Free movement of goods
On 1 January 2004, the Agreement amending the Protocol to the Europe Agreement between the Czech Republic and the EC on conformity assessment and acceptance of industrial products (PECA) entered into force.
The PECA Protocol, including its Annexes, as a part of the Europe Agreement between the Czech Republic and the EC, was concluded on 4 April 2001 and published as a Council Decision of the same day.
The purpose of the PECA Protocol is to eliminate technical barriers to trade between countries in respect of industrial products. It provides for mutual acceptance of industrial products listed in the Annexes on mutual acceptance of industrial products that satisfy the requirements to be lawfully placed on the market in one of the states that are parties to the Europe Agreement; furthermore it provides for mutual recognition of the results of conformity assessment of industrial products.
Until recently, the application of Article 8 of the PECA Protocol was restricted to industrial products that originated in the parties of the Europe Agreement according to so called non-preferential rules of origin. In order to improve trade between the parties of the Europe Agreement, the above restriction of Article 8 disappeared as of 1 January 2004. Consequently, the PECA Protocol currently covers all industrial products regardless of their origin.
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KŠB assisted Seyfor with the extension of its financing provided by Raiffeisenbank, Tatra banka and, newly, Slovenská sporiteľňa.
The KŠB team provided legal advice to its long-standing client Seyfor in connection with the continuation and expansion of its syndicated financing. The existing lending banks, Raiffeisenbank Czech Republic and Tatra banka, decided to continue supporting Seyfor’s growth, with Slovenská sporiteľňa joining the financing as a new lender.
Evidence skutečných majitelů: Co přinese znepřístupnění od 17. prosince 2025?
Letošní rozhodnutí Nejvyššího soudu a Nejvyššího správního soudu navázala na rozsudky Soudního dvora Evropské unie, a, s platností i pro Českou republiku, konstatovala, že zveřejňování údajů v rámci evidence skutečných majitelů představuje nepřiměřený zásah do základních práv majitelů na soukromí a ochranu osobních údajů. Důležitým aspektem těchto rozhodnutí byl závěr, že sankce, které postihují povinné subjekty jako reakce na nesplnění jejich povinnosti zápisu do evidence skutečných majitelů, není možné vymáhat, dokud je evidence veřejná. Tato situace se změní 17. prosince 2025, kdy ministerstvo znepřístupní evidenci skutečných majitelů; povinným subjektům tak budou opět hrozit závažné sankce.
30th Advent Concert for the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havlová Foundation
This year again, during the pre-Christmas season, the Advent Concert of Good Will took place. Since 1995, it has been organised by the law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík in support of the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havlová Foundation. This was already the 30th anniversary edition, made exceptional by the fact that we organised it for the first time together with our partner, Smetanova Litomyšl, as part of a broader mutual cooperation. As always, the concert was held in the concert hall of the Church of Sts. Simon and Jude in Prague’s Old Town.
