Full procedural instructions for the debtors

Effective from 1 April 2025, judicial officers will include only simplified instructions regarding procedural rights and responsibilities in the Notice of Initiation of Enforcement Procedure. The complete instructions are available on the website of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of the Czech Republic, to which judicial officers refer in the Notice of Initiation of Enforcement Procedure.

1. Enforcement proceedings—instructions listed in Section 44(3)(j) of the Enforcement Code

§ 29 (Objection of bias)

(1) A judicial officer shall be excluded from an enforcement procedure if, having regard to the judicial officer's relationship to the matter, to the parties to the enforcement procedure or to their representatives, there is reason to doubt the judicial officer's impartiality.

(2) Circumstances consisting in the conduct of the judicial officer in the enforcement procedure concerning the matter under consideration shall not constitute grounds for exclusion.

(4) The parties to the enforcement procedure have the right to express their views regarding the judicial officer; they shall be instructed of this right by the judicial officer.

(5) A party shall raise an objection of bias of the judicial officer no later than 8 days from the date on which the notice of commencement of the enforcement procedure was served on that party. If the party was unaware of the ground for exclusion within that period, or if such ground arose later, the objection may be raised within 8 days after the party became aware thereof. A party may also raise an objection of bias at a later stage if the judicial officer failed to instruct the party of the right to express views regarding the judicial officer.

(7) For a decision on the objection of bias, the judicial officer shall, without undue delay, submit the matter to the enforcement court; pending the proceedings, the judicial officer may perform only such acts as cannot be postponed. (...)

(8) The exclusion of a judicial officer shall be decided by the enforcement court.

§ 37(5)and(6) (Merging of enforcement procedures)

(5) Any further enforcement procedure commenced by the creditor against the same debtor before the same judicial officer before the judicial officer's authority to conduct the previous enforcement procedure ceases shall be joined with the previous enforcement procedure for joint proceedings, as of the date of filing of the application. In the interest of procedural economy, the judicial officer may sever a matter referred to in the first sentence for separate proceedings.

(6) Where enforcement procedures against the same debtor are conducted by more than one judicial officer, or where another creditor commences an enforcement procedure against the same debtor before the same judicial officer, the enforcement court shall, upon the debtor's motion, join such procedures for joint proceedings, provided that

a) the creditor is a person who was a creditor of the debtor at the time the enforced debt arose, or the creditor's legal successor, and the procedures have not already been joined pursuant to paragraph 5,

b) the subject matter of each of the procedures to be joined is the recovery of a monetary claim not exceeding the amount referred to in Section 202(2) of the Civil Procedure Code, and

c) at least two enforcement procedures pursuant to point (a) are conducted against the debtor.

§ 44a(1) (General prohibition on disposal of assets)

(1) Unless the judicial officer decides otherwise under Section 44(4), after service of the notice the debtor may not dispose of the debtor’s assets, including immovable property and assets forming part of the matrimonial property regime, except for ordinary business and operational activities, the satisfaction of basic living needs of the debtor and persons to whom the debtor has a maintenance obligation, and the maintenance and administration of the assets. A legal act in breach of this obligation shall be void. However, a legal act shall be deemed valid unless an objection of invalidity is raised by the judicial officer, the creditor, or a registered creditor for the purpose of securing satisfaction of the enforced claim. The legal effects of raising an objection of invalidity shall arise from the time when the legal act becomes effective, provided that an enforcement order or other expression of will of the judicial officer, the creditor, or the registered creditor raising the objection of invalidity is delivered to all parties to the legal act to which the objection relates.

§ 54 (Postponement of Enforcement)

1) A motion to stay the enforcement procedure shall be filed with the judicial officer conducting the enforcement procedure. A motion to stay the enforcement procedure which does not contain all prescribed particulars, which is incomprehensible or imprecise, or to which documents proving the assertions contained therein are not attached, shall be rejected by the judicial officer within 7 days if the deficiencies prevent a substantive decision on the motion. Section 43 of the Civil Procedure Code shall not apply.

(2) Until a decision is issued on the motion to stay the enforcement procedure, the judicial officer shall not secure the debtor’s assets nor carry out the enforcement procedure if security has been deposited and the debtor has filed a motion to stay termination of the enforcement procedure under paragraph 6, and shall not carry out the enforcement procedure in cases of a motion to stay under paragraphs 5 or 7 or under Section 266 of the Civil Procedure Code.

(3) Paragraph 2(b) shall not apply to a motion which constitutes an abusive or manifestly unsuccessful exercise or defence of a right, or where the party raises in the motion for stay the same circumstances that have already been decided upon. The judicial officer shall inform the debtor of such facts without undue delay.

