Summary

The expedited procedure of a payment order is a simplified procedure that is faster, simpler and cheaper compared to an action. With the expedited procedure of a payment order, a payment claim for a specific amount of money is filed with the court; the court makes a proposal for payment to the opposing party, and if the proposal for payment is not disputed, a payment order is prepared that is subject to immediate execution. Only in the case that the debtor disputes the proposal for payment will the procedure continue in a regular action (see section 481 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure). Extensive formalisation and the fact that evidence is generally not assessed during the procedure are characteristic of the expedited procedure of a payment order. It is a procedure that has sometimes been described in Estonia as post office work which could be performed by artificial intelligence in the future.

Payment order procedures which operate under similar rules are also used in many other European Union Member States. Issues pertaining to the respective procedures have made it to the European Court of Justice, which has assessed the conformity of rules of expedited procedure of a payment order in different Member States with the standard terms directive.

The article analyses whether the Estonian regulation governing the expedited procedure of a payment order conforms to the standard terms directive in the light of European Court of Justice case law, and whether consumer rights are protected in this procedure to the required extent. At that, it is assessed whether consumer rights can be sufficiently protected regarding the regulation governing unfair standard terms, if the court does not have the opportunity to get acquainted with the contractual terms that are the basis for the claim. In addition, the article shows that the resolution of claims originating from consumer contracts cannot be assigned to artificial intelligence to the full extent.