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For foreign creditors

Recovering a debt from a Slovak company

A customer established in the Slovak Republic has not paid an invoice for goods, services or subcontract work. We establish in which court and under which law the claim can be brought, check the debtor in the public registers and run the matter from the letter before action through to enforcement.

We act for foreign companies — suppliers of goods, service providers, construction and installation companies, and creditors under loans between companies — whose debtor is established in Slovakia. We advise exclusively on the law of the Slovak Republic; where your contract is governed by the law of another state, we work alongside your local counsel there.

We work in English and Slovak and can run the whole matter remotely.

Send us the file+421 907 823 239
Who we act for

Who we help

We focus on monetary claims of foreign businesses against debtors established in the Slovak Republic — whatever the sector. Carriage charges under the CMR Convention have a page of their own; this one covers goods, services, construction and installation subcontracts, and loans between companies.

Suppliers of goods

Unpaid invoices for goods delivered — including cases where the customer never disputed the invoice and simply does not pay, and cases where it began to allege defects only after the demand for payment.

Service and IT providers

Fees for services rendered, software development and licences, maintenance or equipment rental. We assess what you can use to prove that you performed — acceptance protocols, work reports, e-mail confirmations.

Construction and installation companies

Subcontracts on construction sites in Slovakia and installation of technology: unpaid interim invoices, retained parts of the price and unsigned handover protocols. We check your direct contractual partner in the subcontracting chain, because the claim lies against that partner.

Creditors under loans between companies

Unrepaid loans and credit granted to a Slovak company — a business partner or a group company. We assess the contract, the proof that the money was advanced and the due date, and check whether the debtor has meanwhile entered bankruptcy or restructuring.

What it rests on

What you need to know before the first step

With a cross-border claim, three questions are decided first: which court has jurisdiction, which law governs the contract, and whether recovery against the particular debtor makes economic sense. Jurisdiction and the applicable law are determined by directly applicable regulations of the European Union; the procedure before a Slovak court and enforcement are governed by Slovak law.

Where to sue — jurisdiction of the Slovak courts

The rules are laid down by Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Brussels I bis). Under Article 4(1), persons domiciled in a Member State are to be sued in the courts of that Member State; under Article 63(1), a company is domiciled at the place where it has its statutory seat, central administration or principal place of business. A debtor established in the Slovak Republic can therefore be sued in a Slovak court, unless the parties have agreed on the jurisdiction of another court. In addition, Article 7(1) allows, in matters relating to a contract, an action in the courts for the place of performance of the obligation: unless otherwise agreed, that is, in the case of the sale of goods, the place in a Member State where, under the contract, the goods were delivered or should have been delivered, and, in the case of the provision of services, the place in a Member State where, under the contract, the services were provided or should have been provided. A creditor may therefore sometimes choose between a court in its own state and a Slovak court. A decision of a Slovak court is directly a basis for enforcement in Slovakia — that is, in the state where the debtor is established.

A jurisdiction clause in the contract or in the general terms and conditions: under Article 25(1) of the Regulation, the court of a Member State on which the parties have agreed has jurisdiction, and that jurisdiction is exclusive unless the parties have agreed otherwise. The agreement must be in writing or evidenced in writing, in a form which accords with practices which the parties have established between themselves, or — in international trade or commerce — in a form which accords with a usage of which the parties are or ought to have been aware; under Article 25(2), any communication by electronic means which provides a durable record of the agreement is also treated as being in writing. Where the contract, or terms and conditions that have become part of it, designate a court of another Member State, the action belongs before that court; under Article 26(1), however, a court before which the defendant enters an appearance without contesting jurisdiction also has jurisdiction. We therefore read the jurisdiction clause first.

