Documents and Laws in Parliament

The amendment adds a new burden of proof rule to the Code of Civil Procedure in disputes related to reorganisation in the public administration. If an employee claims that he or she was dismissed or removed as a senior civil servant because of a change in organisational structure under the Civil Service Act, the administrative authority will have to prove in court that the change was efficient, economical and effective. The aim is to prevent purposeful reorganisations used for personnel interventions and to strengthen judicial protection for employees. The amendment follows other cases in the Code of Civil Procedure where the burden of proof is shifted to the defendant due to information inequality between the parties.

The amendment extends the powers of the Secretary of State in government departments and the Cabinet Office. It allows a member of the Government or the head of the Government Office to delegate to him the coordination of the activities of the Office and the control of the performance of tasks by the chief directors of departments and other staff. The aim is to remove the conflict between the Secretary of State’s responsibility for personnel management and his previously limited powers to monitor performance. The change is intended to strengthen ministerial management and the continuity of the civil service.

The amendment allows the Government to designate by regulation other foreign universities whose education will be recognised for the purposes of employment in the civil service. In addition to schools from the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK, the Government may extend recognition to specific institutions from other countries. The aim is to make it easier for graduates of foreign schools to enter the civil service and to increase flexibility in recognising their education without the need for nostrification.

The amendment modifies the Hunting Act and the Act on the Protection of Animals against Cruelty, mainly due to the inclusion of the Sika deer on the EU list of invasive non-native species. It introduces rules to allow for more intensive regulation of this species - e.g. extending the powers of game wardens and farmers to hunt it, allowing night hunting with equipment and removing some administrative obstacles. At the same time, it changes some hunting conditions (e.g. shortens the minimum distance from the hunting area boundary from 200 to 100 metres and relaxes the rules on fee hunting). It also extends the system of state support for hunting, clarifies the provision of financial contributions and aligns hunting rules with animal protection regulations.

The amendment amends the Act on the Protection of the Agricultural Land Fund and regulates the rules for changes to the consent for the withdrawal of agricultural land, particularly in connection with mineral extraction and land reclamation. It now allows, in exceptional cases, to exceed the current limit of 20% of the reclaimed area if the area is to be protected as a specially protected area or a significant landscape feature. It also introduces the new institution of a public law contract, which allows the reclamation plan for smaller quarries (up to 10 ha) to be amended in favour of the protection of the natural values created, while part of the funds must be transferred to the municipality for landscape restoration. At the same time, the rules on registration, the validity of the consent and the cases in which no levy is payable for land withdrawal are clarified.

The amendment calls for the retention of amendment point 109 of Act No. 250/2025 Coll., and thus of Section 33(8) of the Forestry Act. This provision encourages leaving some of the wood in the forest for natural decomposition, which improves the soil, reduces erosion and promotes biodiversity. The proposal highlights that this is a long-established forestry practice and there is agreement between the ministries on the future issuance of an implementing decree. The aim is to avoid the deletion of this provision from the legislation.

The amendment calls for the retention of the entire provision of Section 50 of the Forestry Act, which regulates the supreme state supervision in the field of forestry. It rejects the proposal to delete it because it would weaken the supervisory role of the Ministry of the Environment and upset the balance between the productive and protective functions of the forest. According to the reasoning, this is an unsystematic change which is not related to the amendment on plant health care under discussion and interferes with the competences of the ministries. The aim is to maintain the existing state supervision of forest protection.

The amendment introduces a ban on hunting game underground using dogs (so-called nooring) and explicitly includes it among the prohibited methods of killing wild animals under the Act on the Protection of Animals against Cruelty. At the same time, it prohibits the captive breeding of red foxes for the purpose of training hunting dogs and repeals the previous provision of the Hunting Act which allowed such temporary possession of foxes on the basis of a permit from the authorities. Existing permits previously issued for the temporary keeping of foxes remain in force under a transitional provision. The amendments aim to reduce inhumane practices in hunting and training dogs and to strengthen animal protection.

The amendment modifies the Hunting Act and the Animal Protection Act in response to the classification of the Sika deer as an invasive non-indigenous species in the EU. It introduces rules to enable its intensive regulation by hunting, extends the powers of game wardens and game managers, allows night hunting with modern optics and simplifies some hunting procedures (e.g. reducing the minimum hunting distance from hunting ground boundaries from 200 to 100 metres). At the same time, the conditions for fee hunting and the procedures of the state administration in case of changes in game numbers in hunting grounds are modified. The proposal also newly regulates the system of financial contributions and state services to support hunting management.

