Civil Law: What Does the Civil Code Cover?

Quick Overview

• The Civil Code governs personal and property relationships, ranging from privacy protection to leases and inheritance.
• Substantive law defines your rights and obligations. Procedural law sets forth the process for their judicial protection.
• Absolute rights, such as the right to property, apply to everyone. Relative rights apply to a specific person.
• In addition to the Civil Code, other laws may also be relevant to your case.

Not sure which rules apply to your contract, neighborhood dispute, or inheritance? At our legal counseling center, we’ll assess your situation and suggest the next steps.

What Is Civil Law?

Civil law is a fundamental component of private law in the Czech Republic. It governs relationships between individuals, businesses, and institutions that are legally equal. Unlike public law, where the state acts as an authority (e.g., criminal or administrative law), in civil law the parties are on the same level—that is, “equal to equal.”

In practice, this means that if two neighbors agree to exchange a portion of their land, they do so of their own free will. The state does not interfere; it merely sets boundaries—for example, that such a contract must be in writing and that a change must be made in the real estate registry.

Civil law encompasses not only property relationships (e.g., ownership, lease, obligations) but also non-property relationships, such as the protection of personality rights, name, privacy, or family ties. Therefore, it has a direct impact on the daily lives of each and every one of us. The Civil Code serves as the fundamental codification.

What does the Civil Code regulate?

The Civil Code governs the legal status of individuals and their private rights and obligations. It contains rules on the conclusion of contracts, ownership, inheritance, family relationships, and the protection of personality rights.

For easier reference, its content can be divided into several areas:

Substantive Civil Law vs. Procedural Civil Law

Civil law is divided into substantive and procedural law. This distinction is of fundamental importance for understanding how the law is applied in practice.

Substantive civil law determines the rights and obligations that individuals and entities have toward one another. For example, it stipulates that an owner has the right to use their apartment and exclude others from it, or that a debtor is obligated to repay borrowed money. This concerns the “what”—that is, the substance of the legal relationship.

Civil procedural law, on the other hand, addresses the “how”—that is, the procedure by which these rights can be enforced. It is primarily governed by the Civil Procedure Code and sets forth rules for court proceedings, the taking of evidence, deadlines, and procedural acts.

To illustrate: if someone owes you 50,000 CZK, substantive civil law states that you have the right to have that amount repaid (e.g., under a loan agreement). Civil procedural law, in turn, sets out the path for enforcing this right (from filing a lawsuit through to potential enforcement).

In practice, these two components cannot be separated. Substantive law without procedural law would be ineffective; procedural law without substantive law would lack substance. A lawyer always works with both simultaneously.

Substantive civil law is further divided into property law (e.g., the right of ownership, the right to build, the right of lien, easements), contract law, inheritance law, and family law.

What Are the Sources of Civil Law

The sources of civil law are legal provisions that govern civil law relationships. In the Czech Republic, these include:

• The Constitution of the Czech Republic and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms —these enshrine the fundamental rights and freedoms protected by civil law (e.g., the right to own property, the right to privacy).
• International treaties —for example, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which takes precedence over Czech laws.
• The Civil Code – the fundamental code governing private law relationships.
• Other regulations — the Business Corporations Act, the Private International Law Act, the Cadastral Act, etc.
• Case law —decisions of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court that standardize the interpretation of the law.

For example, if a court rules that a certain type of loan agreement is invalid, this will affect similar cases in the future. Such a ruling becomes part of judicial practice and, de facto, a new “source” of interpretation.

How do absolute and relative rights differ?

In civil law, rights are divided into absolute and relative rights. This distinction is of fundamental importance for determining against whom a right can be enforced.

Absolute rights apply to everyone. A typical example is the right of ownership. If you own an apartment, everyone else is obligated to respect this right and not interfere with it. This also includes personality rights, such as the right to protection of one’s name, likeness, or privacy. A violation of an absolute right may give rise to a claim for an injunction, remedy of the consequences, and, where applicable, compensation for damages or non-pecuniary harm.

Relative rights, on the other hand, apply only between specific parties. If you enter into a contract for services with a painter, a legal relationship is established between you and the painter—no one else is involved. A breach of contract is resolved only by the parties to that contract.

How this works in practice: Absolute right: A neighbor unlawfully enters your property. You can seek protection in court against anyone who violates this right. Relative right: A mason fails to build your fence on time as stipulated in the contract. You can file a lawsuit only against the mason, not against anyone else.

Whether a right is absolute or relative matters, for example, in terms of statutes of limitations, available defenses, and court proceedings. The Supreme Court has clearly stated on several occasions that when someone infringes upon an absolute right, you do not have to prove that there was any contract between you—it is sufficient that the right itself exists.

