Acta Universitatis Carolinae Iuridica (AUCI) is the main journal of the Faculty of Law of Charles University. It has been published since 1954 and is one of the traditional law journals with a theoretical focus.
As a general law journal, it publishes longer studies and shorter articles on any relevant issues in legal theory and international, European and national law. AUCI also publishes material relating to current legislative issues. AUCI is a peer-reviewed journal and accepts submissions from both Czech and international authors. Contributions by foreign authors are published in their original language – Slovak, English, German, French.
AUCI is a theoretical journal for questions of state and law. It is published by Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Law, through Karolinum Press. It is published four times a year, the dates of publication can be found here.
Articles published in AUCI undergo an independent peer review process, which is anonymous on both sides. Reviewers from the field give their opinion on the scientific quality of the paper and the suitability of publication in the journal. In the case of comments, the opinion is sent back to the author with the possibility of revising the text (see Guidelines for Authors – Per Review Process for more details).
The AUCI journal (ISSN 0323-0619) is registered in the Czech National Bibliography (kept by the National Library of the Czech Republic) and in the Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (kept by the American Association of Law Libraries). AUCI has been assigned a periodical registration number MK E 18585.
In 2021 the journal AUCI was the first journal of the Faculty of Law of Charles University to be included in the prestigious international database Scopus. This Elsevier database is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature in the world. The editors of the journal expect from the inclusion in the elite Scopus database not only an increase in the readership of the journal, but also an increase in interest in the publication of papers by both Czech and foreign authors.
AUCI is an open journal and all its content is published both on the faculty website and on the Karolinum Press website. Access to it is free of charge. The homepage of AUCI is on the Karolinum Press website.
The AUCI journal uses the Creative Commons license: CC BY 4.0.
Long-term archiving of the digital content of the journal is provided by Portico.
AUC IURIDICA, Vol 71 No 3 (2025), 177–193
The Czech Implementation of the Directive on Preventive Restructuring: A Practical Approach to Individual Moratorium and Other Implementation Issues
Hana Matoušková
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23366478.2025.501
published online: 29. 08. 2025
abstract
This article addresses the implementation of the Directive on Preventive Restructuring (“Directive”) in the Czech Republic, focusing on its practical challenges. The Directive seeks to provide businesses in financial difficulties with robust mechanisms for early restructuring which allow them to avert insolvency, protect jobs, and preserve economic value. In the Czech context, although the introduction of individual moratorium was anticipated by the Directive, its implementation raises critical concerns about creditor protection and fairness of the entire process. The primary aim of this article was to identify and analyze the most significant implementation issues associated with implementing individual moratoria. The research combines a detailed legal analysis with a case study of Liberty Ostrava, one of the first instances of the Czech preventive restructuring in practice. The findings reveal significant weaknesses in the current framework. Individual moratoria allow debtors to impose restrictions on creditors without sufficient safeguards, as courts are not required to assess their full impact. In the case of Liberty Ostrava, the use of an individual moratorium directly led to the insolvency of its largest creditor, TAMEH Czech s.r.o. Furthermore, debtors are granted excessive discretion in defining “concerned parties”, which enables them to exclude key creditors from the restructuring process. These issues, in my opinion, disrupt the balance of interests intended by the Directive. To address these challenges, this article proposes several reforms, emphasizing that courts should thoroughly evaluate the effects of individual moratoria on creditors and reject applications that would result in disproportionate harm. An appeal mechanism for creditors should be introduced to ensure procedural fairness. Additionally, judicial oversight of the debtor’s decision on concerned parties is essential to prevent manipulation. The article concludes that, although preventive restructuring offers valuable tools for economic stability, its effectiveness in the Czech Republic depends on balancing debtor protection with creditor rights. Considering these recommendations could potentially strengthen the framework and better align it with the Directive’s objectives.
keywords: preventive restructuring; Directive on Preventive Restructuring; individual moratorium
references (18)
1. DOHNAL, J. Správa a řízení obchodní korporace v hrozícím úpadku [Administration and management of a business corporation in imminent bankruptcy]. Prague: C. H. Beck, 2024.
2. Důvodová zpráva k zákonu o preventivní restrukturalizaci [Explanatory memorandum to the Act on Preventive Restructuring]. In: Poslanecká sněmovna Parlamentu České republiky [Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic] [online]. [cit. 2024-12-02]. Available at: https://www.psp.cz/sqw/text/tiskt.sqw?O=9&CT=371&CT1=0, page 49.
3. GANT, J. L. - BOON, G.-J. et al. The EU Preventive Restructuring Framework: in Extra Time? In: SSRN [online]. 2021, p. 5 [cit. 2024-12-02]. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3938867.
