CZECH REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: Martin Řanda, Jan Lexa, Vít Fišer and Adam Vopelka, act legal
Damage and its Correction, as amended, can also be held liable for environmental damage that occurred before their ownership, provided there is a causal link between the activity they are operating and the dam- age incurred.
strict liability (eg, arising from operations), fault is not examined. Administrative liability under Act No 167/2008 Coll The focus is not on compensating a private individual for loss but on remedying damage to the environment as a public good. Liability here is based on the princi- ple of strict (objective) liability. To establish administrative liability for environmental damage, the following three conditions must be met. • Operation of a high-risk activity: the activity must be one of the operational activities listed in Annex No 1 to Act No 167/2008 Coll (in the case of dam- age to protected species and habitats, liability also applies to other professional activities if fault can be proven). • Occurrence of environmental damage: there must be a measurable adverse change to a natural resource (water, soil, species). • Causal link: there must be a demonstrable con- nection between the operational activity and the environmental damage. The burden of proof lies with the competent administrative authority (eg, the Czech Environmental Inspectorate). 6. Corporate Liability 6.1 Liability for Environmental Damage or Breaches of Environmental Law The company itself may be held fully liable for breach- es of environmental legislation and/or for pollution caused. This means that the company may be found liable under civil, administrative or even criminal law (if the conditions set out in Act No 418/2011 Coll, on the Criminal Liability of Legal Persons, as amended, are met). 6.2 Environmental Taxes In the Czech Republic, environmental taxes refer to energy taxes – the mineral oils tax and the taxes intro- duced through the transposition of Directive 2003/96/ EC on the taxation of energy products and electric- ity, namely the tax on solid fuels, the natural gas tax and the electricity tax. These are excise taxes primar- ily designed to generate income. As pollution from
5.3 Key Defences Public Law Liability
To be held liable for an administrative/criminal offence causing environmental damage, the following basic conditions must be met. • Fulfilment of the elements of the administrative/ criminal offence. • Fault: for administrative offences, negligence is sufficient unless the law explicitly requires intent. By contrast, for most criminal offences, intent is required. • Illegality: the conduct must be contrary to legal regulations. • Social harm: the conduct must be at least minimal- ly harmful to society. Completely trivial violations do not necessarily constitute an administrative offence. For an act to constitute a criminal offence, it must reach a higher level of severity than an administrative offence. Liability for Environmental Damage Civil liability Within private law, the key legal framework is the Civil Code (Act No 89/2012 Coll), which establishes both general and special cases of liability. The concept of tortious liability is not recognised in Czech civil law, but civil law liability for damages is governed by the rules set out below. To establish civil liability for environmental damage, the following four conditions must be met. • Unlawful conduct or harmful event: there must be a breach of law or a contractual obligation, or an operational activity that causes the damage. • Occurrence of damage: there must be property damage or loss quantifiable in monetary terms. • Causation: a direct connection must exist between the conduct/event and the damage incurred. • Fault (in cases of fault-based liability): in most cases, at least negligence is required. In cases of
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