The only defence is an action to establish the disputed claim, known as an incidental action. It must be filed within 30 days of publication of the dispute in the list of claims and directed against everyone who disputed the claim. Missing the deadline extinguishes the right and permanently excludes the disputed part from satisfaction, although it continues to exist under substantive law.
Registering a claim is only the start of a creditor’s participation in bankruptcy. The trustee reviews every registered claim with professional care, compares it with the debtor’s accounts and disputes it to the extent contested (Section 32(1) of Act No. 7/2005 Coll.); another creditor may also dispute it. We summarise how and when to register a claim in registering a claim in bankruptcy.
What disputing a claim means
A dispute may concern the legal basis, enforceability, amount, ranking or security and must be reasoned; anyone disputing the amount must specify the amount contested (Section 32(5)). Always identify the exact scope and reasons from the trustee’s notice, as these determine the entire defence. To the extent not disputed, the claim remains established:
Once the period for disputing a claim expires, the claim is deemed established to the extent that it was not disputed.
— Section 32(16) of Act No. 7/2005 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
The deadline that determines everything
A creditor is entitled to seek establishment of a disputed claim in court by an action, which must be brought against everyone who disputed the claim. This right must be exercised in court against all those persons within 30 days of publication of the dispute in the list of claims, otherwise it expires.
— Section 32(8) of Act No. 7/2005 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
Time runs from publication of the dispute in the list of claims maintained by the trustee in the insolvency register, not from when you actually learn about it. You must therefore actively monitor the list after registering. An action is timely even if filed in a court without jurisdiction; if only a creditor disputed the claim, timely payment of an advance on costs is also a condition of the proceedings. The trustee may later acknowledge the disputed claim in writing (Section 32(17)), but you cannot rely on this.
Inaction means permanent loss
This is extinction of the right, not limitation. Without a timely action, the disputed part of the claim can never be satisfied in the bankruptcy, although it continues to exist under substantive law; if ranking is disputed and no action is brought, the lowest acknowledged ranking applies (Section 32(9)). The Czech Supreme Court confirms the same logic in case No. 29 NSCR 113/2024: the objective content of the act disputing the claim is decisive, a dispute over the claim’s existence may be combined with an alternative dispute over its amount, and expiry of the period for an incidental action means that a claim disputed as to its existence is disregarded and the creditor’s participation ends. Read what the dispute actually says, rather than what the creditor interprets it to mean.
If the debtor also operates in the Czech Republic
Czech insolvency proceedings follow the same principle, but the deadlines for a declaratory action are regulated differently and run from the review hearing or service of notice of the dispute. If you have registered claims in both countries, monitor each regime separately; our registering claims in Czech insolvency proceedings service can help.
How we can help
We assess the dispute and file the incidental action within the deadline against the correct defendants, following on from registering a claim in bankruptcy. We conduct the proceedings to establish the claim through our court representation service.
If you have already received notice that your claim was disputed, calculate the deadline from publication in the list of claims and contact us as soon as possible: there is always less time to prepare the action than it seems.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 29 August 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.
