Doing Business in the Czech Republic

[Excerpt] Baker & McKenzie is one of the world’s largest law firms with its presence in 70 locations in 42 countries. We have been active in the Czech Republic since 1993 and our work includes a full range of legal and tax services directed primarily to foreign investors doing business in the Czech Republic, but also, increasingly, to large, domestic Czech companies, especially as they seek to expand into new markets. Over the past 10 years, the Czech Republic has adopted new laws in virtually every area of regulation in the Czech legal system consistent with European standards as it prepared for accession to the European Union. The Czech Republic formally joined the European Union on May 1, 2004 and its legal system continues to develop in line with European norms. Doing Business in the Czech Republic has been prepared by the Prague office of Baker & McKenzie as a general guide for those companies or persons who wish to engage in business activities or invest in the Czech Republic. The information contained in this publication is general in nature and is intended only to provide an introduction to the Czech legal system and investment climate. This publication may not be relied upon in relation to any transaction or investment decision and it should not be viewed as a substitute for specific legal and tax advice. In addition, readers should be aware that the law and its interpretation are constantly changing in the Czech Republic; as such, the information contained in this publication may quickly become outdated

Guideline for handling pesticide residues in Czech organic production

This document was prepared in the project «Development of guidelines for the use of pesticide analysis in organic inspection in the Czech Republic (sampling, evaluation and interpretation)». At the beginning of this project, a workshop with stakeholders was held. The present document builds on the outcomes of this workshop, and elaborates guidance for all stakeholders involved in Czech organic production and its control, on how to deal with residue analyses. In recognition of the European dimension of the problem, the project followed a two-step approach. In the first step, the present guideline was prepared. It is written in a general style and in the English language, so that it potentially applies for many countries. Although the current project aims specifically at the situation in the Czech Republic, its use for other countries is welcome! In the second step, a national guideline for the Czech Republic will be prepared, based on this document. The present document will serve as a blueprint for this guideline, which will be tailored to the specific situation in the Czech Republic and written in the Czech language. The aim is that all control bodies and authorities dealing with organic production and organic products in the Czech Republic will use this guideline

Two Cheers for Czech Democracy

The paper discusses the state of Czech democracy and current research agendas on democracy in the Czech Republic, focusing in particular on the role of political parties. It considers Czech democracy both in relation to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and in the light of the evolving relationship between CEE and Western Europe. It suggests that current CEE states such as the Czech Republic gradually approximating to models of West European-style party politics may need rethinking. It then examines democracy in the Czech Republic in relation to debates on democratic “backsliding”, arguing that in the Czech cases the principal “backsliding” risks lie less in the rise of authoritarian populists than a potential crisis of democratic representation driven by perceptions of corruption. The paper concludes with some suggestions about future avenues for research on Czech and CEE democracy

Fiscal reform and corporate governance in the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic became a Member State of the European Union in May 2004. Under the EU legislation, prior to adopting the euro the Czech Republic must therefore be an EU Member State and must have fulfilled the Maastricht convergence criteria. The Czech Republic is currently reporting an excessive deficit, which poses an obstacle on the way towards compliance with Maastrich convergence criteria. Therefore Czech government has decided to solve primarily public finance problems. Early April 2007, the Czech government introduced a planned legislative reform affecting taxes, social security, health insurance etc. The bill introduced by the Czech government contains many significant changes which came into effect from 2008. Moreover the president of the Czech Republic signed the amendment on the stabilization of public finances which brings alterations to the most of the currently valid tax law. The main object of approved changes is to stabilize Czech public finance, but tax and fiscal reform will have a fundamental impact on corporate governance in the Czech Republic. The aim of a paper is not to summarize all approved modifications but paper analyzes and points out significant changes which came into effect in year 2008 and focuses on estimated impact and consequences for corporate governance in the Czech Republic in a future period.tax reform; corporate governance; corporate income tax; value added tax

Egaenus convexus - eine neue Weberknechtart aus der Tschechischen Republik

The harvestmen fauna of the Czech Republic is relatively species-poor; so far 29 species have been found, of them 23 in Bohemia, the western part of the country, and 26 species in Moravia, the eastern part of the Czech Republic

Remarkable harvestmen from the Czech Republic

The fauna of harvestmen of the Czech Republic is relatively well-known (SILHAVY 1956, MARTENS 1978). Still, species new for the country have recently been found both in natural (KLlMES & BEZDECKA 1995) and synanthropic habitats (KLlMES 1995). Our knowledge of the distribution of most species is, however, far from complete. For several species, including ones found relatively frequently, only a few localities have been reported from the Czech Republic up to now. In this paper we present some interesting findings of harvestmen in Bohemia (western Czech Republic) and Moravia (eastern part) which may stimulate further faunistic research in the territory (fig. 1)

Raman Spectroscopic Analysis of Geological and Biogeological Specimens of Relevance to the ExoMars Mission

H.G.M.E., I.H., and R.I. acknowledge the support of the STFC Research Council in the UK ExoMars programme. J.J. and P.V. acknowledge the support of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (210/10/0467) and of the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (MSM0021620855).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Fiscal Implications of Population Ageing

The paper explores the long-term fiscal implications of population aging in the Czech Republic. The results, although bearing a significant margin of uncertainty due to the very long-term character of the projection exercise, do not impart encouraging fiscal outlooks for the Czech Republic. This is hardly surprising given that the Czech Republic is facing pronounced population ageing. Moreover, the fiscal position of the Czech Republic is presently very poor, in spite of its (still) low level of debt and debt interest payments. The Czech Republic?s high primary deficit will foster a rapid rise in debt irrespective of population ageing. Therefore, to cope with the expected fiscal pressures, it is necessary not only to overhaul the pension and health-care systems in the medium term, but also to immediately start an intensive strategy of consolidation aimed at significantly reducing the high primary deficit.ageing populations; fiscal policy; fiscal sustainability

Comparative life cycle assessment of current and future electricity generation systems in the Czech Republic and Poland

Purpose The purpose of the study was to perform a comparative life cycle assessment of current and future electricity generation systems in the Czech Republic and Poland. The paper also outlines the main sources of environmental impact for the different impact categories for the electricity generation technologies analyzed. The analyses covered the years 2000-2050, and were conducted within the framework of the international programme Interreg V-A Czech Republic-Poland, Microprojects Fund 2014-2020 in the Euroregion Silesia. Methods Environmental assessment was done using the life cycle assessment (LCA) and ReCiPe Midpoint and Endpoint methods, which allowed the presentation of different categories of environmental impact and damage. The LCA was based on ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, using SimaPro 8.2.3 software with the Ecoinvent 3.2 database. The analyses cover both the current electricity production structures in the Czech Republic and Poland, and the projected energy production. Results and discussion The LCA analyses performed for the energy systems under consideration in the Czech Republic and Poland enabled a comparative analysis of current and forecast energy systems in these countries, as well as identification of the main sources of environmental impact. Comparative analysis of the LCA results showed that current and future electricity generation systems in Poland caused higher environmental impact there, than in the Czech Republic. Conclusions The assessment of the life cycle of electricity sources showed that the main determinant of the negative impact on the environment of energy systems in both Poland and the Czech Republic was the consumption of solid fuels, and in particular, the consumption of lignite. It is important to highlight that this is the first attempt of a comparative LCA of electricity production in the Czech Republic and Poland. This is also the first approach that contains analyses of the life cycle assessment of both present and future energy systems. The economic assessment and eco-efficiency of current and future electricity generation systems in European Union countries will be addressed in future research.Web of Science23112177216