Class actions in Slovakia

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Slovakia has procedures and respective legal instruments that are similar to opt-in class actions. They include:

• When a group of persons is a party to the proceedings

 A group of persons can collectively bring a claim for damages caused to several victims by the same or similar illegal conduct.

According to the Act. No 160/2015 Coll., the Civil Dispute Code 1 Art. 75 et seq. of the Slovak Dispute Code. (the “Slovak Dispute Code”), such proceedings are called “joint actions”, which mean that there are several entities acting as the claimant or the defendant.

The Slovak Dispute Code distinguishes between the following types of joint actions:

1. an independent joint action 2 Art. 76 of the Slovak Dispute Code. (where every party exercises their own rights and where a legal act performed by one party does not affect the other parties and each claim is decided by the court separately);
2. an inseparable joint action 3 Art. 77 of the Slovak Dispute Code. (where a procedural act of one party binds the other parties and where the judgment must apply to anyone acting as claimant or defendant); and
3.  a compulsory joint action 4 Art. 78 of the Slovak Dispute Code. (where the legitimacy in any dispute is attributed to several parties; under the relevant substantive law, it is necessary for several parties to bring an action jointly or it is necessary to bring an action against more than one party).

However, none of the joint actions described above are a legal equivalent to class actions.

• When a legal entity is able to bring a claim on behalf of a group of persons by means of a public interest action (the “public interest actions”).

In these types of proceedings, one collective claim is filed on behalf of the group of affected persons. These actions are brought with the aim of defending the public (collective) interest. This procedure applies to the following types of actions:

1. actions filed for inadmissibility of a contractual term or terms in a consumer contract and unfair commercial practices 5 Art. 301 et seq. of the Slovak Dispute Code. (i.e., “abstract control in consumer matters proceedings”);
2. anti-discriminatory actions 6 Art. 307 et seq. of the Slovak Dispute Code. (which are filed for a breach of the principle of equal treatment under the rules on equal treatment and protection against discrimination); and
3. actions filed for unfair competition proceedings according to the Act No. 513/1991 Coll., the Commercial Code 7 Art. 53 et seq. of the Slovak Commercial Code. (the “Slovak Commercial Code”); this includes misleading advertising, misleading labelling of goods and services, parasitism on the reputation of the company and bribery.

 Slovakia does not have a specific procedure for bringing “opt-out” class actions.

Special procedural rules on standing (i.e., the person legally entitled to bring a claim) apply in relation to the following types of claims:

1. abstract control proceedings in consumer matters (i.e., proceedings during which the court examines the inadmissibility of certain contractual conditions in a consumer contract and unfair commercial practices);
2. anti-discriminatory proceedings; and
3. unfair competition proceedings.

In relation to (i), according to the Slovak Dispute Code, 8 Art. 302 of the Slovak Dispute Code. a claimant in abstract control proceedings could be an entity established for consumer protection (e.g., civic associations) or a supervisory authority (e.g., the Slovak Trade Inspection or the Slovak National Bank).

In relation to (ii), according to the Slovak Dispute Code, 9 Art. 308 of the Slovak Dispute Code. an entity entitled by law to protect persons against discrimination is an entity authorised to file an anti-discriminatory action (e.g. the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights).

In relation to (iii), according to the Slovak Commercial Code, 10 Art. 54 of the Slovak Commercial Code. an entity entitled by law to defend the interests of competitors or consumers may file a claim for unfair competition.

No official statistics providing information on frequency for bringing actions described in the answer to Question 1 are available.

However, in case of anti-discriminatory actions, these are rarely brought in practice. This is because the Slovak legal environment prefers using alternative dispute resolution methods as opposed to lengthy civil court proceedings.

There are no pending changes to class action rules at the moment that are likely to result in the increase of the number of files claimed.

Joint actions procedures (as described in Question 1) are not restricted to certain types actions.

Public interest actions (as described in Question 1) are restricted to certain types of cases, such as abstract control in consumer matter proceedings, unfair competition claims and anti-discriminatory claims.

In respect of joint actions (as described in Question 1), the damages are available and could be collectively enforced.

In respect of actions filed for unfair competition proceedings (as described in Question 1), persons whose rights have been violated by unfair competition practices may demand i) to refrain from such practices; and ii) to rectify the consequences of unfair competition. They may also demand adequate financial compensation, damages, and the issuance of unjust enrichment.

In abstract control of consumer matters (as described in Question 1), if the court determines that the contract term is inadmissible or that the business practice is unfair, then it shall prohibit the defendant from using a contractual term or a term with the same meaning in all consumer contracts or other contractual documents related to that consumer contract. The court shall also prohibit the defendant from using an unfair business practice.

In anti-discriminatory actions, a court may: i) declare that the principle of equal treatment has been infringed, ii) order the defendant to refrain from such discriminatory actions and, if possible to iii) order the defendant to remedy the infringement. If any damage occurs as a result of discriminatory proceedings, the damages are also available.

