1. INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

1.1. These rules (hereinafter referred to as the “Mediation Rules”) regulate the process of attempting to reach an agreement between disputing parties with the involvement of an impartial third party – a mediator, pursuant to Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulation”). The parties to a dispute that may be resolved under these Mediation Rules may exclusively be the Operator and the Merchant.

1.2. The company Advocatius, s.r.o., ID No. 25839578, with its registered office at Ostrava - Mariánské Hory, Sokola Tůmy 743/16, Postal Code 709 00, provides mediation services for the purpose of resolving disputes between the Operator and the Merchant. The company receives requests from parties for mediation, handles all correspondence related to the mediation of a specific dispute, appoints a mediator for the given dispute, and provides mediators with technical and organizational support. Unless otherwise specified by Advocatius, s.r.o., mediation pursuant to these Mediation Rules is carried out by the following mediators:

1.3. The subject of mediation under these Mediation Rules may include any dispute between the Operator and the Merchant related to the use of the Portal. This includes, in particular, disputes regarding the functionality of the Portal, XML FEED, and potential inability to use certain features, disputes over the Operator’s entitlement to monetary payments, disputes concerning content on the Portal (including user reviews or specific Offers), or disputes arising from the use of other services offered within the Portal. The subject may, but does not necessarily, include attempts to resolve a Merchant’s complaint through the Operator’s internal complaint resolution system.

1.4. The company Advocatius, s.r.o. is responsible for ensuring that the appointed mediator meets the following conditions:

• impartiality and independence from either party to the dispute;
• affordability for all Merchants;
• the ability to provide services in the language in which the terms governing the relationship between the Operator and the Merchant are drafted;
• easy accessibility via remote communication means;
• the ability to provide services without undue delay;
• sufficient professional competence and experience in the field of e-commerce relationships.

2. INITIATION OF MEDIATION

2.1. The Operator or the Merchant may, at any stage of a dispute meeting the conditions set out in Article 1.3 of the Mediation Rules, contact Advocatius, s.r.o. with a request for mediation via an email sent to [email protected]. The email request must include a description of the circumstances of the dispute, its origin, and a brief outline of the proposed resolution. Requests by the Operator must also include the identification and contact details of the Merchant.

2.2. Advocatius, s.r.o. shall confirm to the requesting party the receipt of the request. If the request does not contain complete and sufficient information necessary for further proceedings, Advocatius, s.r.o. will request the missing information to be supplemented within a period not shorter than 3 working days. Based on the information received, Advocatius, s.r.o. will assess the fulfillment of the following conditions:

2.3. After positively assessing all conditions as per the preceding paragraph, Advocatius shall inform the other party to the dispute—outlined in the mediation request—of the received request, the nature of the dispute, and the proposal of the requesting party for resolving the dispute within the mediation framework. Advocatius will invite the other party to express whether they agree to resolve the dispute through mediation and, in the case of agreement, to comment on the substance of the dispute. If the other party is a Merchant, Advocatius, s.r.o. shall also provide them with a link to these Mediation Rules. The deadline for responding to this invitation must not be shorter than 15 days. Should the other party fail to respond within the specified period, Advocatius, s.r.o. shall send them a renewed invitation with an additional deadline of 5 working days.

2.4. If the other party does not respond to the invitation according to the preceding paragraph or informs that they are not interested in mediation, Advocatius, s.r.o. shall notify the requesting party of this fact and terminate further proceedings.

2.5. If the other party responds substantively to the invitation pursuant to Article 2.3 of the Mediation Rules and expressly or implicitly indicates agreement to proceed with mediation, Advocatius will initiate the mediation process, consisting of individual stages as outlined in the following article.

3. INDIVIDUAL STEPS IN THE MEDIATION PROCESS

3.1. Selection of a Mediator

3.1.1. Based on the above procedure, Advocatius, s.r.o. shall appoint a specific mediator for the dispute and inform the parties of the dispute about the selection, inviting them to submit any comments regarding the selected mediator within a period of 3 working days. Comments regarding the mediator may exclusively concern their bias, and the party to the dispute must specify the reasons for the alleged bias within the aforementioned period. If the party sufficiently specifies the reasons for bias and Advocatius, s.r.o. deems them justified, another mediator shall be appointed, and the invitation pursuant to this paragraph shall be repeated.

3.2. Conclusion of the Mediation Agreement

3.2.1. Following the appointment of the mediator under the preceding paragraph, Advocatius, s.r.o. shall send the parties a tripartite mediation agreement (hereinafter in these Mediation Rules referred to as the “Agreement”). The Agreement shall stipulate at least the following conditions:

• the subject matter of the mediation;
• the mediator’s remuneration (typically as a unit fee in the form of an hourly rate) and its payment terms;
• an arrangement granting the mediator the right to decide during mediation on the allocation of the costs of the mediator's remuneration among the parties to the dispute;
• a potential advance payment for mediation costs;
• the maximum duration of the mediation process;
• agreement to the Mediation Rules.

3.2.2. The Agreement shall be sent to the parties in the form of a separate document for each party, and by signing it, the party expresses agreement with the terms of the proposed Agreement.

3.2.3. The Agreement is deemed concluded at the moment when Advocatius, s.r.o. receives signed copies of the Agreement, either in physical form signed by the authorized representatives of both the Merchant and the Operator or in electronic form signed with an electronic signature.

3.3. Mediation

3.3.1. Mediation is typically conducted without in-person meetings, using means of remote communication. Depending on the circumstances of the case and the positions of the disputing parties, the mediator is entitled to choose between written communication or teleconferences via platforms accessible to all parties (such as Skype, Teams, FaceTime, etc.).

