Abstract
The EU Services Directive (SD) is a centrepiece for the realisation of the Internal Market in the services sector aiming at considerably lowering the barriers for service provision in the EU. This chapter therefore analyses the transposition and implementation of the requirements of the SD into the national (administrative) law system of Czech Republic. The chapter treats all relevant requirements of the SD, such as the Point of Single Contact (POSC), the screening of national law according to the requirements of the SD, the adaption of authorisation schemes for service provision, the requirement of ‘tacit authorisation’, and the need for new rules on administrative cooperation. Finally an assessment of the impact of the SD on the national (administrative) law system is provided.
The author is Associate Professor at Masarykova Univerzita, Brno
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Notes
- 1.
For an online version, see http://www.sbirka.cz.
- 2.
Website of the Poslanecká sněmovna (the Chamber of Deputies) which is lower house of the Parliament (http://www.psp.cz) provides information about legislative process related to every act of the Parliament. The role of the Senát is limited.
- 3.
- 4.
See KPMG Česká republika, s.r.o. (2006).
- 5.
See Articles 49–55 of the Treaty establishing the European (Economic) Community (numbered before the Treaty of Amsterdam as 59–65) and Articles 56–62 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
- 6.
According to the ministerial translation of the Act into English: “This Act transposes the relevant legislation of the European Communities and regulates the cross-border provision of services, the rights and obligations of service providers, the rights of service recipients, the points of single contact, their activities and structure, the establishment of authorisations to provide services under the law, and the supervision of service providers on the internal market of the European Union.”
- 7.
See sections 4 and 5 of the Act on the Free Movement of Services.
- 8.
See Part 11 of the Amending Act adjusting zákon č. 18/1997 Sb., o mírovém využívání atomové energie a ionizujícího záření (Act on the Peacetime Exploitation of Atomic Energy and Ionizing Radiation).
- 9.
See Part 9 of the Amending Act changing zákon č. 200/1994 Sb., o zeměměřičství (the Act on Geodesy).
- 10.
I have discussed the issue with Ms. M. Brandejská from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
- 11.
According to Ms. M. Brandejská (see above). Compare this with Germany, which implemented administrative measures of the Services Directive in its Verwaltungsverfahrengesetz. Electronic communication, European administrative cooperation, and the assistance of points of single contact were introduced in this federal code of administrative proceedings.
- 12.
Section 69a was introduced a few days before accession, obviously as an emergency solution. Commentaries remain largely silent about consequences of this provision.
- 13.
It is interesting that nobody mentioned the provision during the implementation process of the Services Directive. I suggest interpret this section a forgotten piece of legislation from the early days of the Czech Republic in the European Union.
- 14.
The Ministry started the screening with legislation in its competence in 2007. Screening of legislation administered by other ministries started in 2008. Elaborate procedures for communication and negotiations among the ministries were established and a special task force was created.
- 15.
The points of single contact are established according to its sections 13–17.
- 16.
See Vyhláška č. 248/2009 Sb., kterou se stanoví seznam jednotných kontaktních míst (Decree of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Establishing the List of the Points of Single Contact).
- 17.
See Zákon č. 570/1991 Sb, o živnostenských úřadech (the Act on Offices of Economic Administration).
- 18.
For example, two lawyers in my home city Brno (Brünn). Both are former students of my faculty; for contact see http://www.brno.cz/informace/archiv/zivnostensky-urad-mesta-brna-zumb/jednotne-kontaktni-misto/.
- 19.
Zákon č. 82/1998 Sb., o odpovědnosti za škodu způsobenou při výkonu veřejné moci nesprávným rozhodnutím nebo nesprávným úředním postupem (the Act on Liability for Damage Caused in Connection with the Exercise of Public Power for Incorrect Decision or Incorrect Administration).
- 20.
Apart from investments disputed and adjudicated by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes or by arbitrators in accordance with bilateral investment treaties.
- 21.
Section 14 letter b requires provision of “general information on the requirements in other Member States relating to the acquisition of authorisation to provide services”.
