Abstract
The article discusses the admissibility and legal nature of set-off in a situation where a party making the set-off simultaneously denies the occurrence of the event which is supposed to be the source of both set-off claims. While the doctrine accepts a subsidiary set-off defense as a defensive measure during civil court proceedings, the substantive nature of a set-off declaration submitted in such a situation remains questionable. Considering the current case-law, the author analyzes the source and consequences of a concept of an unconditional set-off declaration, she discusses its shortcomings and proposes the concept of conditional set-off of claims. A conditional set-off should not be interpreted as a recognition of the claim of the other party or as waiving a statute of limitations defense, however, it would allow a mutual settlement of claims if the court determines that both claims exist and the requirements under article 498 of the Civil Code are fulfilled.