Preliminary Injunctions In Slovak Civil And Commercial Disputes

• Published date: 15 February 2022
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Real Estate and Construction, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Real Estate
• Law Firm: Kinstellar
• Author: Mr Michal Hru'ovsk'

Slovak courts are often requested to issue preliminary injunctions in civil or commercial disputes. A preliminary injunction serves primarily as a tool to prevent certain actions or harmful effects, e.g., not to dispose of real estate property in order to prevent undesired disposal, or not to terminate a certain contract. A Slovak court may order a preliminary injunction either (i) if it is necessary, without delay, to determine (legal) relations, or (ii) if there is a threat that the potential enforcement may be endangered.

It is also possible to ask a Slovak court to issue a preliminary injunction prior to the initiation of arbitration proceedings, or following the initiation of the arbitration proceedings but prior to the appointment of an arbitrator/arbitral tribunal. However, after the initiation of arbitration proceedings and appointment of an arbitrator/arbitral tribunal, the arbitration court has exclusive jurisdiction to issue a preliminary injunction.

Timeframe:

Under Slovak law, the court may issue a preliminary injunction:

• prior to commencement of the court proceedings,
• during the court proceedings, or
• after the termination of the court proceedings.

The court has a statutory deadline to decide on the application for a preliminary injunction within 30 days following the receipt of the application fulfilling all statutory requirements. An exceptional case is the application for a preliminary injunction in order to prevent entrance into a house or apartment, in case of a reasonable suspicion of violence, in which case the court must decide within 24 hours from the...