CZECH REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: Martin Řanda, Jan Lexa, Vít Fišer and Adam Vopelka, act legal
5. Environmental Liability 5.1 Key Types of Liability
4.3 Regulators’ Approach to Policy and Enforcement Environmental regulators in the Czech Republic gen- erally follow a compliance-oriented and legally formal- istic approach, closely aligned with EU standards. The focus is on: • preventative measures (eg, EIAs, binding opinions); • strict adherence to permitting rules; and • gradual enforcement, often starting with corrective instructions before escalating to fines or opera- tional restrictions. Authorities such as the Czech Environmental Inspec- torate conduct regular inspections, respond to com- The transferability of environmental permits in the Czech Republic depends on the legal nature of the permit. Czech law distinguishes between: • permits in rem, which are tied to a specific asset (such as a facility or piece of land); and • personal permits, which are granted to a specific individual or entity. Permits in rem automatically follow the asset to which they are attached, meaning they are typically bind- ing on the current owner and any successors. These are common in environmental regulation. However, it always depends on the specific law governing the permit in question. Such a law will usually stipulate whether or not the permit can be transferred to a legal successor. In contrast, personal permits are issued to a named person or legal entity and generally cannot be trans- ferred, unless allowed by special legal provisions. In the rare cases where transfer is possible, it must be done through a public law contract, which requires approval from the relevant administrative authority. 4.5 Consequences of Breaching Permits/ Approvals Breaching an environmental approval/permit can lead to environmental liability (see 5. Environmental Liabil- ity ). plaints and monitor high-risk activities. 4.4 Transferring Permits/Approvals
In the Czech Republic, two main types of liability can be imposed for environmental damage or breaches of
environmental law. Public Law Liability
Public law liability refers to liability for unlawful con- duct that breaches duties to protect the environment and its components. This liability is divided into crimi- nal and administrative liability. Criminal liability Criminal liability arises in the case of the most serious and socially dangerous attacks on the environment, which are defined as misdemeanours and felonies. Misdemeanours include all criminal offences commit- ted through negligence, as well as all intentional crimi- nal offences punishable by up to five years’ impris- onment. Felonies comprise all intentional criminal offences punishable by more than five years’ impris- onment. The principle of ultima ratio applies, meaning the criminal liability is enforced only when other types of liability are insufficient. Administrative liability Administrative liability is the most commonly applied form of legal liability in the context of environmental protection and safeguarding of its components. Like criminal liability, it is a form of public law liability, mean- ing that a wrongful act (in this case, an administrative offence) must exist. Unlike criminal offences, however, administrative offences are characterised by a lower degree of severity and a lower level of danger to soci- ety. The factual elements of administrative offences are defined in sectoral environmental legislation. Liability for Environmental Damage Liability for environmental damage includes civil liabil- ity for harm or other damage (see 10. Civil Liability ) and administrative liability for environmental damage (see 12. Contaminated Land ). 5.2 Liability for Historical Environmental Incidents or Damage A current operator of activities listed in Annex No 1 to Act No 167/2008 Coll, on the Prevention of Ecological
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