Flat Rate in Litigation Matters

Once again, this concerns remuneration set by a decree of the Czech Ministry of Justice, specifically Decree No. 484/2000 Coll., as amended, which stipulates flat rates of remuneration for an attorney-at-law or notary public to represent a party while a decision is taken on awarding costs in litigation proceedings. As the actual name of the decree indicates, this fee arrangement applies in so-called “contentious agenda” or litigation cases heard in court. The costs of proceedings (including the costs of legal representation) are continually paid by each of the parties themselves. In the reimbursement of costs, however, the party that was unsuccessful in the court proceedings ultimately pays all the winning party’s costs. In principle, the total fee in these cases is determined by multiplying remuneration for representation in the proceedings in one instance by the number of instances of court proceedings that the case passed through (remuneration per instance x the number of instances). A typical court case involves two instances: the court of first instance and the court of appeals. Sometimes, however, the case is sent back to the court of first instance by the court of appeals or there is an appellate review, which can mean that the case is taken to the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic, as the court of third instance.