The ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) project is based on the current legal modifications. In order to realize this project, necessary legal regulations have been accepted by the Ministry and by other partners participating on this project, which shall be observed and respected by all participants.
This project has been accepted and approved by the Minister of Industry and Trade on December 2007. The project is being realized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in cooperation with the Czech Chamber of Commerce, Arbitrary Court at the Agrarian Chamber, consumer representatives, Association of Mediators of the Czech Republic, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice.
The project is based on essential principles such as objectivity and application of impartiality, time savings, lowering costs and expenses and application of simpler procedures used during dispute solution process.
Disputes between business entity and consumer (for example the seller does not accept a claim or does not comply with applicable time periods described in the contract, etc.) may escalate and become a consumer lawsuit. Instead of filing a lawsuit, the consumer or the business entity may make use of the alternative dispute resolution project; by contacting the applicable office and specifying that he wishes to solve the dispute out of the court (applicable offices may be contacted in person, via the phone, in writing or via electronic e-mail). The contact locations or the applicable offices shall provide the necessary information and propose possible solutions, mediation or arbitrary proceedings. The person who wishes to solve the dispute out of the court shall select the type and form of the solution. After that, the opposite party is contacted and asked to provide an opinion relevant to the proposal to solve their mutual dispute out of the court and by using the selected solution type, form and method. If the other party agrees, the mediator or the jury/arbitrator shall be selected and the contact office or the contact location shall forward the entire agenda over to the selected mediator or arbitrator for further processing. Should either party disagree with the proposed “out of the court” solution, the alternate dispute resolution project cannot be applied and the dispute may be solved by the applicable court of law only.
To utilize and apply the out of the court project, the participants must fill out the applicable form and use the applicable information system.
To ensure objectivity and impartial proceedings during consumer dispute processing, the applicable and published rules shall be followed. These are the “Rules of procedures, the Mediation code and the Appendix of the Arbitration proceeding order/code.
Activities in connection with this project shall begin on April 1st and the first phase of the project shall last 2 years.
After the 2 year period is over, all gathered results will be evaluated and follow up procedures, relevant to the out of the court dispute programme will be
More information may be found here.