On the 10th of June 2020, the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic passed a judgment in case Ref. No. 31 ICdo 36/2020, which dealt with the validity of a contract concluded between the sole proprietor of a company and the same company represented by its sole proprietor. In this case, the Supreme Court deviated from its past decisions on the issue of interpretation of the notion of manifest disruption of public order. Whereas the Supreme Court had previously interpreted the word “manifest” as expressing the degree of intensity of public disturbance, the current decision accepted that a manifest disruption of public order could be interpreted as an undoubted or unambiguous disruption of public order, without regard to the intensity of the disruption.

CMS has advised Thor Impex – the project company for the Bogoslovec 36 Megawatt wind farm in North Macedonia – on a EUR 51 million financing from a club of banks led by the Erste Bank. White & Case advised the lenders.

Act Legal Czech Republic has advised Sokolov on the construction of a CZK 140 million facility that will help the company transition from coal to natural gas as its energy source.

Kocian Solc Balastik has advised Sandberg Capital on the acquisition of a 40% stake in Daktela.

Greenberg Traurig has advised Canadian Dream Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust on the acquisition of a corporate group holding a portfolio of 31 logistics properties in Europe, from Clarion Europe for EUR 882 million. Goodwin's London office advised the seller.

On 31 January 2022, the “new” Regulation (EU) No. 536/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on clinical trials on medicinal products for human use and repealing Directive 2001/20/EC (the “Regulation“) will enter into force. After several delays (the launch was originally planned for 2015), the European Medicines Agency (the “EMA”) has confirmed to the Commission that the EU portal and the EU database, which were a prerequisite for the launch, are now fully functioning. At the same time, the EMA confirmed that the EU portal and database will be put into operation on 31 January 2022. As of this date, the Regulation will become fully applicable in all EU Member States.

Glatzova & Co, working with global counsel Hengeler Mueller, has advised Chinese tool manufacturer Greatstar Group on its acquisition of the Behrens Group. According to Hengeler Mueller, Alrud, Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak, and Wolf Theiss advised the buyer on the Russian, Polish, and Austrian aspects of the deal and Barnes & Thornburg, Bonelli Erede Lombardi Pappalardo, Bruun & Hjejle, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Jeantet, Macfarlanes, Mattos Filho, Niederer Kraft Frey, Schjodt, Uria Menendez, and Van Bael & Bellis advised the buyer in various other jurisdictions.

Do your employees ask for the possibility of working regularly from home? What happens if home is abroad? Remote work from abroad brings risks for any company, and each company should evaluate these risks and consider them when setting up a remote work policy for its employees.

The amendment to the Business Corporations Act effective from 1 January of this year (the "Amendment") brings, among other things, a significant change in the liability of members of a statutory body, which will affect the current topic of insolvency.

According to its recently published annual report, the Office for the Protection of Competition of the Czech Republic (the "Office") plans a thorough investigation of the pharmaceutical sector, in terms of compliance with both competition and public procurement rules.

Kocian Solc Balastik has advised J&T IB Capital Markets on Alpha Quest Funds' CZK 500 million senior bond issuance due 2026.

CMS has advised Bluehouse on the sale of its Ostrava-based shopping center Korso Karvina to Conseq. Eversheds Sutherland advised the buyer.

BPV Braun Partners has advised RSBC Real Estate, a private investment group, on the acquisition of the Platinium office building in the Brno city center from REICO IS CS, reportedly advised by Wilsons.

Allen & Overy has advised Raiffeisenbank a.s. on its EUR 350 million issuance of senior non-preferred MREL-eligible green notes under its international debt issuance program.

Since the introduction of the institution of legal entities’ exemption from criminal liability in 2016, there has been discussion on the distribution of the burden of proof in proving the conditions for its application in criminal proceedings. Meanwhile, the prosecution’s view has been gradually changing.

Kinstellar has advised a syndicate of Raiffeisenbank, UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia, and Komercni Banka Raiffeisen on financing it provided to Raiffeisen Leasing for that company's acquisition of the Proton Therapy Center Czech from Immorent. Kinstellar also Raiffeisen Leasing on the underlying deal. Dentons advised Immorent. Hoffmannova Koranda reportedly also advised Immorent and Strnad Joch Lokajicek Advokati reportedly advised the Proton Therapy Center Czech.

Havel & Partners has advised British investment firm CapVest on Czech legal aspects of its sale of Valeo Foods to Bain Capital Private Equity. Weil, Gotshal & Manges reportedly advised the buyer.

PRK Partners has advised Societe Generale on an unspecified investment in and increase in its stake in Czech online insurance start-up Mutumutu.