Slovak courts are often requested to issue preliminary injunctions in civil or commercial disputes. A preliminary injunction serves primarily as a tool to prevent certain actions or harmful effects, e.g., not to dispose of real estate property in order to prevent undesired disposal, or not to terminate a certain contract. A Slovak court may order a preliminary injunction either (i) if it is necessary, without delay, to determine (legal) relations, or (ii) if there is a threat that the potential enforcement may be endangered.

It is also possible to ask a Slovak court to issue a preliminary injunction prior to the initiation of arbitration proceedings, or following the initiation of the arbitration proceedings but prior to the appointment of an arbitrator/arbitral tribunal. However, after the initiation of arbitration proceedings and appointment of an arbitrator/arbitral tribunal, the arbitration court has exclusive jurisdiction to issue a preliminary injunction.

Timeframe:

Under Slovak law, the court may issue a preliminary injunction:

  • prior to commencement of the court proceedings,
  • during the court proceedings, or
  • after  the termination of the court proceedings.


The court has a statutory deadline to decide on the application for a preliminary injunction within 30 days following the receipt of the application fulfilling all statutory requirements. An exceptional case is the application for a preliminary injunction in order to prevent entrance into a house or apartment, in case of a reasonable suspicion of violence, in which case the court must decide within 24 hours from the receipt of the application.

Main advantages:

  • Relatively quick decision of the court on the application, mainly due to statutory deadlines;
  • The court usually decides on the application based on the evidence submitted by the applicant, without a hearing and without giving an opportunity to the other party (respondent) to comment on the application;
  • If the application is dismissed by the court, the other party (respondent) is not informed about it;
  • The court decision on granting the injunction is valid and effective upon delivery, unless a special law stipulates otherwise.

Obstacles:

  • Serving the issued preliminary injunction to the respondent and confirmation of its delivery;
  • Enforcement of the issued preliminary injunction is not always easy;
  • The appeal process may take longer due to the lack of a statutory deadline;
  • Damage / harm caused by the preliminary injunction and its recovery.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.