Which law governs the contract — the Rome I Regulation

The jurisdiction of the court and the applicable law are two separate questions: a Slovak court may decide under the law of another state. Under Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Rome I), a contract is governed by the law chosen by the parties; the choice must be made expressly or clearly demonstrated by the terms of the contract or the circumstances of the case. Where the parties have not chosen the law, under Article 4(1) a contract for the sale of goods is governed by the law of the country where the seller has its habitual residence (point (a)) and a contract for the provision of services by the law of the country where the service provider has its habitual residence (point (b)); a contract not covered by paragraph 1 is governed, under Article 4(2), by the law of the country where the party required to effect the characteristic performance of the contract has its habitual residence. Under Article 19(1), the habitual residence of a company is the place of its central administration. For a foreign supplier that generally means the law of its own state, not Slovak law — unless it is clear from all the circumstances of the case that the contract is manifestly more closely connected with another country (Article 4(3)). Under Article 12(1), the applicable law governs in particular the performance of contractual obligations, the consequences of their breach, and also prescription and limitation of actions (point (d)). The length of the limitation period and the right to default interest may therefore be governed by the law of your state even though the action is brought in Slovakia.

In a sale of goods between businesses from different states, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) may also come into play, if the conditions for its application are met and the parties have not excluded it. A Slovak court ascertains the content of foreign law under Section 53(1) of Act No. 97/1963 Coll. on private international law and procedure: it takes all necessary measures, including ascertaining the content of the foreign law by its own means, from generally available sources, by imposing a duty on the parties to the proceedings or by requesting information from the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic; if the content of the foreign law cannot be ascertained within a reasonable time, Slovak law applies. Our firm advises exclusively on the law of the Slovak Republic — questions of the substantive law of another state we handle in cooperation with your local counsel there.

Where Slovak law governs the relationship: limitation and acknowledgement of the obligation

Slovak law governs the contract in particular where the parties have chosen it or where that follows from Article 4 of the Rome I Regulation. Obligations between entrepreneurs that relate to their business activity are then governed by the Slovak Commercial Code (Section 261(1)). Under Section 397 the limitation period is four years, unless the law provides otherwise for particular rights. Under Section 402 it stops running only when the creditor performs a legal act which, under the rules governing court proceedings, is treated as the commencement of court proceedings or as the assertion of the right in proceedings already commenced — reminders and demands for payment do not in themselves stop the limitation period running. If the debtor acknowledges its obligation in writing, a new four-year limitation period runs from that acknowledgement under Section 407(1), even where the right was already time-barred at the time of the acknowledgement (Section 407(4)). Payment of interest is also treated as acknowledgement in respect of the sum on which the interest is paid (Section 407(2)), as is part performance, if it can be inferred that by it the debtor also acknowledges the remainder of the obligation (Section 407(3)). Where a person acknowledges a specific obligation in writing, it is presumed under Section 323(1) that the obligation exists, to the acknowledged extent, at the time of the acknowledgement. A written acknowledgement of the debt is therefore the first thing we ask the debtor for when negotiating instalments.

Under Section 408(1) of the Commercial Code, the limitation period ends, irrespective of other provisions, no later than ten years from the day on which it first began to run. Where the contract is governed by the law of another state, these periods do not apply — limitation is assessed under the applicable law (Article 12(1)(d) of the Rome I Regulation). With an older claim, the first step is therefore to determine the applicable law, not to count four years.

Default interest and the 40-euro flat-rate compensation under Slovak law

Where Slovak law governs the relationship, the debtor of a monetary obligation is in default under Section 365(2) of the Commercial Code if it does not perform properly and no later than within 30 days of the date of receipt of the invoice or another demand for payment, or within 30 days of the date on which the creditor performed, whichever of those days is later — unless a different payment period follows from the contract. Under Section 369(1), a creditor which has performed its own statutory and contractual obligations has the right to default interest at the rate agreed in the contract, without any separate reminder. Where no rate was agreed, Section 369(2) applies the rate laid down by Government Regulation of the Slovak Republic No. 21/2013 Coll.: under Section 1(1) the base interest rate of the European Central Bank in force on the first day of the relevant calendar half-year of default, increased by eight percentage points, or — if the creditor opts for the fixed variant under Section 1(2) — the base rate in force on the first day of default increased by nine percentage points, which then applies throughout the period of default. Alongside interest, Section 369c(1) of the Commercial Code gives the creditor the right to flat-rate compensation for the costs of recovering the claim; under Section 2 of the Government Regulation that is 40 euros, once, regardless of how long the default lasts.

