You can recover income and principal that have fallen due in the same way as any other monetary claim: by a demand, a court action or an application for a payment order, followed by enforcement. You may demand principal before its scheduled maturity only if the terms and conditions of issue permit this or if the bondholders’ meeting approved a change to material terms with which you disagreed. First establish whether the issue has a common representative and whether it is secured. To the extent that the common representative exercises the rights, you cannot act individually. If the issuer is in bankruptcy or restructuring proceedings, the claim must be lodged within a short time limit.
The issuer has failed to pay the coupon or repay the bond’s nominal value at maturity and has stopped communicating. Your entitlement arises directly from the bond:
The following quotation is reproduced in its original language:
Dlhopis je cenný papier, s ktorým je spojené právo majiteľa požadovať splácanie dlžnej sumy v menovitej hodnote a vyplácanie výnosov z nej k určitému dátumu a povinnosť osoby oprávnenej vydávať dlhopisy (ďalej len „emitent“) tieto záväzky splniť.
Income and principal that have fallen due constitute a monetary claim against the issuer. How you pursue it depends on the terms and conditions of issue and on whether the issuer is already insolvent.
What to establish first
The terms and conditions of issue set out the rights and obligations of the issuer and the bondholder (Section 3(3)). If you do not have them, the issuer must provide them on request (Section 3(9)), and the central securities depository will make them available at a bondholder’s request if the issuer has submitted them to it (Section 3(10)). In particular, check the following in the terms and conditions of issue:
- What is due. You may demand income immediately once its payment date has passed. You may demand principal before its scheduled maturity only if the issuer undertook this obligation in the bond (Section 12(3)), or under the law if the bondholders’ meeting approved a change, for example to maturity, income or security, and you voted against it or did not attend the meeting. The request must be submitted within 30 days of the meeting (Section 5b(4)). The conditions are explained in the question early redemption of bonds (in Slovak).
- Whether the issue has a common representative. To the extent that the common representative exercises rights under the bonds, bondholders cannot exercise those rights individually (Section 5d(3)). See the question the common representative of bondholders (in Slovak).
- Whether the terms provide for a bondholders’ meeting. If the terms and conditions of issue provide for one, the issuer must convene it without undue delay upon default, and holders of at least 10 % of the nominal value of the issue may also request that it be convened (Section 5a(1) and (3)). Details are provided in the question bondholders’ meetings (in Slovak).
- Whether the issue is secured. The terms must state where the guarantee agreement can be inspected, give details of other security and explain how the security is enforced (Section 20b(3)). A common representative or another third party acting as the secured creditor may also enforce a security interest for the benefit of bondholders, in its own name and on behalf of the bondholders (Section 20b(4)).
Recovery while the issuer is not insolvent
You can start with a written demand quantifying the unpaid principal, income and default interest. If the issuer does not pay, the next step is a court action. If the claim is supported by documentary evidence, namely the terms and conditions of issue, the purchase or subscription agreement, proof of payment and a statement from the holder’s securities account, the court may issue a payment order (Section 265(1) of the Code of Civil Contentious Procedure, Act No. 160/2015 Z. z.). The Code of Civil Contentious Procedure assigns disputes concerning securities to eight designated courts (Section 23), so the competent court must be checked before filing. A final decision provides the basis for enforcement proceedings.
Rights under bonds become time-barred 10 years after the date on which they fall due (Section 23 of the Bonds Act). Where an issuer’s situation is deteriorating, however, this is no reason to wait. If several bondholders are involved, coordinated action may reduce the costs of assessing the issuer’s position and of legal representation.
If the issuer is in bankruptcy or restructuring proceedings
Once bankruptcy has been declared, the claim is pursued by lodging a claim rather than bringing a court action (Section 28(1) of Act No. 7/2005 Z. z.). The basic time limit for lodging claims is 45 days from the declaration of bankruptcy, and any security must also be asserted within that period (Section 28(2) and (4)). If the court authorises the issuer’s restructuring, the claim must be lodged within 30 days of that authorisation; otherwise, it will be disregarded (Section 121). The article what a bondholder must do when the issuer enters bankruptcy explains the procedure step by step.
An issuer’s failure to pay is not covered by the Investment Guarantee Fund, as explained in the article unpaid bonds, the guarantee fund and the seller. If a bank or investment firm sold you the bond, see also the question is the seller liable for an unpaid bond.
We will assess the terms and conditions of issue, the acquisition documents and the issuer’s position. Through our recovery of bond claims service, we will handle the chosen course of action, from a demand through to enforcement or lodging a claim. If several holders of the same issue come forward, we can coordinate their approach.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 3 October 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
