The System of Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumers in the Czech Republic from the Perspective of the General Principles of Alternative Dispute Resolution The System of Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumers in the Czech Republic from the Perspective of the General Principles of Alternative Dispute Resolution
Abstract
This article aims to determine the characteristic features of the tools which might be used by the consumers in the Czech Republic as an alternative resolution for consumer disputes. The objective of the article is to identify the general principles of alternative dispute resolution and investigate whether those principles are followed by Czech domestic law and legal practice.
The article then offers a detailed analysis of the system of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for consumers in the Czech Republic as regulated by private and public law. The article deals with questions which entities provide alternative dispute resolution, which procedural rules apply to the proceedings, what type of decision is issued and what its effects are, etc.
The authors subsequently analyse the position and the activities of the entities providing alternative dispute resolution, namely the Czech Energy Authority, the Czech Telecommunication Authority, the Financial Arbiter, the Ombudsman of the Czech Insurance Association and the Czech Bar in the field of consumer ADR. The analysis of the activities of each of these entities is made with an emphasis on the main objective of the article, which is to assess how the general principles of ADR are observed in practice.
In conclusion, the author offers a summary highlighting some of the divergences and deflections from the general rules of private law alternative dispute resolution while delivering evaluative conclusions.