The current base interest rate of the European Central Bank has to be checked as at the relevant date. A restriction applies to Slovak payment order proceedings: the application is not admissible where agreed default interest is claimed at a rate exceeding by more than five percentage points the rate that would apply without such an agreement (Section 3(5)(a) of Act No. 307/2016 Coll.). Where the contract is governed by the law of another state, default interest and compensation for recovery costs are assessed under that law.

Slovak payment order proceedings or the European order for payment

Slovak payment order proceedings (upomínacie konanie) under Act No. 307/2016 Coll. are accelerated electronic proceedings for monetary claims, an alternative to an action under the Civil Contentious Procedure Code (Section 1(2)). The District Court Banská Bystrica has exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction (Section 2). The application is filed exclusively by electronic means using the designated form (Section 4(1)), and the claimant — or, if represented, its representative — must have an activated electronic mailbox (elektronická schránka) set up under the Slovak e-Government Act (Section 3(6)(b)); a foreign creditor therefore generally files the application through a Slovak lawyer. A foreign legal person proves its identification details by an extract from the register in which it is entered (Section 4(3)). Only a claim for payment of a sum of money in euros can be asserted (Section 3(2)). The application is not admissible if the payment order would have to be served on the defendant abroad (Section 3(6)(d)) — this restriction concerns the defendant, not the claimant, so the fact that the creditor is established abroad is no obstacle. The court issues the payment order no later than ten working days after the procedural conditions, including payment of the court fee, are met (Section 7(1)). The defendant has 15 days from service either to pay or to file a statement of opposition (odpor) (Section 7(2)), which must be reasoned on the merits (Section 11(1)); a payment order against which no statement of opposition has been filed has the effects of a final judgment (Section 11(6)). The European order for payment under Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 is intended for cross-border cases — that is, cases in which at least one of the parties is domiciled or habitually resident in a Member State other than the Member State of the court seised (Article 3(1)). A foreign creditor suing a Slovak debtor in a Slovak court meets that condition. The application is made using standard form A (Article 7(1)), in Slovakia in the state language (Section 270 of the Civil Contentious Procedure Code). The court issues the order as soon as possible and normally within 30 days of the lodging of the application (Article 12(1)). The defendant may lodge a statement of opposition within 30 days of service and does not have to specify the reasons (Article 16(2) and (3)); the proceedings then continue before the competent court of the Member State of origin (Article 17(1)). An order which has become enforceable is recognised and enforced in the other Member States without the need for a declaration of enforceability (Article 19); the Regulation does not apply to Denmark (Article 2(3)).

For a claim in euros against a debtor established in Slovakia, Slovak payment order proceedings have, compared with the European order for payment, a shorter statutory period for issuing the order and half the court fee (Section 11c(1) of Act No. 71/1992 Coll.), and they require a statement of opposition reasoned on the merits. The European order for payment comes into play mainly where Slovak payment order proceedings are not admissible. For claims whose value, excluding interest, expenses and disbursements, does not exceed 5 000 euros, there is also the European Small Claims Procedure under Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 (Article 2(1)): it is a written procedure (Article 5(1)), it is commenced by standard claim Form A (Article 4(1)), the forms are submitted in the language in which the court conducts the proceedings (Article 6(1)), and the judgment is recognised and enforced in another Member State without the need for a declaration of enforceability (Article 20(1)).

