In April 1, 2008, the Ministry of Industry and Trade together with the Agrarian Chamber of the
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is a system, offering alternative procedures to solve consumer disputes. That is a different way than the regular in-court proceedings. This system offers solutions for disputes that arise from failure to comply with contractual obligations, either by the consumer or by the seller/service providing entity or enterprise. The most common consumer disputes are disputes relevant to defective goods claims but also other disputes, which may be connected to the legal relationship between the consumer and the enterprise.
The Alternative Dispute Resolution project, which took legal effect on April 1, 2008, has been prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade together with the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic, consumer right organizations, Arbitrary Court at the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic, the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic, the Mediator Association, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice. The goal of the entire project is to establish a system, which will make the consumer dispute processing more efficient and quicker. At present time, this project is in the start-up phase, which shall take two years. After that, all gathered data and information will be evaluated and if necessary, applicable measures will be applied to ensure proper operation.
How is the system managed
The entire system stands on three basic pillars (methods of dispute solutions). These are mainly represented by giving both parties qualified information, recommendations and mediating services, as well as providing them with court/arbitration proceedings. Mediating services are mainly represented by a mutual communication between both parties, done by an authorized person, who is called the mediator. The goal of mediating services is to achieve mutual agreement between both participating parties.
Arbitration proceedings are an alternative solution for asset related disputes, performed by an independent arbitrator/judge. The result of such proceedings is the issuance of so-called arbitrary findings/resolutions.
If there is a dispute between an enterprise and consumer and both parties think that it would be easier to solve their dispute out of the court, they can contact the alternative dispute resolution office. Basically, it is sufficient to fill out a simple form and send it to the applicable alternative dispute resolution office.
The employee in the office will provide the parties with qualified information and will recommend a solution for their dispute. If the dispute is not solved right in the office, he shall prepare all necessary steps, so the mediating process or the arbitration proceedings may begin. The entire system is based on a voluntary participation of both parties. In order to begin with the mediating service or with the arbitration proceeding, it is necessary that both parties agree to participate freely.
Advantages of this system for the consumer
The goal of the entire system is to find quick, inexpensive and efficient solution for consumer disputes. The expected result of the out-of-court process is a binding agreement (in case of mediation services) or executable arbitration resolution (in case of arbitration proceedings). Advantage of the entire system is that the mediation services are free, because the mediator is paid by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In case of arbitration proceedings, the prosecuting party pays for the arbitration proceedings (3 % from the value of the subject of the dispute, but no less than CZK 800,-). The arbitration judge is paid by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The other advantage is the speed of the entire process.
Advantages of this system for businesses and enterprises
This system offers advantages for consumers, as well as for the involved businesses and enterprises. The basic and most common advantage is the speed of the entire process. It is assumed that the entire out-of-court dispute solution process will be completed in relatively short time period. The mediation services are free and the mediator is paid by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In case of arbitration proceedings, the prosecutor pays a fee for the arbitration proceedings (3 % from the value of the subject of the dispute, but no less than CZK 800,-).
The other advantage for businesses, is the voluntary participation in the out-of-the court proceedings, because it may help the business or the enterprise to get noticed on the market, to improve good name of the business and to solidify its position on the market. In the future, the Ministry of Industry and Trade plans to publish names of businesses, which participated in the out-of-court dispute solution process.
Complaint
If the parties involved in the dispute are not satisfied with the quality or with the resolution issued by the out-of-court dispute proceedings and if they think that rules relevant to the alternative dispute solution process were broken, they can file a complaint to the Ministry of Industry and Trade or they can send it to e-mail address: adr@mpo.cz. The complaint may be filed within 30 days, starting on the date when the prosecutor learned about the reasons, which forced him to file the applicable complaint. However, the complaint may be filed within one year from the day, when the reason to file the applicable complaint appeared. The complaint will be also processed by the Platform for alternative dispute resolution.
More information regarding this topic may be found here.