The amendment amends the Forest Act and regulates the rules of forest management and the exercise of state administration. It introduces the obligation to obtain the consent of the state forest administration authority for small constructions up to 30 m from the forest edge and stipulates that certain exceptions (e.g. the size of clear-cutting or forest regeneration periods) will now be granted in an administrative procedure with the possibility of appeal. It simplifies definitions, changes the qualification requirements for forestry officials and temporarily allows their replacement by experience until 2031. It also regulates offences, abolishes the supreme state supervision of the Ministry of Environment and restores the authority of the Military Police to deal with certain forest offences.

The amendment modifies the Forest Act and related regulations in order to simplify administration and clarify the powers of state forest administration bodies. It introduces the obligation to obtain the consent of the state forest administration authority for small constructions up to 30 m from the forest edge and unifies the granting of certain exemptions (e.g. the size of the clear-cut or forest regeneration periods) in the standard administrative procedure instead of the current non-administrative procedure. The qualification requirements for forestry officials are simplified and a transitional period for gaining experience is introduced. The proposal also abolishes the planned obligation to set a minimum quantity of dead wood in forests and regulates certain offences, the competences of the authorities and the promotion of afforestation.

The amendment amends the Hunting Act and abolishes the authorisation of the hunting guard and the hunting manager to kill stray dogs and cats in hunting grounds that chase game at a distance of more than 200 m from a dwelling. This power is removed from the Act and only the ability to kill animals requiring control or feral farm or farm animals remains. At the same time, the notification requirement is modified - only the killing of feral farm or farmed animals, not dogs or cats, will require notification to the owner. The aim is to strengthen the protection of domestic animals and to reduce the number of cases where they are shot by game wardens.

The amendment reduces Members’ flat-rate transport allowances, which are based on the salary base. The reimbursement percentages are changed from the previous 40, 45, 50 and 60 % to 25, 28, 32 and 35 %, depending on the distance of the Member’s residence from the seat of Parliament. The aim is to limit the automatic increase in these allowances linked to the salary base and to bring them closer to real transport costs. The measure is intended to bring savings to public finances while maintaining sufficient compensation for commuting.

The amendment adds to the powers of the Secretary of State in ministries and the Cabinet Office. The new role is to coordinate the activities of the Administrative Office and to monitor the performance of the tasks of the Chief Directors of Sections and other staff as instructed by the relevant member of the Government. The aim is to remove the mismatch between his responsibility for personnel management and his lack of authority in managing the Office’s agendas. The modification is intended to strengthen managerial accountability, coordination and effective management of ministries.

The amendments modify the Government’s amendment to the Investment Companies and Investment Funds Act mainly by technical and clarifying changes in individual provisions. For example, the requirement that a certain legal entity must have its registered office abroad is removed and the rules for fund management are clarified, including the requirement that at least two managers devote full-time equivalent time to the function. The draft also adds provisions on conflicts of interest, modifies references to penalty and obligation sections and clarifies wording in the law. Open-ended fund managers must bring their ratios into line with the new rules by 16 April 2027.

The amendment tightens the conditions for government regulation of fuel prices. It removes the possibility to regulate prices only because of the ongoing effects of an emergency situation and links intervention solely to a genuine ongoing emergency market situation. Reduces the maximum period of validity of a price assessment from 12 to 3 months and requires the prior approval of the Chamber of Deputies for its re-issuance. At the same time, it obliges the government to immediately lift the regulation if the exceptional market situation ceases to exist.

The amendment adds an obligation for the government to obtain the opinions of several institutions before issuing a price assessment to regulate fuel prices: The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Office for the Protection of Competition and the State Material Reserves Administration. These opinions must form the basis for the Government’s decision. At the same time, they are to be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies without undue delay, thereby strengthening Parliament’s information and control. The aim is to ensure expert assessment of the impact of price regulation on the market, supply and competition.

The amendment adds an obligation for the government to provide detailed justification for the issuance of a price assessment when regulating fuel prices. The justification must include, for example, the specific reason for the intervention, the grounds used, an explanation of why a more lenient measure is not sufficient, the appropriateness of the regulation, the duration and the conditions for its termination or modification. The aim is to increase transparency, reviewability and public scrutiny of government interventions on prices without limiting the government’s ability to respond to emergency situations.

The amendment specifies the conditions under which the government can regulate fuel prices. Instead of the general term ‘market emergency’, it introduces the more precisely defined term ‘fuel market crisis’. The law redefines specifically when such a crisis situation arises, for example in the event of a sharp increase in prices, supply constraints, disproportionate margin increases or threats to supply and economic stability. The aim is to limit overly broad interpretations and to set out more clearly the conditions for government intervention in prices.