Legal News [October 2021]: The Constitutional Court confirmed the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Czech Post employee wages

The Constitutional Court agreed with the decision of the Supreme Court in the matter of equal remuneration of the Czech Post employees. The Supreme Court concluded that the attorney is still liable for the damage caused by the defective wording of the prayer for relief in an action, which was rejected as a result. The Supreme Court also addressed the issue of approval of the acquisition of treasury shares by the general meeting. Read the October Legal News to learn more about these and other cases. 

Legal News [September 2021]: Airbnb provides accommodation services, not rentals

The Municipal Court in Prague has decided that short-term rentals made through Airbnb fall within accommodation services, and thus have to be taxed as a business activity. The Supreme Court found that the excessive duration of a legal dispute constitutes a rebuttable presumption of immaterial damage which should be compensated. The Constitutional Court pointed out that courts have to inform e-submission senders of the result of the verification of a recognised electronic signature also in cases where the automatic verification is performed by the courts’ IT systems. Find more information from the area of Czech law in the September edition of Legal News. 

Rising prices of construction material complicate the public procurement process and performance of public contracts

In early September, the Czech Ministry of Regional Development and the Office for the Protection of Competition issued an opinion on the price increase of construction material. This way, the authorities respond to the rising prices of reinforcing steel, thermal insulation, scrap iron and other material by tens or even hundreds of per cent. The reason for the price rise is a lack of the mentioned goods on the market and related long delivery times. The authors of the opinion present possible solutions to the problems that can arise in the public procurement market as a result of this situation. 

Private financial institutions are the new supervisors of environmental regulation. The courts’ approach is also changing

Regulations in the area of environmental law are constantly increasing, which means that sustainability is an increasingly important topic that directly affects individuals, companies and states. However, oversight of compliance with the new rules is no longer exercised only by environmental inspection authorities, but also by private financial institutions. The courts whose decisions directly affect the corporate and state responsibility for climate change have also adopted a new approach to this issue. Read about the most important events in environmental law in Q2 of 2021 and get acquainted with regulatory news that will affect the future of sustainable business throughout the European Union. 

The EU wants to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, then it will aim for negative emissions

The existential threat resulting from climate change demands that the EU as well as its member states heighten their ambitions and intensify their measures. This is reflected not only in the EU’s approach to the European Climate Law and in the constant collection and analysis of data (referring to carbon rates, for example), but also in a change of the judicial ruling practice. In a recent ground-breaking verdict, a Dutch court ordered a private company to adjust its activities with regard to the need for tackling climate change. 

Biodiversity has a key impact on the economy of individual states, more than half of the global GDP depends on it

Environmental protection has been an increasingly important society-wide topic, and the European Union therefore continues to prepare new plans and strategies. One of the news is for example a new action plan for zero pollution for water, air and soil aiming to protect the health of Europeans. In addition, the EU prepared a strategy in biological diversity which responds to insufficient protection of biotopes and species – not only ecosystems but also economies of states depend on biodiversity. Other news include the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on a temporary cessation of operations of a coal mine and a report of the INCA project on the integration of ecosystem accounts. 

The topic of environmental protection is a priority for young generations, companies must adopt credible climate commitments

Addressing the climate change and environmental protection continue to be a priority for young generations. This trend creates pressure on companies which have to adopt sustainable solutions. However, it is not always clear who is to be responsible for the green transformation in companies – one of the favourites is surprisingly the legal department. However, transformation is not easy, and it is necessary to know how to set credible climate commitments and abstain from mere greenwashing. One of the ways is better cooperation and mutual support between individual sectors and companies. 

The EU has further specified the new rules for combatting the negative environmental impacts of single-use plastics

As the bans on single-use plastics start to take effect, the European Commission has issued guidelines clarifying the problematic aspects of this brand-new regulation. The pressing nature of the situation regarding plastics is confirmed by the European Environment Agency, which has published a report explaining that plastics are not only a problem of pollution, but also a problem of climate change. Their carbon footprint is too high and therefore in conflict with the zero-emission economy strategy. The textile industry accounts for a significant share of plastics use and will therefore be subject to fundamental legislative changes. 

Navigation through the Rules of Sustainable Financing will be easier, the EU prepared the “Taxonomy Compass”

Symbolically on the Earth Day, the European Commission introduced a robust package of new measures aiming to support sustainable finances. These included the first set of technical criteria describing which economic activities most contribute to the meeting of the EU objectives relating to climate protection. The EU Taxonomy is thus more specific. The Commission additionally prepared a proposal of the Directive on reporting on the sustainability of companies that is to expand the requirements for reporting. And the sustainability of finances in the past quarter was additionally supported for example by the Platform on Sustainable Finance that introduced a set of its recommendations on how to improve the taxonomy in the future.