There is no specific legal framework for the calculation of damages.

As above, there is no specific legal framework for the calculation of damages.

Yes, the Representative Action Directive will need to be addressed since the current Slovak legislation does not comply with the Directive. According to the recently published preliminary report of the Slovak Ministry of Justice, it appears that the procedural and substantive aspects of collective actions will be regulated within the framework of a special act so that the transposition obligation of the Slovak Republic is fulfilled. Since the review procedure only began in March 2022, specific conclusions cannot be provided at this time. 

There are no special rules for the settlement of these types of claims.

Since Slovakia does not have any special legal framework for class actions, there are no specific rules on jurisdiction for class action procedures.

However, the actions that are similar to class actions identified in Question 1 have specific regimes for territorial jurisdictions.

In general (and applicable also to non-class actions), the court of the defendant has territorial jurisdiction over the proceedings at first instance, according to Slovak law.

In case of joint action, the court of the defendant has territorial jurisdiction over first-instance proceedings, which means that the claim may be brought to the competent court of any of the defendants.

In anti-discriminatory disputes, the court with territorial jurisdiction is the court in which the claimant has permanent residence address, a registered seat or, in the case of a foreign legal entity, an organisational unit.

In disputes arising from abstract control in consumer affairs, the competent courts are:

1. the Regional Court in Bratislava for the districts of the Regional Court in
   Bratislava, Trnava, and Nitra;
2. the Regional Court in Banska Bystrica for the districts of the Regional Court in Banska Bystrica, Zilina and Trencin; and
3. the Regional Court in Kosice for the districts of the Regional Court in Kosice and Presov.
   1. In disputes arising from unfair competition, the competent courts are:
4. District Court Bratislava, for the districts of the Regional Court in Bratislava Trnava, and Nitra;
5. District Court in Banska Bystrica for the districts of the Regional Court in Banska
   Bystrica, Zilina, and Trencin; and
6. District Court Kosice I for the districts of the Regional Court in Kosice and Presov.

Each of the different legal procedures identified in Question 1 have specific certification requirements.

In regard to joint actions under the Slovak Dispute Code, several entities may be the claimant or defendant. If there are more than ten entities, the court may decide that only one entity shall act on behalf of the joint action.

Additionally, the Slovak Dispute Code also enables cases to be joined. In the interests of efficiency and for cost-saving reasons, the court can decide to join such proceedings, which are in fact related to or concern the same parties.

In regard to actions filed in abstract control procedures in consumer matters, these may be filed against the seller only by a legal entity established for consumer protection or a supervisory authority pursuant to a special regulation (see Question 3 for details).

Under the Anti-discrimination Act, the possibility to claim protection of the right to equal treatment can also be granted to a legal person. The respective legal person can subsequently seek a declaration of infringement of the equal treatment principle, so that the person who failed to comply with the principle of equal treatment ceases the discriminatory behaviours and remedies the damage caused.

There are courts designated for abstract control in proceedings over consumer matters and unfair competition claims (see Question 11 above for details).

In general, there are no special rules for discovery or disclosure for the legal procedures identified in Question 1.

However, in abstract control in consumer matters, a specific “evidence investigation” provided by the court applies in relation to discovery or the disclosure of relevant evidence. This means that the court takes into account evidence, besides evidence proposed by the consumers, which was not disclosed by the consumers and was instead discovered by the court itself.

There are no specific rules for appeals in the procedures identified in Question 1 that deviate from the rules for unitary actions.

There are no provisions in the Slovak Arbitration Act in respect to the class actions and its potential waivers.

Contingency fee agreements are permissible in Slovakia under certain conditions.

According to the Decree of the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic on the fees and compensation of lawyers for the provision of legal services, a contingency fee may be agreed as a share of the case value, if the outcome of the proceedings is uncertain.

The maximum amount of the agreed contingency fee may not exceed 20% of the value of the case. The law firm is entitled to an agreed contingency fee only if the client was fully successful. If the client’s success is only partial, the law firm is entitled to a proportion of the agreed contingency fee. If the client has not been successful at all, the law firm has the right to demand only the reimbursement of cash expenses from the client.

The duty to pay for the costs of proceedings is usually connected to the success of a particular case. The court usually orders the losing party to reimburse the winning party with the costs of proceedings. If a party to the case has been only partially successful, the court shall order the losing party to reimburse the winning party proportionally or declare that neither party is entitled to reimbursement of costs.

Additionally, under the Slovak legal framework, the costs of proceedings include all justified and expediently incurred expenses that arise in connection with the particular case. Only expenses incurred in the course of the proceedings are considered to be costs of the proceedings in the period from the commencement of the proceedings until the valid and final judgment. 

There is no special legal framework for the litigation funding of the procedures identified in Question 1 that are similar to class actions.

See the Overview of the Representative Actions Directive >>

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European Class Action Report 2023

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