The Financial Arbitrator is an out-of-court decision-making body founded by the government authorized to decide specific disputes related to the financial market. According to the Act No. 229/2002 Coll., on Financial Arbitrator, as amended, the Financial Arbitrator is, subject to further conditions and provided that a Czech court is otherwise competent to decide the dispute in question, authorized to decide disputes between a consumer and:
a) a payment service provider arisen in connection with offering and providing payment services – e.g. dispute concerning an incorrectly executed payment transaction (malfunction of the ATM, incorrect debiting or crediting of the account, delayed execution of the payment transaction, refusal of a payment order), unauthorized payment transaction (unauthorised use of a credit card or internet banking), termination of a payment account, fee charged for a payment service;
b) an electronic money issuer arisen in connection with issuing and reverse exchange of the electronic money - e.g. dispute between a holder of the pre-paid public transportation card and the public transportation operator;
c) a creditor or intermediary arisen in connection with the offering, providing or mediation of the consumer credit or other credit, loan or other financial service – e.g. dispute between a creditor and its client concerning the rescission of contract, or the fee charged for early repayment of the credit;
d) a person managing or administering a collective investment fund, or offering an investment in the collective investment fund or in a comparable foreign investment fund arisen in connection with managing or administering the collective investment fund, or with offering an investment in the collective investment fund or a comparable foreign investment fund;
e) an insurer or an insurance intermediary in connection with distribution of life insurance and in connection with exercising rights and obligations from life insurance;
f) a money exchange provider arisen in connection with the money exchange – e.g. dispute concerning exchange rate or fee;
g) a building savings bank or intermediary arisen in connection with the offering, providing or mediation of the building savings – e.g. dispute concerning termination of the building savings contract by the building savings bank, change of the building savings contract by the building savings bank (e.g. decrease of the interest on deposits or increase of the fee for keeping the building savings account), fees charged, amount of the state contribution;
h) a person providing investment services in connection with providing investment services, (management of a customer’s assets including an investment instrument based on own discretion in accordance with the contract [portfolio management], custody and administration of the investment instruments including the related services where the securities and book-entry securities issued by an investment fund or a foreign investment fund are concerned, reception and transmission of orders in relation to one or more financial instruments and providing of investment advice concerning investment instruments);
i) a person which maintains an account other than payment account when maintaining the account other than payment account;
j) a beneficiary of a fixed lump-sum deposit when accepting or returning the fixed lump-sum deposit.
Conclusion of an arbitration agreement shall not prevent the competence of the Arbitrator.
Please find examples of the disputes in competence of the Financial Arbitrator here.
First of all, the Financial Arbitrator cannot decide a dispute if the complaint does not meet the requirements set up by the Financial Arbitrator Act. Secondly, the Financial Arbitrator is not authorized to hear the dispute if:
a) the Financial Arbitrator is not competent to decide the dispute,
b) the dispute has been decided in merits by the court of competent jurisdiction or the court proceedings have been initiated,
c) the dispute is currently being heard or has been decided by the Financial Arbitrator,
d) the dispute has been decided in merits in the arbitration proceedings or the arbitration proceedings have been initiated.
Please find examples of the disputes out of competence of the Financial Arbitrator here.