(4) Where the judicial officer or the enforcement court stays the enforcement procedure upon the debtor’s motion under Section 266(1) of the Civil Procedure Code, the judicial officer or the enforcement court shall specify the period for which the enforcement procedure is stayed. Where the enforcement procedure is stayed under paragraph 6, the judicial officer shall neither ascertain nor secure the debtor’s assets and shall not carry out the enforcement procedure. During the stay of the enforcement procedure under paragraphs 5 and 7 or under Section 266 of the Civil Procedure Code, the judicial officer shall not carry out the enforcement procedure; this is without prejudice to Section 289(1) of the Civil Procedure Code. During the stay of the enforcement procedure, seized movable assets may not be secured. Upon expiry of the stay period, the judicial officer shall continue the enforcement procedure ex officio.

(5) Where the enforceability of the enforcement title is stayed, the judicial officer or the enforcement court shall stay the enforcement procedure until the final conclusion of the proceedings in which the court decides on the stay of enforceability of the enforcement title.

(6) Where security has been deposited with the judicial officer in the amount of the enforced claim, costs of the creditor and costs of enforcement, the judicial officer or the enforcement court shall, upon the debtor’s motion, stay the enforcement procedure until the decision on the motion to terminate the enforcement procedure becomes final, and shall decide that the debtor is not bound by the prohibition under Section 44a(1) and Section 47(6) as of the date of issuance of the decision on the stay. If the enforcement procedure is not terminated, the security shall be used to satisfy the enforced claim, the creditor’s costs and the costs of enforcement; otherwise it shall be returned to the provider of the security.

(7) Unless otherwise provided, the judicial officer shall also stay ex officio the enforcement procedure for recovery of a monetary obligation by sale of movable assets:

a) conducted against a debtor not referred to in Section 67(1), against whom enforcement by wage garnishment or other income is also being conducted for claims other than those under Section 279(2) of the Civil Procedure Code, and in which garnishments are being executed, if the debtor informs the judicial officer in writing without undue delay after becoming aware of the inventory that the debtor will, on a monthly basis, transfer to a special account under Section 46(5) for satisfaction of the claim enforced by sale of movable assets an amount equal to the second third of the remaining net wage determined in the month preceding the month in which the garnishment order was served on the payer of income, but not less than CZK 1,500;

b) conducted against a debtor who is a natural person not referred to in point (a) or Section 67(1), if the debtor informs the judicial officer in writing without undue delay after becoming aware of the inventory that the debtor will transfer to a special account under Section 46(5) at least CZK 1,500 monthly for satisfaction of the claim enforced by sale of movable assets.

(8) The judicial officer shall invite the debtor to transfer funds in the amount under paragraph 7 to the special account without undue delay after the enforcement procedure has been stayed. The debtor shall transfer the funds within 10 days from service of the invitation; in subsequent months, the debtor shall transfer the funds by the end of each calendar month.

(9) If the obligation under the second sentence of paragraph 8 is not fulfilled, the judicial officer shall notify the debtor and set an appropriate additional period for compliance. Upon expiry of this period, the stay of the enforcement procedure shall terminate.

(10) The judicial officer shall not stay the enforcement procedure under paragraph 7, shall reject a motion to stay under paragraph 7, or shall issue a decision to resume the enforcement procedure if the total value of all seized movable assets included in the inventory clearly exceeds thirty-six times the amount transferred by the debtor under paragraph 7(a) or (b). For the calculation, assets clearly valued at less than CZK 1,000 and sets of assets intended for joint disposal with a value not clearly exceeding CZK 2,000 shall not be taken into account. Paragraphs 7 to 9 shall apply in the same enforcement procedure for sale of movable assets only once. Paragraphs 7 to 9 shall not apply in enforcement proceedings concerning assets under Section 67(1), introductory part, or under Section 67(2).

(11) The enforcement court or the judicial officer may stay the enforcement procedure ex officio if it can be expected that the enforcement procedure will be terminated.

(12) If the judicial officer does not grant a motion to stay the enforcement procedure within 7 days, the judicial officer shall submit the motion together with the enforcement file to the enforcement court within the same period, and the court shall decide without undue delay, no later than within 15 days.

§ 55(1)-(3) (Motion to Discontinue Enforcement)

(1) A motion to terminate the enforcement procedure may be filed by the debtor within 15 days from the date on which the debtor became aware of the ground for termination of the enforcement procedure. The motion to terminate the enforcement procedure shall be filed with the judicial officer conducting the enforcement procedure. If the spouse of the debtor files a motion to terminate the enforcement procedure under Section 262b of the Civil Procedure Code, the judicial officer shall decide on such motion on the basis of written documents, without the consent of the creditor, within 15 days from the date of service of the motion. If the judicial officer does not grant the motion, the judicial officer shall submit it together with the enforcement file within the said period to the enforcement court, which shall decide on the motion. Paragraph 3 shall not apply.

(2) A motion to terminate the enforcement procedure shall contain a statement of facts relevant for assessing whether it was filed within the time limit referred to in paragraph 1; this shall not apply where the motion is filed no later than within the time limit under Section 46(6). A motion to terminate the enforcement procedure which does not contain all prescribed particulars, which is incomprehensible or imprecise, to which documents proving the assertions contained therein are not attached, or which has been filed out of time, shall be rejected by the judicial officer. If an appeal is lodged against such a decision, the judicial officer shall annul it and submit the matter to the enforcement court for determination.

