Czech Republic

Summary

INTRODUCTION

SCOPE OF APPLICATION OF THE CIVIL CODE

Czech civil law does not contain special provisions on prescription in tort law as it is part of prescription regulation as a whole. Despite this, the following text relates solely to prescription in tort law.

Prescription of claims for compensation of damage (tortious claims) is governed in principle exclusively by the new Civil Code (‘CC/2012‘). Only the Atomic Law and the Law on State Liability Act contain specific regulations.

ORIGIN AND REFORM OF CZECH PRESCRIPTION LAW

Until 1951, Austrian prescription law (§ 1451 ff AGBG) applied. Following a communist coup d ‘é tat, a new civil code (CC) was introduced including the new, very short and strict rules on prescription (§ § 87– 99), literally excluding an autonomy of parties (§ 99). Through the introduction of the civil code of 1964, some of the‘Austrian‘provisions appeared in Czech law. In 2012, a new civil code was introduced which entered into effect on 1 January 2014, and which also reformed prescription law in the Czech Republic.

While CC/1964 emphasised that courts shall not reaffirm a previous creditor's claim, the law currently in force (§ 609 of CC/2012) sees the fundamental consequence of prescription in the regulation as a debtor not being liable to perform its contract. BGB's influence (§ 214) is eminent not only here, but it is also reflected in the regulation of prescription by claims arising between spouses (§ 646 CC/2012) during the duration of marriage, and also in postponement of the commencement of the prescription period in case of damage of health (personal injury) of a minor (§ 622 CC/2012). The rule stipulated in § 203 BGB was transplanted in § 648 CC/201 which regards postponement of commencement of the prescription period in case of negotiation outside the court. Influenced by § 1502 ABGB and art 141 OR, § 610 CC/2012 governs the possibility to waive the right to invoke prescription in advance.