A long-awaited amendment to the Czech Competition Act (Act) is now on the horizon as it was approved by the Chambers of Deputies and is ready for sign-off by the Senate and the president. Covering primarily the implementation of the ECN+ Directive, it also incorporates changes to the Act. At the same time, the Czech Competition Authority (CCA) has been updating its policies on compliance programs and vertical leniency. From this perspective, how the CCA treats vertical (distribution) agreements will probably change considerably.

Attorney At Law Jan Exner has joined the Briza & Trubac team in Prague as Head of the firm's Sports Law practice. The move became effective on September 1, 2023. 

BBH has advised the Kaprain Group on its acquisition of Mafra Publishing and Synthesia from Agrofert Holding in a package deal.

During the Three Seas Initiative annual general meeting in Bucharest in September 2023, Austria's Dorda, Bulgaria's Boyanov & Co., Croatia's Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka, the Czech Republic's Kocian Solc Balastik, Estonia's Ellex Raidla, Hungary's Lakatos Koves & Partners, Latvia's Ellex Klavins, Lithuania's Ellex Valiunas, Poland's Wardynski and Partners, Romania's Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen, Slovakia's Barger Prekop, and Slovenia's Selih & Partnerji announced they formed the Three Seas Legal Alliance, in recognition of the progress made by the Three Seas Initiative.

Former CMS Partner Pavla Kreckova has joined the KPMG Legal team as the firm's new Head of Banking/Finance and Real Estate.

Kocian Solc Balastik has advised web hosting company Webglobe on the acquisition of its eBola Czech competitor operating under the eBola.cz brand name.

Kocian Solc Balastik has advised founders Ivana Stefkova, Barbora Dvorakova, and Marketa Trubacova on the establishment and incorporation of the Tisina Endowment Fund.

Clifford Chance has advised KKCG Group's Technology pillar on the complete refinancing of its existing bank indebtedness and the further recapitalization of its members, including those in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Poland, and Serbia.

"Wrongful birth" claims seek compensation from healthcare facilities for the harm caused to parents of a child by depriving them of the opportunity to make an informed decision about whether to continue the pregnancy despite the high likelihood that the child will be seriously ill (usually as a result of improperly performed screening tests). While this type of legal procedure is well-known in the USA and the United Kingdom, instances of similar case law can already be found in EU countries, including, for example, France, whose legal system is similar to Czechia's. However, the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic dealt with such a claim for the very first time in May 2023.

On 29 June 2023, Deforestation-free Products Regulation ((EU) 2023/1115) entered into force with the aim of minimising the EU’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide. Combating deforestation and forest degradation constitutes an important part of the package of measures needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and global biodiversity loss.

Does your business produce computers or other electronic or electrical equipment? Maybe you make machinery and equipment, pharmaceuticals, medical devices or food? Do you have 50 or more employees? Then your company is likely to be subject to the new cybersecurity regulations. The same applies if your activities are in the chemical industry or you provide a variety of digital services – for instance cloud computing, data centre services or online marketplaces.

PRK Partners has advised the shareholders of Czech ticketing portal GoOut on its sale to the Piletilevi Group.

Deloitte Legal has advised Italian logistics company Savino Del Bene on its acquisition of stakes in two Czech and one Slovak logistics companies operating under the Advanced brand, and its entry into the Czech market.

CMS has advised the Czech consortium of Skoda Transportation and Skoda Vagonka on their successful participation in Metropoliten Sofia's BGN 134 million public procurement procedure for eight metro trains.

Clifford Chance has advised CTP on the financing for its industrial parks in Slovakia from a banking club including Erste Group Bank and Slovenska Sporitelna. White & Case reportedly advised the lenders.

Since the beginning of this year, the Personal Data Protection Office has issued fines of almost CZK 4,500,000 for breaches of the GDPR in connection with the processing of personal data via cookies.

Havel & Partners has successfully defended the Czech Republic-based OSA music professionals' association against abuse of dominance claims and a CZK 10.7 million fine imposed by the Czech Office for Competition Protection.

Havel & Partners has successfully represented GoDaddy in a case that saw the company sued by a businessman with connections to Russia who sought the removal of investigative internet articles as well as financial compensation.