CEE Legal Matters has been reporting on an increased number of deals in the Czech Republic’s logistics sector. We reached out to several Czech real estate lawyers to discuss both the drivers behind the spike in work in the sector and the challenges it faces in the country.

Thinking about my journey and experiences as an expat lawyer in the Czech Republic, I vividly recall one of the early client meetings I had fresh off the boat in the mid-1990s. A CEE client came to the office with a “suitcase” telephone … an old school plastic telephone with a rotary dial and a long antenna, encased in an MDF “custom telecommunications suitcase” which he proudly lugged onto the desk …  (He was also wearing one of those plum-colored shiny polyester suits so beloved by New Europe Entrepreneurs in the 90s). Note to incredulous young lawyers reading this: in those days there were no mobile phones (The horror!).

As the Czech government signed off on the EU “Green Deal”, which aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions to zero by 2050, the Czech Republic needs to find ways to achieve this goal, or at least to get close to it. Even though certain legislative and other supporting measures are currently being undertaken towards transitioning to low carbon energy – changes to the Czech Act on supported sources of energy, state subsidies for the (re)construction of power plants – given its geographical specifics and historical background, nuclear power is likely to play a key role in replacing coal-burning power plants. Under current state policy, construction of new nuclear reactors is to begin shortly. The first new reactors, to be located at the current Dukovany power plant, should begin operations by 2037. The Dukovany project took precedence over the construction of new nuclear blocks at the Temelin power plant, a priority at the beginning of the 21st century.

On October 6, 2021, the Grand Chamber of the of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its decision in Case C-882/19 Sumal SL v Mercedes Benz Trucks España, clarifying certain issues related to the imputability of anticompetitive conduct within a group of companies and the related private law consequences.

Franchising may be an attractive proposition for many companies wishing to expand internationally. Knowing how to structure your franchise, and to identify the next steps for expansion into other countries, is crucial.

In April 2018, the European Commission imposed a fine of €124.5 million on French multinational telecommunications and mass media company Altice, for implementing its acquisition of PT Portugal before the Commission had approved the transaction and before the acquisition had even been notified to the Commission in some respects. In its judgment in Altice Europe v Commission, issued on September 22, 2021 (Case T-425/18), the European General Court (EGC), as the first instance EU court, dismissed Altice’s appeal against the Commission’s decision in its entirety, although it did reduce the original fine by €6.2 million, to €118.6 million, given that Altice had eventually notified the transaction.

An amendment to the VAT Act in e-commerce is expected to come into effect in the coming days as part of the ongoing law-making process. The amendment implements the EU Council’s tax package into the Czech system of laws. It also introduces significant changes to imports, cross-border trade within the EU and extends the possibilities for the use of the special one-stop-shops.

Former Havel & Partners Partner Josef Adam joined CZG - Ceska Zbrojovka Group SE as the Group General Counsel.

On 14 September 2021, the Chamber of Deputies approved the long-awaited amendment to Act No. 48/1997 Coll., on Public Health Insurance (the “Act”), as returned by the Senate (the “Amendment”). It now awaits signing by the President of the Czech Republic. The Amendment brings a wide range of changes and innovations, such as rules for the entry of innovative drugs and orphan drugs into the reimbursement system, the creation of centres for rare diseases and mental health centres, and the introduction of a definition of a patient organisation.

The Czech Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to Act No. 127/2005 Coll., on Electronic Communications (hereinafter referred to as the “ECA”), after the Czech Senate returned it earlier. The purpose of this amendment is primarily to harmonise Czech legislation with the European Electronic Communications Code. However, the amendment will also affect other areas that are not directly related to the Code. One of the most significant changes will affect anyone who operates a website or mobile application and uses statistical, analytical or advertising tools. The change is to move from the current opt-out principle for the use of cookies and similar tracking technologies to an active user consent regime, the so-called opt-in regime.

The Czech Republic is experiencing strong positive winds, irrespective of the severity with which the pandemic struck, and there are things aplenty to be happy about, according to Kocian Solc Balastik Partner Dagmar Dubecka.

With the implementation deadline for the EU Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (17 December 2021) approaching, here is a summary of the current state of the respective national measures in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and an introduction to our own whistleblowing solution: FairWhistle.

Former 3M General Counsel Edit Rosta has joined SAP in Prague as a Senior Legal Counsel.

Privacy pros are now celebrating the three-year anniversary of the GDPR, even as we are living through the current pandemic. It is, in fact, almost impossible to talk about privacy trends without touching on the COVID-19 crisis.

Few global industries have been as strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as the hotel industry. All over the world, chains and bespoke hoteliers have had to face the impact of travel restrictions on bookings, in most cases leading to dire falls in occupancy rates and, subsequently, income. Now that the pandemic has been wreaking havoc for over a year, how is the hotel industry in CEE coping, and what options do hoteliers have? We spoke with three CMS Partners – Ana Radnev, Gregor Famira, and Lukas Hejduk – to get their opinions on the current situation and outlook on the future of the sector.

The Czech Ministry of Justice recently published a bill on preventive restructurings (the "Bill") implementing the directive on preventive restructuring frameworks which will introduce a brand-new legal tool preventing the insolvency of viable enterprises in temporary financial difficulties.

According to Barbara Kusak, Partner at Noerr in Prague, the Czech Republic is currently preparing for its upcoming general elections. She also notes that the Czech economy shows no signs of contraction, despite the country’s abysmal COVID-19 infection rates, and that the infrastructure, IT, and e-commerce sectors are on the rise.

CMS’s Lukas Janicek and Robert Gray Talk About The Deal of the Year in The Czech Republic.