As of 1 January 2026, an extensive amendment (Act No. 270/2025 Coll.) also entered into force, which changes most criminal legislation.
One of the most fundamental changes is the possibility of imposing a financial penalty for the commission of most criminal offences, where the nature of the matter allows it. Imposing a financial penalty motivates the offender to reform through a reduction in their standard of living, which fulfils the repressive function of punishment. The possibility to impose a financial penalty in more cases may lead to a reduction in the number of prisoners in the Czech Republic, which has been alarmingly high for a long time.
It is now possible to impose a punishment of a ban on the performance of public contracts or participation in a public tender, and a punishment of a ban on receiving grants and subsidies, on natural persons as well, not only on legal persons as has been the case until now.
Furthermore, for example, there has been the already mentioned partial decriminalisation of the criminal offence of neglect of maintenance obligations, amendments to the statutory definitions of certain drug offences, amendments to the statutory definitions of certain repeat property offences, the introduction of a new criminal offence of “misuse of identity for the production and dissemination of pornography”, and an extension of the limitation period for the criminal offence of murder.
Legal Update 01/2026 here.
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