On 1 January 2026, an amendment to the Civil Code and other regulations in the area of family law entered into force, which in particular changes the institute of divorce, expressly enshrines a ban on the physical punishment of children, and partially decriminalizes non-payment of maintenance.
Traditionally, divorces were divided into contested (with the causes of the breakdown of the marriage being ascertained) and uncontested (without ascertaining the causes of the breakdown of the marriage). With one exception (a situation where one spouse disputes that the breakdown has occurred), the amendment abolishes the court’s obligation to ascertain the causes of the breakdown – the court will newly only determine whether the breakdown has occurred, not what led to it. Instead of an “uncontested divorce”, an official institute of an “agreed divorce” is introduced, i.e. a divorce that is possible in a situation where the spouses jointly file a petition for divorce (or it is filed by one spouse and the other joins it), the spouses unanimously declare the breakdown of the marriage, the marriage has lasted at least one year as of the date the proceedings are initiated, and the spouses have agreed on the arrangement of matters concerning the minor child, property relations, housing, and, where applicable, maintenance. The previous condition allowing an uncontested divorce only if the spouses had not lived together for at least 6 months is removed.
The law gives preference to an agreed divorce and motivates divorcing spouses to choose it also through court fees – for an agreed divorce, the court fee remains CZK 2,000, while for a “contested divorce”, which can newly be referred to as a “non-agreed divorce”, the court fee increases to CZK 5,000. If the spouses eventually reach an agreement in this case, CZK 3,000 will be refunded to them.
If the divorcing spouses have a minor child, the divorce proceedings and the proceedings regarding the situation of minor children will newly be combined into one set of proceedings. This will take place at the court in whose district the child has their residence. Furthermore, the terms exclusive, alternating, and joint care have been abolished – the court thus newly does not place the child into the care of one parent, and the child remains in the care of both parents even after the divorce. If the parents do not reach an agreement, the court will only determine to what extent each parent will exercise the care.
The amendment further expressly enshrines the long-discussed ban on corporal punishment of children, as well as a ban on degrading treatment and the infliction of mental suffering. This does not mean that such treatment of children was previously permissible – the amendment merely specifies the existing requirement that upbringing must respect the child’s dignity and must not cause harm.
Non-payment of maintenance will newly be a criminal offence only in cases where the entitled person is put at risk of destitution. Criminal liability will no longer automatically arise from failure to pay maintenance for a period longer than four months, as has been the case until now.
Legal Update 01/2026 here.