A decision from another Member State and enforcement in Slovakia

If you sued the debtor in your own state — for example on the basis of a jurisdiction clause or at the place of performance — and hold an enforceable decision, there is no need to sue again in Slovakia. Under Article 39 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012, a judgment given in a Member State which is enforceable in that Member State is enforceable in the other Member States without any declaration of enforceability being required. For the purposes of enforcement, Article 42(1) requires a copy of the judgment which satisfies the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity, and the certificate which the court of origin issues on request under Article 53. Under Article 43(1), the certificate is served on the person against whom enforcement is sought prior to the first enforcement measure. Under Article 41(1), enforcement is governed by the law of the Member State addressed — in Slovakia, therefore, by the Enforcement Code, under which a foreign enforcement title enforceable in the Slovak Republic is also an enforcement title (Section 45(2)(b)).

The enforcement authority may require a translation of the judgment only if it is unable to proceed without such a translation (Article 42(4) of the Brussels I bis Regulation); it may require a translation or a transliteration of the contents of the certificate where necessary (Article 42(3)). In Slovakia the District Court Banská Bystrica has exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction over enforcement proceedings (Section 49 of the Enforcement Code). The court fee for an application for enforcement is 25 euros under item 13(a) of the schedule of fees in Act No. 71/1992 Coll.

Procedure

How it runs

1

Taking the file on and analysing it

We go through the contract, purchase orders, terms and conditions, invoices and proof of performance. We check whether the contract contains a jurisdiction clause or a choice-of-law clause, which court has jurisdiction, which law governs the relationship and until when the claim can be brought. The result is a written proposal of how to proceed.

2

Checking the debtor

Before bringing an action we check the debtor in the public registers. The Commercial Register is a public list; the registered data and the documents filed in its collection of documents are published free of charge (Section 3(1) and Section 6(1) of Act No. 29/2026 Coll.). The Register of Financial Statements makes the documents filed in its public part available to everyone free of charge (Section 23c(1) of Act No. 431/2002 Coll.). The Slovak Insolvency Register records bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings (Section 203b of Act No. 7/2005 Coll.), and the Central Register of Enforcement Proceedings, kept by the Slovak Chamber of Enforcement Officers, is a public list of enforcement proceedings that have not been finally concluded (Section 211a of the Enforcement Code). The check shows whether recovery makes economic sense and whether the debtor is in bankruptcy or restructuring — in that case the claim is asserted not by an action but by lodging it in those proceedings (prihláška pohľadávky).

3

Letter before action, acknowledgement of debt, instalments

We prepare and send a demand for payment quantifying the principal, default interest and other claims under the applicable law. If the debtor does not dispute the debt but cannot pay it at once, we agree a written acknowledgement of the obligation and an instalment schedule. The agreement can also be drawn up as a notarial deed: if it contains a legal obligation, identifies the entitled person and the obliged person, the legal basis, the subject matter and the time of performance, and the obliged person has consented in it to enforceability, it is an enforcement title under Section 45(2)(c) of the Enforcement Code. If the obligation is not performed, an application for enforcement can then be filed without prior court proceedings.

4

Bringing the claim in court

If the debtor does not pay, we file an application in payment order proceedings under Act No. 307/2016 Coll. — exclusively by electronic means, with the District Court Banská Bystrica, which has exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction over these proceedings. The court issues the payment order no later than ten working days after the procedural conditions, including payment of the court fee, are met; from service the defendant has 15 days either to pay or to file a statement of opposition reasoned on the merits. If none is filed, the payment order has the effects of a final judgment. If one is filed, we respond to it and, within the 15-day period, apply for the proceedings to continue before the court having jurisdiction under the Civil Contentious Procedure Code (Section 14(1) of the Act). Where payment order proceedings are not admissible, we file an application for a European order for payment or bring an action.

5

Enforcement

With an enforceable decision we file an application for enforcement — electronically, using the designated form (Section 48(7) of the Enforcement Code). The District Court Banská Bystrica has exclusive subject-matter jurisdiction over enforcement proceedings (Section 49). Unless there are grounds for dismissing the application, the court issues the authorisation to carry out enforcement within 15 days of receiving the application (Section 53(1); that period does not apply in the case of a notarial deed). It assigns the case to an enforcement officer at random (Section 55(1)) — the creditor does not choose the officer. Where enforcement is already under way against the same debtor and the court has issued an authorisation to an officer, Section 55(4) assigns every further case to that same officer.

