Since the beginning of April this year, new and stricter rules for attorney escrows of financial funds have come into effect in the Czech Republic. The changes are part of an amendment to the Act No. 85/1996 Coll., on Legal Profession, which was passed by the Parliament of the Czech Republic on 26 February 2025. It is explicitly stipulated that the funds held in escrow may only be deposited in a special attorney escrow account maintained by a bank or other financial institution. Funds may be accepted into escrow solely by deposit or non-cash transfer to the attorney escrow account. Before accepting funds, the attorney must provide the financial institution with the contact details of both the depositor and the person entitled to receive the funds. The institution then issues these persons a confirmation of the account’s existence and subsequently sends them confirmations of any transfers or other transactions on the account. The financial institution does not allow the attorney to deposit or withdraw funds in cash from the escrow account. The new rules aim to increase the security of transactions carried out using attorney escrow and to strengthen trust in attorney escrows as a safeguarding instrument.
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The Act on Collective Civil Proceedings has come into effect in the Czech Republic. The Act, published in the Collection of Laws of the Czech Republic under No. 179/2024, enables qualified plaintiffs (non-profit consumer organizations) to file collective (class) actions on behalf of consumers and small businesses. The claims of individual consumers and small businesses will then be addressed in the collective proceedings based on their applications (opt-in). Along with the Act on Collective Civil Proceedings, an amendment to the Civil Procedure Code (Act No. 180/2024 Coll.) was adopted, introducing the right of qualified plaintiffs to file lawsuits on behalf of consumers to enjoin businesses from unlawful conduct or determine that their conduct violated legal regulations (lawsuits for the protection of collective consumer interests).
The Collection of Laws of the Czech Republic is seeing an upgrade on e-Sbírka portal. The project, implemented by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, involves replacing the up-to-now printed gazette with an electronic publication format. The portal on e-sbirka.cz offers not only texts of newly adopted legal regulations, but also their complete texts, consolidated historical versions, and other functionalities. In the future, the e-Sbírka is expected to be complemented by the e-Legislativa project, which will represent a comprehensive platform for publication and communication within various phases of the legislative process.