledgement of the obligation by the debtor, from which a new four-year limitation period runs (Section 407(1)); payment of interest on a sum has the same effect as regards that sum (Section 407(2)). If the end of the limitation period is approaching, a demand with a short period is not enough and an application must be made to the court; we explain how the periods are calculated in the question when a claim becomes time-barred and acknowledgement of debt in the question debt acknowledgement and an instalment schedule.

What a demand does not need, and what should not be missing from it

Some entitlements arise without a demand. The flat-rate compensation for recovery costs of EUR 40 is payable to a creditor in commercial relationships without any special notice (Section 369c(1) of the Commercial Code) and default interest accrues by operation of law. It is nevertheless worth quantifying them in the demand, because the debtor then sees the whole sum and the demand later becomes the basis of the application to the court. We discuss the rates in the question what default interest can I claim.

A good demand identifies precisely the creditor, the debtor, the invoices, the principal and the accessories, sets a reasonable period and states the next step. It must be sent in a way that allows service to be proved, that is by registered post or to an electronic mailbox. We prepare and send the demand on a lawyer’s letterhead through our pre-action payment demand service; if the debtor does not pay, we follow with a payment order and thereafter with enforcement recovery.