4. HAVEL, B. et al. Zákon o preventivní restrukturalizaci: komentář s ekonomickým průvodcem preventivní restrukturalizací [Preventive Restructuring Act: commentary with an economic guide to preventive restructuring]. Prague: Wolters Kluwer, 2024.
5. Insolvenční návrh [Insolvency proposal]. [online]. 14. 12. 2023, Clause 1 [cit. 2024-12-02]. Available at: https://isir.justice.cz/isir/doc/dokument.PDF?id=56766828.
6. JOUROVÁ, V. Early Restructuring and a Second Chance for Entrepreneurs: A modern and Streamlined Approach to Business Insolvency: Factsheet [online]. European Commission, November 2021, p. 2 [cit. 2024-12-02]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/image/document/2016-48/eu_factsheet_40047.pdf.
7. KAČEROVÁ, L. Prodloužení moratoria [Extension of the moratorium]. Bulletin advokacie [Advocacy Bulletin]. 2024, Vol. 54, No. 1-2, p. 36.
8. Moratorium ochrání huť Liberty před věřiteli [Moratorium will protect Liberty from creditors]. In: idnes.cz [online]. 21. 12. 2023 [cit. 2024-12-02]. Available at: https://www.idnes.cz/ostrava/zpravy/hut-liberty-tameh-sedivy-jednani-krize-dluhy-ostrava-vyroba.A231221_093736_ostrava-zpravy_palj.
9. PONDIKASOVÁ, T. - ZEMANDLOVÁ, A. Preventivní restrukturalizace - procesualistický pohled [Preventive restructuring - a proceduralist view]. Právní rozhledy [Legal Proceedings]. 2022, Vol. 30, No. 20, pp. 702-708.
10. SCHÖNFELD, J. - KUDĚJ, M. - HAVEL, B. - SPRINZ, P. 2023: Start preventivní restrukturalizace: nová šance pro podnikatele, nebo velký problém pro věřitele? [Start of preventive restructuring: A new chance for entrepreneurs or a big problem for creditors?]. Prague: C. H. Beck, 2023.
11. SIGMUND, A. et al. Zákon o preventivní restrukturalizaci [Preventive Restructuring Act]. Prague: Wolters Kluwer, 2023.
12. SPRINZ, P. - JIRMÁSEK, T. -ZOUBEK, H. a kol. Zákon o preventivní restrukturalizaci [Preventive Restructuring Act]. Prague: C. H. Beck, 2025.
13. ŠÍNOVÁ, R. - HAMUĽÁKOVÁ, K. Civilní proces [Civil process]. 2nd ed. Prague: C. H. Beck, 2020.
14. Tameh ani Devimex nejsou oprávněni podat odvolání proti moratoriu na Liberty Ostrava [Tameh and Devimex are not entitled to appeal against the moratorium on Liberty Ostrava]. In: irozhlas.cz [online]. 30. 4. 2024 [cit. 2024-12-02]. Available at: https://www.irozhlas.cz/ekonomika/liberty-vrdchni-soud-ostrava-tameh-devimex-moratorium_2404301839_har.
15. Usnesení Krajského soudu v Ostravě ze dne 29. 11. 2023, č. j. 12 Nc 1/2023-9 [Order of the Regional Court in Ostrava of 29 November 2023, No 12 Nc 1/2023-9].
16. Usnesení Krajského soudu v Ostravě ze dne 9. 8. 2024, č. j. KSOS 34 INS 19874/2023-B-62 [Resolution of the Regional Court in Ostrava of 9 August 2024, No KSOS 34 INS 19874/2023-B-6] [online]. [cit. 2024-12-02]. Available at: https://isir.justice.cz/isir/doc/dokument.PDF?id=59120636.
17. Vyčerpali jsme všechno. Tameh míří do insolvence, ostravská huť mu přes půl roku nezaplatila [We've exhausted everything. Tameh is heading for insolvency, the Ostrava steelworks has not paid him for over half a year]. In: Novinky.cz [online]. 15. 12. 2023 [cit. 2024-12-02]. Available at: https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/ekonomika-vycerpali-jsme-vsechno-tameh-miri-do-insolvence-ostravska-hut-mu-pres-pul-roku-nezaplatila-40454351.
18. ZEMANDLOVÁ, Anna. Procesní aspekty preventivní restrukturalizace [Procedural aspects of preventive restructuring]. Prague: C. H. Beck, 2024.
The Czech Implementation of the Directive on Preventive Restructuring: A Practical Approach to Individual Moratorium and Other Implementation Issues is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
230 x 157 mm
periodicity: 4 x per year
print price: 65 czk
ISSN: 0323-0619
E-ISSN: 2336-6478
