Abstract
The court's right of moderation is an extraordinary procedural institution. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 150 of the Czech Civil Procedure Code or Section 257 of the Slovak Civil Procedure Code the court may exceptionally, if there are grounds of special consideration or if a party refuses without serious reason to attend the first meeting with a mediator ordered by the court, not to award costs in whole or in part.
In its consideration of whether the case is exceptional and whether there are grounds of special consideration, the court must examine all the particular circumstances of the case, that is to mention the personal, financial, social, health and other circumstances of the parties, including those which led to the claim, the conduct of the parties during the proceedings, as well as the rules of equity. The purpose of not awarding costs, even if only partially, is to eliminate undue harshness, in other words, to achieve equity for the participants in the proceedings.