We have already addressed the subject of the draft amendment to the Act amending the Act on Consumer Protection and certain other Acts in the legal bulletins of May 2015 and June 2015. During the legislative process, the Senate returned the draft Act to the Chamber of Deputies with amendments. The Senate was subsequently overruled by the Chamber of Deputies. Following the President’s signature, the amendment to the Act was published in rapid succession on 28 December 2015 in the Collection of Acts under number 378/2015 Coll. This Act enters into force on the date of its publication (28 December 2015) with the exception of provisions concerning the out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes (including the obligation to provide information about the out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes).

The immediate effect of the amendment affects in particular the extension of consumer protection against unfair commercial practices. As we already stated in the bulletin for June 2015, the amendment newly defines the term commercial practice, which it defines as “the conduct of a seller consisting of an act, omission, statement, commercial communication including advertising and placing on the market related to the promotion, sale or supply of a product or service to a consumer.” The proposed legislation is intended to bring consumers on the Czech market a high degree of protection against unfair commercial practices, and this is associated with supplementary and clarifying regulation of these practices.

The provisions concerning the out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes (including the obligation to provide information about the out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes) enter into force on the first day of the second calendar month following its publication, that is from 1 February 2016. Sellers are obliged to adjust their terms and conditions pursuant to Section 14 of the amendment to the Act (obligation to provide information about the out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes) no later than 3 months from the effective date of the Act. Having regard to the fact that the provision on the three-month postponement of the obligation to provide information is listed among the provisions that enter into force on the first day of the second calendar month following its publication, that is from 1 February 2016, we are of the opinion that from the seller’s perspective it is necessary to adjust the terms and conditions no later than 3 months from 1 February 2016. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that some public authorities may adhere to the literal wording “no later than 3 months from the effective date of the Act”, that is from 28 December 2015. For this reason, we therefore recommend as a precaution adjusting the terms and conditions no later than 3 months from 28 December 2015.

We addressed the subject of out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes in greater detail in the bulletin for May 2015, in which we informed, amongst other things, that the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (or another entity authorised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade) becomes the body for this method of dispute resolution. The Czech Trade Inspection Authority will resolve consumer disputes arising from contracts of sale or from contracts for the provision of services, namely in disputes that do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Financial Arbiter, the Czech Telecommunication Office and the Energy Regulatory Office. The jurisdiction of the Czech Trade Inspection Authority should thus focus in particular on disputes concerning sales in shops, the manufacture of goods, repair and alteration of goods, contracts of sale and disputes related thereto, disputes arising from contracts for work and disputes arising from loans where one of the parties is a consumer.

Alžbeta Hudáková

Law Firm Mašek, Kočí, Aujezdský www.e-Advokacie.cz – on-line legal advisory services

This text was originally prepared by the law firm Mašek, Kočí, Aujezdský in cooperation with the Association for Electronic Commerce (APEK) as legal bulletin No. 12/2015 intended for members of this association.

This text was translated from Czech to English using an AI translator.