The suspension of litigation is a relatively old and in judicial practice frequently used procedural institute regulated by the seventeenth chapter of the Civil Procedure Act (ZPP) titled: "Suspension and Dormancy of Proceeding." The provisions of the ZPP on the suspension of litigation are also applied to the suspension of other proceedings in which this law applies subsidiarily (e.g., in non-contentious proceedings). Both in theory and judicial practice, it is generally accepted that (litigation) proceeding can only be suspended when a legally predetermined reason for the suspension occurs. These so-called “suspension reasons” are exhaustively listed in Articles 205 and 206 of the ZPP and represent temporary circumstances under which the proceeding is suspended. The suspension itself can occur either ex lege at the moment the suspension reason is fulfilled, where the decision on suspension is merely declaratory, or at the moment the court issues a decision on suspension, which is of a constitutive nature. The consequences of the suspension of proceeding are regulated by Article 207 of the ZPP, which stipulates that during the suspension, all deadlines set for litigation actions cease to run, and the court must not perform any litigation acts. The same article also provides an important exception that is used frequently. The court may issue a final decision if the suspension of proceeding occurs after the main hearing has concluded. In judicial practice, the question of when the suspended proceeding will resume also arises relatively frequently. The answer on that, generally provided by Article 208 of the ZPP, varies depending on the reason for the suspension, and judicial practice had to establish positions on the resumption of proceeding in many specific situations. This master's thesis presents the institute of the suspension of (litigation) proceeding and the positions of judicial practice that have developed in this regard.
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