Czech Republic

Last update: March, 2023

The Czech Republic (CR) is administratively divided into central (state), regional (regions), and local (municipalities) levels. The central level, the Ministry of Culture (MC), is responsible for the preparation of the majority of legislative norms in the field of culture. Overall competence in this area is allocated according to the MC by Act No. 2/1969 Coll. on Establishing Ministries and Other Central Administration Bodies of the CR, the so-called Competence Act (see also chapter 1.2.2).

Act No. 129/2000 Coll. on Regions states the legal position of regions and it determines that a region supports the universal development of its territory and needs of its inhabitants, which includes the field of culture. Regions are given legal competence in the allocation of their funds.

The position of municipalities is set out in Act No. 128/2000 Coll. Legal responsibilities such as the regulation of cultural enterprises or the duty of satisfying the needs of their inhabitants, such as general cultural development, are defined in this Act. Municipalities have legal competence in allocating their own funds.

The administration of the capital city of Prague is regulated by a special act: Act No. 131/2000 Coll.

The Ministry of Culture sought to include the responsibility of regions in preparing their cultural policies in the Draft Act on Some Kinds of Cultural Support in 2006. However, this section was excluded because it would challenge the autonomous competence of the regions.

The Preamble of the Constitution of the Czech Republic advocates the protection of cultural, material and spiritual heritage.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms is part of the Constitution of the Czech Republic (CR) and it lists the right to freedom of scholarly research and artistic creation among the fundamental human rights and freedoms in Chapter Two, Division One. Chapter 3 advocates for the rights of national and ethnic minorities, the right to education in one's own language, the right to develop one's own culture, and the right to associate in national associations. Chapter Four guarantees the right to education, to access cultural heritage and it also says that the rights to the fruits of one's creative intellectual work shall be protected by law.

Last update: March, 2023

Act No. 218/2000 Coll. on Budget Rules (the most recent changes to the legislation came into effect on 1 January 2022) regulates the allocation of funds by central bodies to organisations that are centrally managed and the allocation of funds to other legal entities or individuals. Providing grants from the state budget through central bodies, i.e. through the Ministry of Culture, is regulated by other norms such as the ‘Main Areas of State Grant Policy for NGOs’ or the ‘Government Principles for Providing Grants from the State Budget of the CR for Non-governmental Non-profit Organisations by the Central Bodies of State Administration’. Many grant programmes of the ministry are regulated by other directives like government regulations, provisions, ministerial orders etc.

Act No. 219/2000 Coll. on the Property of the CR and the representation of the CR in legal relations regulates the ways and conditions for managing the property of the CR and the representation of the state in legal relations and the status, foundation, and demise of organisational components of the state. The most recent changes to the legislation came into effect on 1 January 2022.

Act No. 250/2000 Coll. on Municipal Budgetary Rules regulates expenses and support from regional and municipal budgets. The most recent changes to the legislation came into effect on 1 January 2022.

Act No. 134/2016 Coll. on Public Procurements regulates procedures for awarding public procurement and tenders when the state, state-managed organisations, regions or municipalities or their organisations are the contracting authority and other special cases. The most recent changes to the legislation came into effect on 1 January 2022.

Last update: March, 2023

Artists who are employed are entitled to social security like every other employee. This means that they pay health and social insurance (e.g. maternity benefits are consequently paid from social insurance) as well as pension insurance. In the case of unemployment, the unemployment benefits are paid to the person from insurance contributions.

Artists, authors, self-employed persons (who are not employees) must pay health and social insurance from a fixed amount of income. Social insurance is divided into two payments: sickness and pension insurance. Sickness insurance is voluntary and the artist can pay for it, but it is not compulsory. Those without sickness insurance are not entitled to receive sickness benefits or maternity benefits. Since 1 January 2009, all artists must pay pension insurance because each job they do is considered to be part of continuous employment, according to an amendment to the Act on Pension Insurance. Up to the end of 2008 artists did not have to pay pension insurance as they claimed that they are not continuously employed. Royalties for contributions to newspapers or radio and television appearances are exempted as long as monthly income does not exceed a certain limit defined in the Act on Income Tax. When an artist is unemployed, the unemployment benefit is paid from the contribution to state unemployment policy. All citizens including artists pay the contribution to state unemployment policy in their pension insurance.

