Legal
Preventive restructuring – a new solution for companies in financial difficulties
In August, the senate approved a bill on preventive restructuring. It aims to help entrepreneurs avoid bankruptcy and enable them to deal with serious financial difficulties promptly and without public involvement.
Amendment to Labour Code changes rules for scheduling shifts
Following a recent judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Czech lawmakers have decided to modify the rules on providing weekly rest to employees when scheduling shifts: the CJEU deduced that daily rest is not part of the…
Strengthening cybersecurity: new law to tighten rules for Czech companies
The bill submitted by the National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NCISA) sets new obligations in cyber security arising from the NIS 2 Directive. A conservative estimate is that the number of entities affected by the new obligations will…
Changes in competition law: anti-trust office may use police wiretaps
On 29 July 2023, an amendment to the Act on the Protection of Competition entered into effect, significantly strengthening the powers of the Czech anti-trust authority, the Office for the Protection of Competition. Among other things, it provides…
Changes to rules for issuing Blue Cards
Effective 1 July 2023, significant changes have been made to the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals. The amendment primarily implements the EU Blue Card Directive and reflects some operational requirements. Any changes simplifying the…
New blockchain framework for capital markets
Blockchain, or distributed decentralised database technology, is currently finding increased use in many areas of law and business. Capital markets are no exception, and one of the most interesting developments is the introduction of a pilot regime…
Major changes to Foreigners’ Residence Act
Apart from implementing the EU Blue Card Directive into Czech law, the amendment to the Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals introduces other fundamental changes from 1 July 2023.
Changes in conditions for holding an office in a corporation
An amendment to the Corporations Act came into effect on 1 July, introducing partial changes to the conditions for exercising an office as members of statutory bodies of corporations. The law now contains a closed list of obstacles to holding such…
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs refrains from changing ‘Svarc system’…
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs wanted to fundamentally change the definition of illegal work, to facilitate its prosecution: the long-term character of the relationship would no longer be decisive for assessing it as illegal. However,…
Heated flavoured tobacco not available from October
The European Union and the Czech Republic are following the global trend to reduce the consumption of tabaco in their population. From 23 October 2023, it will no longer be possible to sell flavoured heated tobacco products, so very popular among…
AI under control: European Parliament moves landmark regulation to trialogue
In mid-June, the European Parliament (EP) voted on its comments on the proposal for a regulation on artificial intelligence (AI), kick-starting trialogue negotiations. This brings the EU one step closer to adopting the world's first ever…
New block exemptions for R&D and specialisation agreements in force since July
The European Commission has adopted revised horizontal block exemption regulations for research and development (R&D) and specialisation agreements, including related interpretation guidelines. The aim is not only to remove some ambiguities but also…