Documents

What we need from you

Send us the documents as scans or photographs in the language in which they were drawn up; neither originals nor translations are needed at this stage. We will determine what needs to be translated once we have assessed the matter.

  • The contract, purchase orders and their confirmations, including the e-mail exchange under which the contract was concluded, and the general terms and conditions referred to — we look in them for a jurisdiction clause and a choice-of-law clause.
  • Invoices and proof that they were sent or delivered to the debtor.
  • Proof of performance: delivery notes and transport documents for the delivery of goods, handover and acceptance protocols, work reports, the site diary or installation reports.
  • For a loan or credit: the contract and proof that the money was advanced, for example a bank statement.
  • Correspondence with the debtor — reminders, complaints, notified set-offs and deductions, promises of payment, acknowledgements of debt, part payments.
  • A current extract from the register in which your company is entered; in payment order proceedings a foreign legal person uses it to prove its identification details (Section 4(3) of Act No. 307/2016 Coll.).
  • Details of the bank account to which the debtor is to pay; they are mandatory in an application for a payment order (Section 4(4) of Act No. 307/2016 Coll.).
  • Where a court decision from another Member State already exists: a copy of it and the certificate under Article 53 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012, or a European order for payment declared enforceable.
Fees

What it costs

The scope and the fee are agreed in advance and in writing. You know the price for the assessment and for the letter before action before we start work.

Assessment of the matter

fixed fee agreed in advance

We go through the documents, check jurisdiction, the applicable law and limitation, check the debtor in the public registers and set out the procedure we propose. We quote the fee before any work starts; if you decide not to go ahead, the matter ends there.

Letter before action

fixed fee per step

Preparing and sending the demand for payment, including the calculation of the principal and ancillary claims. Agreed as a fixed sum for the step, not at an hourly rate.

Representation in proceedings

fixed fee or contingency fee

Under Section 7(1) of Decree of the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic No. 655/2004 Coll., a contingency fee may be agreed in the form of a percentage share in the value of the matter; under Section 7(2) its maximum amount may not exceed 20 % of that value. Under Section 8(1) of the Decree it becomes payable only where the client has been fully successful in the matter; where the client is partly successful the lawyer is entitled under Section 8(2) to the tariff fee determined according to the degree of success, and where the client has not been successful even in part the lawyer may under Section 8(3) claim only reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.

Out-of-pocket expenses arise alongside the lawyer’s fee, in particular court fees and translation costs. In payment order proceedings the court fee is, under Section 11c(1) of Act No. 71/1992 Coll. on court fees, 50 % of the percentage rate set out in the schedule of fees; the basic rate under item 1(a) of the schedule is 6 % of the value of the subject matter, so 3 % in these proceedings, but not less than 25 euros and not more than 25 000 euros, or 50 000 euros in commercial matters. The court does not call on the applicant to pay it, and if the fee is not paid within 15 days of filing, the application is disregarded. For an application for a European order for payment, note 5 to item 1 of the schedule provides that the fee is payable under item 1(a), that is, 6 %. The court fee for an application for enforcement is 25 euros under item 13(a) of the schedule. The court awards a party its costs of the proceedings in proportion to its success in the matter (Section 255(1) of the Civil Contentious Procedure Code). The outcome of proceedings depends on the circumstances of the individual case, in particular on the debtor’s assets.

No obligation

Send us the papers on your claim

Tell us who the debtor is, what it owes you for, how much and since when. We will get back to you and set out the next steps. Submitting this form does not create a lawyer-client relationship.

+421 907 823 239klienti@tkak.sk
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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The legislation this page is based on

The full text of each instrument is available on Slov-Lex and EUR-Lex. The information above is general and does not replace advice on an individual matter.