In the July circular we shall present to you a selection of interesting legislative novelties which will have an impact on legal relations between traders and consumers.
A significant measure in the area of consumer credit regulation has become the Act on Consumer Credit, which will replace Act No. 145/2010 Coll., on Consumer Credit and on Amendment of Certain Acts, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the “new Act on Consumer Credit”). The new Act on Consumer Credit was, after approval by the Parliament of the Czech Republic, signed by the President of the Czech Republic and it can be expected that it will be promulgated and published in the Collection of Acts any day now. The new regulation envisages greater regulation and control of the consumer credit market and aims to improve the quality of credit offerings.
As is customary, the amendments have necessitated a large increase in the scope of the legislative text, from 29 sections in the case of the current Act on Consumer Credit to 179 sections in the case of the new Act on Consumer Credit. The main changes that have been adopted include the extension of the scope of the Act to most types of credit, the introduction of an obligation of professional competence and trustworthiness for consumer credit providers and the authorisation of activities for non-banking consumer credit providers by the Czech National Bank (which will also newly supervise consumer credit providers and intermediaries), mandatory initial capital and others.
Act No. 186/2016 Coll., on Gambling (hereinafter referred to as the “Act on Gambling”), which has already been promulgated in the Collection of Acts, enters into force, with exceptions, on 01.01.2017. Gambling in the form of consumer competitions, polls and other prize promotions has been newly excluded from the statutory regulation, since the previous legal regulation of these games was not in compliance with European Union law. The previous regulation of marketing (consumer) competitions was therefore not adopted into the new legal regulation at all. We shall address in detail the practical impacts of this fact on the practice of traders when organising these competitions in one of the future legal circulars.
Together with the new Act on Consumer Credit, certain related regulations have also been amended. Among the most significant changes is the amendment to Act No. 216/1994 Coll., on Arbitration Proceedings and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards, as amended (hereinafter referred to as the “Act on Arbitration Proceedings”), and the impact of this amendment on the possibilities of resolving disputes with consumers. At present, the conclusion of arbitration agreements with consumers is permissible, albeit with certain limitations. An arbitration agreement concluded with a consumer (for disputes arising from consumer contracts) must, for example, be agreed separately and not as part of the conditions governing the main contract. In the opposite case, the arbitration agreement is invalid.
However, it will newly no longer be possible to conclude arbitration agreements with consumers for the resolution of disputes arising from consumer contracts in any form whatsoever. This amending Act was, together with the new Act on Consumer Credit, approved by the Parliament of the Czech Republic, signed by the President of the Czech Republic and it can be expected that it will be promulgated and published in the Collection of Acts any day now. Arbitration proceedings commenced on the basis of arbitration agreements concluded before the date of entry into force of this Act shall be heard and decided according to the existing legal regulations. Traders may, of course, continue to assert their claims before general courts.
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 circular No. 7/2016 intended for members of this association.
This text was translated from Czech to English using an AI translator.