Re-declaration of a state of emergency and related issues

With effect from 5 October 2020, from 00.00, the Government of the Czech Republic (the “Government”) declared a state of emergency for 30 days for the territory of the Czech Republic, due to health risks in connection with the detection of coronavirus (referred to as SARS CoV-2) in the territory of the Czech Republic (Government Resolution No. 957 of 30 September 2020). This declaration of a state of emergency does not affect the existing issued and valid protective and extraordinary measures of the Ministry of Health, which means that these measures remain in force and must be complied with.

As a reminder, we state that in the event of non-compliance with the prohibitions and restrictions set by the crisis measures in times of emergency, such unlawful actions by natural persons may result ini a fine of CZK 2,000,000 and legal persons or individual entrepreneurs may be fined up to CZK 3,000,000.

In connection with the declaration of a state of emergency, one crisis measure has so far been issued to date, namely by Government Resolution No. 958 of 30 September 2020, which contains a list of individual prohibitions and restrictions. As a general rule, collective events of more than ten people indoors and more than twenty outdoors are prohibited. Exceptions to this prohibition relate to court proceedings, meetings of municipal councils, work teams, members of the same household, swimming pools, aqua parks, gyms or even worship services. Restrictions apply to catering establishments, i.e. restaurants/cafes/pubs, (i.e. a maximum of 6 customers at one table), worship services (i.e. a maximum of 100 people), sporting events (i.e. a maximum of 130 people, these are only organizers and athletes, not spectators), theatre performances , in which there is mostly no singing (i.e. a maximum of 500 spectators).1

In addition to the general ban, concerts, theatre performances and other artistic performances and festivities at which there is mainly singing, including rehearsals, were also prohibited. At this point we see a clear contradiction with point I.1. of Government Resolution No. 958, as this crisis measure of the Government explicitly provides for an exception for the performance of professions, business and other similar activities. Given that rehearsals for theatre performances generally fall under this general exception, it is unclear whether participation in non-public rehearsals is contrary to this prohibition, in particular in view of its purpose and meaning.

Please note that the list of exceptions lacks an explicit reference to the holding of meetings, sessions and similar events of private persons, i.e. meetings of co-owners or general meetings of companies. In the light of historical developments, we consider that such actions are prohibited in this version of the crisis measure. We are led to do so by the way in which the extraordinary measure of the Ministry of Health of 10 March 2020 banned with effect from the same day public and private events and other assemblies with more than 100 participants, when this measure allowed a meeting by express exception, meetings and similar events of private persons, which take place on the basis of the law, and cited as an example the general meeting of a joint-stock company. Subsequently, the government decided to adopt a crisis measure of 12 March 2020, which, with effect from 13 March 2020, extended and at the same time tightened the ban on public and private events, which the government conditioned on the presence of a maximum of thirty people. With the exception of this prohibition, it no longer mentioned the explicit possibility of holding meetings, sessions and similar events of private persons held on the basis of the law and only allowed meetings of public authorities. From this it is clear the intention of the government is to limit the holding of meetings of bodies of legal entities of private law with a number of more than 30 persons in times of emergency. Finally, on 16 March 2020, the Government announced by Resolution No. 215 with effect from 16 March 2020 to 24 March 2020 a ban on the free movement of persons in the Czech Republic and at the same time lifted the ban on public and private events with more than 30 contained in Resolution No. 199.

From the above historical interpretation, it is clear that the government itself explicitly remembered the holding of meetings, sessions and similar events of private persons. For this reason, we believe that the Government's Crisis Measure No. 957 of 30 September 2020 has the intent to ban the holding of meetings, sessions and similar events by private individuals.

[1] For more information and conditions for individual restrictions, we refer to the full text of Government Resolution No. 958 of 30 September 2020.

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