3.3.2. During the mediation, the mediator shall first summarize the facts known to them based on the statements of the parties, obtain their responses, and then provide their opinion on the matter, outlining possibilities for an amicable resolution. The subsequent procedure, including the number and frequency of sessions, will be determined by the mediator depending on the positions of both parties, but always within the maximum duration of the mediation agreed upon in the Agreement.

3.3.3. At any time during the mediation, either party may terminate the mediation by sending a notification to the mediator and the other party to the dispute. The mediator’s entitlement to remuneration for the mediation carried out up to that point shall remain unaffected by such termination.

3.3.4. The mediator is entitled to terminate the mediation at any time by notifying both parties to the dispute, particularly in the following cases:

• the mediator has doubts, based on the behavior of the parties, about their willingness to conclude or adhere to an amicable settlement (doubts as to the good faith of one or both parties to the dispute);
• the mediator has reasonable concerns that the parties will not cover the costs of mediation or adhere to the mediator’s decision regarding the allocation of mediation costs;
• the mediator learns that one of the parties to the dispute has initiated judicial proceedings over the same matter;
• an event occurs that establishes bias on the part of the mediator.

3.4. Agreement on Amicable Resolution

3.4.1. If during the aforementioned process the parties to the dispute reach a consensus on an amicable resolution, the mediator shall summarize the terms of such resolution. Once the parties explicitly approve these terms, the mediator will draft the text of an agreement on the resolution and send it to both parties. If either party provides comments on the draft agreement, the mediator shall amend the agreement in accordance with these comments, provided the other party consents to the changes. The mediator is not a party to the agreement on resolution and holds no responsibility for whether the parties ultimately conclude the proposed agreement.

3.4.2. If the parties conclude the agreement on resolution, they shall send an electronic copy of the signed agreement to the mediator.

3.4.3. If the parties provide no comments on the proposed agreement or fail to send the mediator a copy of the signed agreement within 15 days from the date the mediator transmitted the latest version, the mediator shall terminate the mediation, regardless of whether the agreement was concluded or not.

3.4.4. Upon fulfilling the conditions outlined in Article 3.4.2 or 3.4.3 of the Mediation Rules, the mediator shall send the disputing parties a notice of the termination of the mediation, along with information on the apportionment of mediation costs and an invoice detailing the mediation costs as per the following article.

3.5. Cost Settlement of Mediation

3.5.1. Upon the termination of mediation by any of the means described in Articles 3.3.3 or 3.4 of the Mediation Rules, the mediator shall issue a statement of the mediation costs to both parties. The mediation costs are comprised of the mediator's remuneration and reimbursement of the mediator’s out-of-pocket expenses. The mediator’s remuneration is agreed upon within the Agreement. If any party to the dispute has objections to the statement of costs, they must submit such objections to the mediator no later than 3 working days after receiving the statement.

3.5.2. In accordance with Article 12(4) of the Regulation, the mediator is empowered to determine the share of the mediation costs to be borne by each party to the dispute, taking into account all relevant aspects of the case, particularly the validity of the parties' claims, the behavior of the parties, and the relative size and financial strength of each party. The maximum share of mediation costs that one party may bear is 85% of the total costs, while the minimum share is 15%. The mediator will communicate the decision on cost allocation to the parties along with the statement of costs.

3.5.3. If no party raises objections to the cost statement, or if the mediator assesses the objections as unfounded, Advocatius, s.r.o. shall issue each party an invoice for their share of the mediation costs and send it to the parties. The payment deadline for the invoice shall not be less than 15 days.

4. FINAL PROVISIONS

4.1. Mediation under these Mediation Rules is not mediation within the meaning of Act No. 202/2012 Coll., on Mediation and the Amendment of Certain Laws, and any agreement concluded through this mediation does not constitute an enforceable legal title unless made in the form of a notarial deed. The conditions of mediation and the requirements for the mediator are governed by Article 12 of the Regulation, these Mediation Rules, and the Agreement.

4.2. The initiation of mediation under these Mediation Rules does not affect the right of the parties to independently initiate judicial proceedings or proceedings before a mediator under Act No. 202/2012 Coll., on Mediation and the Amendment of Certain Laws, concerning the same subject matter of the dispute. The conclusion of mediation by any method does not create a res judicata effect; the parties’ right to waive claims arising from the dispute through an amicable settlement agreement remains unaffected by this provision.

4.3. Rights and obligations not regulated by these Mediation Rules shall be governed by the Terms and Special Terms to the extent they are not inconsistent with these Mediation Rules, including the terminology and interpretation used therein.

4.4. The rules for the unilateral amendment of these Mediation Rules by the Operator are outlined in Article 5.1 of the Terms.

4.5. All communication between the parties and Advocatius, s.r.o. or the mediator shall be conducted electronically, via the email address of Advocatius, s.r.o., or through a communication platform chosen by the parties for teleconference meetings. All physical documentation shall be received by Advocatius, s.r.o. at its registered office address.

4.6. These Mediation Rules are binding on the parties to the dispute from the moment the Agreement is concluded. The procedure described in these Mediation Rules prior to the conclusion of the Agreement is included for the legal certainty of the parties. In the event of any changes to the Mediation Rules, such changes shall not apply to mediations proceeding under Agreements entered into before the effective date of the changes—such mediations shall remain subject to the version of the Mediation Rules effective at the time the Agreement was concluded.

4.7. This version of the Mediation Rules takes effect on August 1, 2025.