- 22.
Section 14 mentions ‘the information required to obtain authorisation to provide a service, including, in particular, the particulars of the application and the contact details of administrative bodies competent to handle the application under other legislation’.
- 23.
- 24.
Sections 13–17 of the Act on the Free Movement of Services do not mention any electronic point of single contact. Such a label is thus unofficial.
- 25.
The Slovak and Czech languages are mutually intelligible and, at least in the Czech Republic, nobody expects or requires translation between the two.
- 26.
I thank Ms. Z. Softčová from the point of single contact in Brno for fruitful discussion about various legal and practical aspects of implementation of the Services Directive in the Czech Republic in general and about activities of the points of single contact in particular.
- 27.
See Annex V: List referred to in Article 24 of the Act of Accession: Czech Republic, point 13.
- 28.
See section 15 of the Act on the Free Movement of Services.
- 29.
Zákon č. 227/2000 Sb., o elektronickém podpisu (Act on the Electronic Signature) a Zákon č. 300/2008 Sb., o elektronických úkonech (Act on Electronic Acts), which established tools for the verified communication of individuals with the public authorities and compulsory electronic communication for the institution of public administration and for companies and individual entrepreneurs.
- 30.
See section 26 of the Act on the Free Movement of Services. The Internal Market Information System established with European Commission decision no. 2008/49/EC is mentioned.
- 31.
Periods are set in general or sector legislation for administrative proceedings. Nevertheless, section 30 of the Act on the Free Movement of Services established several modifications to these periods.
- 32.
Summarized in English in section ‘The Czech Republic’, published by the European Commission for Mutual Evaluation expected in the Services Directive—Stakeholders' Consultation; see http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2010/services_directive_en.htm.
- 33.
Two-tier administrative judiciary consisting of departments of administrative judiciary in krajské soudy (regional courts) and independent Nejvyšší správní soud (the Supreme Administrative Court) was established in 2003 in accordance with the zákon č. 150/2002 Sb., soudní řád správní (Code of Administrative Justice).
- 34.
See sections 4 (4) and 4 (2), respectively, of the Act on the Free Movement of Services.
- 35.
See the wording of section 28 of the Act on the Free Movement of Services in the ministerial translation into English: ‘(1) Where so provided by other legislation, authorisation to provide a service shall be deemed granted upon expiration of the time limit for the delivery of a decision’.
- 36.
See sections 28 (2) and 30 of the Act on the Free Movement of Services.
- 37.
See sections 10 and 11 of the Act on the Free Movement of Services.
- 38.
If compared with the implementation in Poland, see Ustawa o swiadczeniu uslug na terytorium Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Dziennik ustaw nr. 47, poz. 278, 2010), rozdzial 4—przepisy karne.
- 39.
Section 8 of the Act on the Free Movement of Services merely summarizes Article 23 of the Directive.
- 40.
See sections 18–26 of the Act on the Free Movement of Services.
- 41.
See Article 57 (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (former Article 50).
- 42.
- 43.
A thesis written by Smejkal-Brandejská (2009).
- 44.
Several Czech textbooks on European Union law are available. Nevertheless, there is limited number of experts capable to write monographs addressing uncountable topics of this supranational law. Furthermore, there is little demand for such books. Publishers are thus not interested. Commentary of the Services Directive comparable to German 489 pages book Schlachter and Ohler (2008) cannot be reasonably expected in the Czech Republic for both reasons.
- 45.
Křepelka (2008), p. 348 I prepare the text for publication after evaluation of the Directive’s implementation. It will be (probably) the first monograph about free movement of services in the European Union in Czech language and addressing participation of the Czech Republic.
- 46.
Barnard (2004), pp. 370–372.
References
For legislation, jurisprudence and websites please refer to 1.1 of the report and footnotes directly.
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Křepelka, F. (2012). Implementation of the Services Directive in the Czech Republic. In: Stelkens, U., Weiß, W., Mirschberger, M. (eds) The Implementation of the EU Services Directive. T.M.C. Asser Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-6704-840-8_6
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