Who is a subject of civil law?

A subject of civil law is anyone who can have rights and obligations. The basic categories are:

1. Natural persons —every person, from birth until death, has what is known as legal personality. Legal capacity (the ability to act independently in legal matters) arises upon reaching the age of majority, but it can also be acquired earlier, for example, by entering into marriage. Minors and persons with limited legal capacity are afforded special protection.
2. Legal entities – artificial entities that come into existence upon registration in a public registry. These include business corporations (s.r.o., a.s.), associations, foundations, and municipalities. They have their own property and act through their governing bodies.
3. The State and State Institutions —in civil law, they act as equal parties, not as authorities. For example, the state can enter into a contract to purchase real estate just as a private individual can.

So if a company sells a car to a citizen and there is a breach of contract, both parties are legally equal. What matters is not their “power” or status, but the rights and obligations arising from the contract.

Property Rights

Rights in rem fall under substantive civil law. They relate to property, whether movable (e.g., a car) or immovable (land, a house). The most significant of these is the right of ownership, which grants the owner the right to possess the thing, use it, enjoy its fruits and benefits, and dispose of it.

Other types of rights in rem include:

• Co-ownership —multiple owners of a single thing (ideal shares or joint property of spouses).
• Easements —the owner’s obligation to tolerate certain uses of their property by another person (e.g., a right of way).
• Right to build – allows a structure to be built on another person’s land.

The protection of rights in rem is strong. The owner may defend their rights through a so-called action for recovery of property (to reclaim the property) or an action for injunction (to prevent interference). This means that if someone parks on your property without authorization, you can demand that they remove the vehicle and, if necessary, seek compensation for damages.

Law of Obligations

Contract Law governs the relationships between a creditor and a debtor. An obligation may arise from a contract (sale, lease, contract for services, gift), from causing damage, from unjust enrichment, or from other legal circumstances.

Contracts form the basis of economic relationships. However, the law establishes only general rules; the rest is left to the discretion of the parties. Nevertheless, there are protective measures in place, such as consumer protection, under which certain terms cannot be agreed upon to the consumer’s detriment.

Imagine, for example, that you order a roof repair. The contractor agrees to perform the work for 340,000 CZK. If the work is not completed on time or is of poor quality, you have the right to demand a discount, a correction, or to rescind the contract.

The statute of limitations plays a major role in contract law—if you do not assert your right within the statutory period, you lose the opportunity to successfully enforce it.

Inheritance Law

Another civil right is the right of inheritance. This determines how a person’s property passes to their heirs upon their death. The basic rules are:

• Intestate succession —property is inherited by relatives according to inheritance groups.
• Will —the testator may specify who inherits what.
• Inheritance contract —a bilateral agreement between the decedent and the heir.
• Protection of Mandatory Heirs – Children are always entitled to a mandatory share.

For example, if a person dies without a will, the children and spouse inherit in equal shares as the first group. If there are no children, the inheritance passes to the parents and spouse.

Disputes arise if there are multiple wills, if a will is invalid, or if assets are discovered after the probate proceedings have concluded.

Protection of Personality and Personal Rights

Civil law protects the personal rights of every individual— life, health, honor, dignity, privacy, image, and expressions of a personal nature. Violations of these rights can have serious consequences.

An infringement of personal rights may consist, for example, of the publication of false information, the unauthorized use of a photograph, or an invasion of privacy, typically in the form of wiretapping. In such cases, the aggrieved party has the right to demand that the offending party refrain from further violations, that the consequences be remedied (for example, through a public apology), and that the aggrieved party be provided with reasonable monetary compensation for non-pecuniary harm.

The case law of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic has repeatedly emphasized that the protection of personality rights is a high priority, particularly when human health or dignity is at risk.

Summary

Civil law is a key area of the Czech legal system that governs equal relationships among individuals, businesses, and the state in matters of property, obligations, inheritance, and the protection of personality rights. It encompasses both substantive law, which establishes rights and obligations (e.g., property or contractual rights), and procedural law, which determines the means of enforcing them. The sources of civil law include the Constitution, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, international treaties, the Civil Code, and case law. It is important to distinguish between absolute rights, which apply to everyone (e.g., the right to property, protection of personality), and relative rights, which apply between specific parties (e.g., contracts). The subjects of civil law include natural persons, legal entities, and the state as an equal partner. Property law, contract law, inheritance law, and the protection of personality rights form its main pillars, with the protection of personal rights being given high priority in case law, particularly when health or dignity is at risk. Practical knowledge of civil law is therefore essential not only for lawyers but also for anyone who wishes to effectively protect their rights and interests.