(3) If a party files a motion to terminate the enforcement procedure, the judicial officer shall, within 15 days from service of the motion, invite the other parties to the enforcement procedure to state whether they agree with the motion and, where they do not agree with the assertions contained therein, to comment on the motion and submit documents proving their assertions. If all parties agree to the termination of the enforcement procedure, the judicial officer shall grant the motion within 30 days from the expiry of the time limit for comments or from receipt of the last consent, whichever occurs earlier. If the judicial officer does not grant the motion to terminate the enforcement procedure, the judicial officer shall submit it together with the enforcement file within the said period to the enforcement court.

§ 56a (Service of Documents to the Address Registration Office)

(1) Where a judicial officer serves a document on a natural person through a postal services operator or another entity providing carriage of consignments, and where the service address via the delivery authority of a party to the proceedings or its representative is a place of permanent residence located at the seat of a registration office, the judicial officer shall, instead of handing the document over to the postal services operator or such other entity for delivery, retain the document and publish on the central official board (Section 125a) a notice requesting the addressee to collect the document or to request its forwarding to another address.

(3) If the addressee fails to collect the document within 10 days from the date of publication of the notice under paragraph 1, or fails within the same period to deliver to the judicial officer a request for sending the document to another address, the document shall be deemed served on the last day of that period, even if the addressee has not become aware of its retention. The address stated by the addressee in the request under the previous sentence shall be deemed the service address for the purposes of the proceedings under Section 46a(2) of the Civil Procedure Code.

(4) Paragraphs 1 to 3 shall not apply to:

a) service of documents under Section 44(1), second sentence, on the debtor or the debtor’s spouse,
b) service of the notice of commencement of the enforcement procedure under Section 44(1), first sentence, on the creditor,
c) service of documents in the proceedings on the creditor, debtor, or the debtor’s spouse, where they have collected any document referred to in points (a) or (b) during the storage period,
d) service of documents excluded from substituted service under Section 49(4) of the Civil Procedure Code,
e) service of an enforcement order on the debtor’s debtor.

§ 56b (Service of Documents to Persons Without a Mailbox at the Service Address)

(1) Where, in the course of proceedings, a document intended for personal delivery has been served by the judicial officer on the addressee and has been returned because
a) it was not possible to leave a notice at the place of service, or
b) it was returned on the ground that there is no mailbox at the place of service for depositing the document, provided that depositing into a mailbox was not excluded at the same time,

the judicial officer shall serve subsequent documents in the proceedings, to be delivered via a postal services operator or another entity providing carriage of consignments, if the addressee’s service address via the delivery authority is the same as in the case of the consignment returned under point (a) or (b), by way of retaining the document instead of handing it over to the postal services operator or such other entity, and by publishing a notice on the central official board (Section 125a) requesting the addressee to collect the document or to request its forwarding to another address.

(2) In the case of another document served on the addressee and returned to the judicial officer on the ground that such document or notice could not be deposited in a mailbox, paragraph 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

§ 87(1)and(2) (Enforcement Costs)

(1) Enforcement costs shall consist of the remuneration of the judicial officer, compensation for lump-sum or purposefully incurred cash expenses, compensation for loss of time in the enforcement procedure, reimbursement of costs of service of documents, remuneration and reimbursement of costs of an enterprise administrator and an administrator of immovable property, and, where the judicial officer or the administrator of an enterprise or of immovable property is a value added tax payer, also the relevant value added tax under a special legal regulation (hereinafter referred to as “enforcement costs”). Compensation for purposefully incurred travel expenses and compensation for loss of time shall form part of enforcement costs up to the amount determined by a secondary legal regulation. Purposefully incurred travel expenses and loss of time exceeding that amount shall be borne by the creditor; the creditor shall be instructed thereof in the notice of commencement of the enforcement procedure.

(2) The creditor shall be entitled to reimbursement of costs purposefully incurred for the enforcement of the claim (hereinafter referred to as “creditor’s costs”). The debtor shall reimburse the creditor for the creditor’s costs. Enforcement costs satisfied from an advance payment shall become part of the creditor’s costs; this shall not apply where reimbursement of enforcement costs has been imposed on the creditor. Compensation for purposefully incurred travel expenses and compensation for loss of time which do not constitute enforcement costs shall not become part of the creditor’s costs.

2. Establishing a Judicial Officers's Lien— instructions listed in Section 73a(3) of the Enforcement Code

§ 29(5) (Objection of bias)

§ 55(1)-(3) (Motion to Discontinue Enforcement)

§ 56a (Service at the Municipal Registration Office)

(4) Paragraphs 1 to 3 shall not apply to:

§ 56b (Service on Persons Without a Delivery Address Mailbox)

§ 73a(10)and(11) (Enforcement by Creation of a Judicial Officers's Lien)

(10) Enforcement by establishment of an enforcement lien shall be effected upon the legal force of the enforcement order. The enforcement lien shall not cease to exist upon completion of the enforcement.

(11) After completion of the enforcement, a motion to terminate the enforcement procedure may be filed only with the court.