Volume 13 (2013): Issue 1 (June 2013)

The article deals with the specific instrument used in criminal proceedings called as plea bargaining, or agreement upon the guilt and punishment (in the Czech legal regulation). This instrument is considered as one of the main measures used for acceleration of criminal proceedings and for criminal justice rationalization. Plea bargaining originally belongs to the system of criminal law in the countries belonging to the Anglo-Saxon legal order, but it has been implemented also into the legal orders of countries in Middle Europe region during last decade. Such implementation in connected with some important problems related to the different characteristics of criminal proceedings. The article solves some of these problems, primarily the collision with the basic principles of continental system of criminal law.

Competition law and Intellectual Property law are remarkably divergent in scope and thus make for uneasy bedfellows. Although they both purport to help the consumer, their effects on the common market can be strikingly different. Recent decisions in the European Union and the United States of America have brought into focus the role of reverse payment patent settlement agreements. These agreements are generally of a commercial nature, and are agreements to settle actual or potential disputes which are related to patents. The questions which are sought by the parties to mutually settle range from infringement of a patent or the validity of a patent. When such a settlement agreement between a patent holder (in this instance the originator company) and a patent challenger (being a generic company) involves a value transfer from the originator to the generic company, coupled with a provision to limit or restrict the generic company’s ability to market its own product on the market, then certain interesting areas of conflict tend to come forward. The question arises whether this is simply a case of a company paying off its competitors to stay out of its market and delay the entry of cheaper, generic medicines, and is thus purely anticompetitive and harmful to consumers? Or whether the right to settle a patent dispute within the scope of patent laws is something which is outside the domain of Competition law? The European Commission and the Federal Trade Commission have displayed similar levels of distrust towards such commercial settlement agreements, and now the United States Supreme Court has weighed in with its own opinion. It remains to be seen how this matter will develop further in the courtrooms on both sides of the Atlantic.

The article deals with the problematic of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as the crucial political question related with the European Integration. The authors describes and analysis the role of the CAP within the EU policies, its development form the very beginning of the integration its internal structure, rules of organisation, working system and financial aspects. The close concern is given to the question of the long-term sustainability of CAP and the reform for the next financial period (2014-2020). Th e special part is devoted to the influence of the CAP on the enlargement process with the special impetus to the association of Georgia to the EU.

The paper offers the analysis of the theoretical approaches to the problem of mistake in the law of contracts and its relevance for the nullification of the contracts. Author focuses on the several understandings of mistakes: mistake of delusion, mistake of combination of misbelief and misconception, mistake in social interactions etc. Further he evaluates the legal consequences and the practical application of the abovementioned theoretical concepts. Finally author analysis the draft projects related to the mistakes in the law of contacts and their legislative implementation.

Sound recording a posteriori Slovak as well as Czech legislation represents the unity of the recorded information and the medium in which the information is stored. However, the medium of audio information can take various forms. This diversity is on the one hand determined by the technical development and on the other hand by the fact that the term “sound recording” can be interpreted broadly, which means that under the term “sound recordings” need not be understood only carriers of audio information that are directly reproducible by means of a technical equipment intended for sound reproduction but even such objects which are already technically outdated (e.g. musicboxes or automatic musical instruments) or that are relatively new but specific or rare (e.g. music roads). Therefore in some case unclear or imprecise definition of “sound recording” may lead to doubt whether a particular object ought to be protected as a sound recording or not.

This article deals with the question of the obligation to refer a preliminary reference to the Court of Justice and when the national courts breach its obligation to refer. In case when the national court breach its obligation to refer the issue of violation of the constitutional right of individual arises. The article provides insight in terms of constitutional law on the fundamental right with connection to the violation of the obligation of national court to refer.

International commercial arbitration and national commercial arbitration are issues of international private law combined with global and local aspects. The rules of the procedure in international commercial arbitration vary around the world and are combined with the very strong influence of national law and are determinate by the place where the arbitration procedure is being preceded by the arbitrators. Obtaining evidence in commercial arbitration is also dependent on the above-mentioned aspects. The arbitrators have to know, as much as possible, all about the common law system, the civil law system’s influence and the powers and initiation possibilities they have during the arbitration procedure. The knowledge of the system and existing procedure rules allow them to produce the most important part of the arbitration, such as a perfect award.

The article is focused on current legal regulation concerning review of an appeal within the Czech civil procedure law. Changes, adopted by Czech legislator in 2012, brought to this extraordinary remedy new concept and approach. The article compares this approach to a certiorari principle common the US legislation and brings conclusions denying the new Czech and the US legal regulation shall correspond perfectly to each other, even though some experts expressed an opposite opinion.

This analytical paper focuses on the ongoing works on the recodification of the law of civil procedure in Slovakia. Th e paper introduces and presents the most relevant changes to the Slovak Civil Procedure Code and offers the closer examination of the reform of remedial measures included in the re-codification proposal.

Application of non-discrimination has a fundamental problem inherent in the fact that the prosecutor has only a very limited possibility to prove violations of the prohibition of discrimination, and much less the motives of the discriminating person, and thus the reason for discrimination. In addition, discrimination occurs in the relations, which are characterized by considerable inequalities, when more evidence is on the side of potentially discriminating than on the side of those discriminated. The article offers the analysis and comparison of the US and European approach to the procedural aspects of the anti-discrimination litigation with the special attention given to the special procedural mechanism - the reversal of the burden of proof.

Employment related income paid by a third party (non-employer) has its specific tax treatment. In the Czech Republic, a different approach applies for calculation of personal income tax and obligatory insurance contributions from this income. With the preparation of the Single Collection Point (unifying the collection of personal income tax and obligatory insurance contributions), the question arises whether it is possible to set up unified treatment of this income for all obligatory payments. We provide detailed analyses of this topic from the point of view of the Czech legislation and comparison with selected countries. Further we follow with the discussion of problematic issues in unified treatment for all obligatory payments from this income; such as discrimination and complicated administration. We conclude that even if the national legislation for all obligatory payments from this income would not diff er, there will still be different treatment due to specific international regulations.

The paper deals with a Letter of rights for persons arrested on the basis of a European arrest warrant, a novelty introduced by the Directive 2012/13/ EU on the right to information in criminal proceedings. The Directive stipulates that Member States of the EU shall ensure that persons who are arrested for the purpose of the execution of an European arrest warrant are provided promptly with appropriate Letter of rights containing information on their rights according to the law implementing the Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA on the European arrest warrant in the executing Member State. The paper is divided into three sections. First section presents fundamental knowledge on starting points of the letter of rights. Further, second section analyses its legal basis, i.e. Directive 2012/13/EU. The last third section introduces an indicative model of letter of rights.

French family law has just undergone tremendous changes. The may 17 Act which allows same sex marriage means the acknowledgement of a right for couples either homosexual or heterosexual. These couples can be married or not. Beyond the diversity, we can however feel the emergence of a right for the couple, that is to say common rules for all couples. The couple, from every angle, became an essential and inescapable element of family law which has its proper rules.