Did you fail in the civil suit? Don’t despair, nothing is lost yet. You still have the possibility to appeal. These are divided into extraordinary and ordinary depending on whether you are defending against a final or non-final court decision. Which ones are available to you and when can you use them? Find out in this article.
Civil court proceedings, also known as civil proceedings, decide disputes between natural or legal persons concerning their civil rights and obligations. It decides so-called private law disputes. These may include contractual relations, property disputes, inheritance proceedings, compensation for damages, divorce proceedings or debt recovery.
What affects evidence in civil proceedings? Find out in our article.
Civil litigation is therefore based on the filing of a lawsuit by one party against another party with the aim of resolving disputes and obtaining a fair decision. In this type of proceedings, the courts decide on the basis of legal rules and evidence presented by the parties.
Example: Two neighbours get into a dispute over a tree growing on the boundary of their property. One neighbor believes the tree is causing damage to his fence and asks the other to remove it. However, the other neighbour believes that the tree belongs on his property and he is not obliged to cut it down.
Because they disagree, one of them may take the other to court. The court will then hear their arguments and examine evidence such as photographs, testimony and land ownership laws. Based on this, the court will decide whether the tree is on the common boundary and what the next steps should be, such as whether the tree really needs to be cut down or not.
Has the court ruled against you and do you want to fight it?
We will assess your chances of success and take care of the preparation of an appeal, appeal or constitutional complaint, depending on the proceedings and the stage they are at.
At the end of the civil process, there are two basic types of decisions awaiting the court:
You can defend yourself against these decisions by using ordinary or extraordinary remedies. Let’s take a closer look at them.
How do the court proceedings work? Find out in the next article.
An ordinary appeal is a legal tool you can use to challenge a court decision. It is brought against a decision that has not yet become final within the time limit set by law. The purpose of this appeal is to review the correctness and legality of the original decision, and the appellate body may uphold, modify or overturn the original decision. There are three types of ordinary appeals in civil proceedings :
An appeal is the most typical remedy in civil proceedings. You have a statutory time limit of 15 days from the date you were served with the court’s decision to appeal (the date of service is not included in this time limit). You appeal to the court that issued the decision, i.e. the court of first instance. This court then sends the appeal to the court of appeal (the court of second instance).
You can file an appeal if there is a legal reason for filing it. These include failure to comply with the conditions of the proceedings, failure to take account of evidence or facts put forward by the appellant, incomplete or incorrect findings of fact, errors of law and other defects. An exception is made for so-called ‘ trivial cases ‘ with a monetary award of up to CZK 10 000.
We have detailed the appeal process in civil court proceedings in our article. In it, you will learn what should not be missing in the appeal, what its effects are and how the court can decide.
A payment order is a decision issued by a court in an expedited procedure. It is usually issued for clear and uncontested claims, such as an unpaid invoice. If you disagree with the order for payment, you can oppose it within 15 days of service.
The statement of opposition must be in writing and contain basic elements such as the name of the parties and the decision against which it is directed. You just need to deliver it to the competent court. By filing a statement of opposition, the order for payment is automatically annulled and the proceedings continue as ordinary court proceedings. Failure to lodge a statement of opposition means that the order for payment becomes final and enforceable.
You can find out more about how to oppose a payment order in our next article.
A bill of exchange and cheque payment order is a special type of order that allows for the rapid recovery of claims on bills of exchange and cheques. The bill of exchange or cheque itself constitutes sufficient proof of the debt so that the court can issue the order without the need for further proof.
You can object to these types of payment orders within three days of service. However, you can only object on specific grounds. These include, for example, the fact that the cheque or bill of exchange does not contain all the legal requirements or that you have already paid the debt.
Find out more about the different types of payment orders and how to defend against them in our article.
Extraordinary legal remedies allow you to challenge final decisions of the courts. Unlike ordinary appeals, they can therefore be used to challenge court decisions that have already become final and cannot normally be reviewed.
These remedies may be invoked exceptionally and only under certain conditions, usually to correct serious errors of law or injustice or where new facts or evidence come to light. The following extraordinary remedies are available in civil proceedings:
You can use an action for a retrial if new facts or evidence come to light after a decision has become final that could not have been used before and have a major impact on the outcome. It can be brought against judgments, orders or payment orders, but cannot be used for example against divorce judgments or decisions of the Court of Appeal.
It must be brought within three months of the discovery of the new facts and within a maximum of three years of the original decision becoming final. The court first decides on the admissibility of the action and, if it admits it, rehears the case in the light of the new evidence.
Want to sue and not sure if you’ll win? We will assess your situation and propose a solution that will lead to the desired outcome.
An action for a declaration of nullity allows the court to set aside or modify a decision of the court if there are procedural defects in the proceedings. These defects include, for example, a decision by a judge who was excluded from the case, or if the court decided a matter that should have been dealt with by another body. Conversely, it cannot be used to correct substantive errors of law, i.e. misapplication of the law.
The action is admissible against final judgments of the courts of appeal, decisions of the court of first instance or orders for payment. However, it is not admissible, for example, against divorce judgments or partial decisions on costs. This action may also be brought within three months of service of the contested decision, the maximum period being three years after the decision becomes final.
Read more about actions as extraordinary remedies in our next article.
You can appeal against final decisions of the courts of appeal (regional or supreme courts). The only ground of appeal is an error of law. The appeal must be lodged within two months of receipt of the decision and must be directed solely against points of law, not against new evidence. The Supreme Court may reject the appeal, dismiss the appeal, annul the decision of the Court of Appeal or amend it.
Appeals cannot be filed, for example, in family matters (divorce, alimony) or in cases involving disputes for sums up to CZK 50,000.
When and how to use the appeal in civil proceedings is discussed in detail in the next article.
Appeals in civil court proceedings can be divided into ordinary and extraordinary appeals. Ordinary appeals (appeal, opposition to a payment order, opposition to a bill of exchange payment order) are used to review decisions which have not become final. Extraordinary appeals (actions for revision, actions for annulment, appeals) allow a challenge to decisions which have already become final and are used exceptionally in cases of serious errors or new facts.
Has the court ruled against you and do you want to fight it? We will assess your chances of success and take care of preparing an appeal, appeal or constitutional complaint depending on the proceedings and their stage.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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