Act No. 592/1992 Coll. on premiums for health insurance states in detail the amount of the insurance rate (assessment base, determination period, payments for employees, for self-employed people); Act No. 589/1992 Coll. on social security contributions and contribution to the state employment policy regulates the contribution to pension and sickness insurance and the contribution to the state employment policy; Act No. 187/2006 Coll. on Sickness Insurance regulates the system of sickness insurance and Act No. 155/1995 Coll. on Pension Insurance regulates duties for artists – authors.

In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020 the Government of the CR removed the obligation for self-employed persons working on the basis of a trade license to pay the minimum deposit in their contributions to the health and social insurance systems for the period from March to August 2020 (Act No. 300/2020 Coll.). Those who paid only the minimum deposit to these systems were exempted from payment requirement altogether. Those who regularly paid more than the minimum amount had to pay the difference between the minimum and the total they based on their level of income.

Last update: March, 2023

There are currently no tax incentives for investment in the field of culture in the Czech Republic (CR). The only case is the incentives for the film industry that are part of the ‘Programme for the Support of the Film Industry’. According to this Programme, the stakeholder is entitled to claim up to 20% of expenses paid after fulfilling all the stipulated conditions.

According to Act No. 586/1992 Coll. on Income Tax, individuals can deduct the value of a donation for cultural purposes from their tax base if the total amount of donations exceeds 2% of their tax base or is equal to at least 1000 CZK during the taxation period. It can amount to a maximum of 15% of the tax base (this did not apply to the 2020 and 2021 tax years, for which a maximum of 30% of the tax base could be deducted in aggregate). (§15). Business entities can deduct the value of a donation for cultural purposes from their tax base if the value of the donation is at least 2000 CZK and the maximum deduction from the total is 10% of the tax base (this did not apply to tax periods ending between 1 March 2020 and 28 February 2022, for which it was no more than 30% of the tax base). (§20).

Pursuant to Act No. 235/2004 Coll. on VAT on 1 January 2010 the VAT rate increased – the basic rate went up from 19% to 20% and the reduced rate from 9% to 10%. An amendment to the VAT Act No. 370/2011 Coll., effective from 1 January 2012, increased the reduced VAT from 10% to 14%. The reduced tax rate applies to specific cultural activities such as entrance fees to exhibitions, concerts, films, theatres, and other cultural and entertainment performances, radio and television fees, artistic and other entertainment including the activities of writers, composers, painters, sculptors, actors, show and cabaret performers and other independent artists. The reduced tax rate is applied to the import of artwork, collector's objects and antiquities, but only when imported. The basic tax rate applies to their delivery in the CR and their purchase from another Member State. There was a further increase in the lower VAT rate from 14% to 15% and from 20% to 21% on 1 January 2013. From 1 January 2015 a second lower VAT rate of 10% was introduced. Books, including illustrated books for children and sheet music, were included under this rate.

Effective 1 July 2020 the reduced VAT of 10% was newly made applicable to the provision of services that facilitate admission to a cultural event or a historical structure, regardless of whether the event take place indoors or outdoors, as part of the government's tax package to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 epidemics.  

According to the Copyright Act, artists are included in the category of self-employed persons and they are subject to the Income Tax Act for other self-employed activity. If an artist does not claim individual expenses, they can claim general expenses of 40% of their income. The tax base can be reduced by the non-taxable part of the base and exemption items. The income tax is 15% from the tax base. On 1 January 2021 a flat tax was to come into effect that is for self-employed persons working on the basis of a trade license who have a maximum annual income of CZK 1 million. The total amount is comprised of an income tax payment and social and health insurance payments (the amount of the flat tax is set at 5994 CZK per month, the amount is adjusted each year) in the place of an annual income tax payment and monthly insurance payments.

Last update: March, 2023

Employer-employee relations in the cultural sector are regulated under the Labour Code – Act No. 262/2006 Coll. This new Labour Code came into force on 1 January 2007 to immediate criticism. Thus, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs prepared technical amendments to the Labour Code No. 362/2007, which eliminated any problematic issues or errors.

On 1 January 2014 additional changes to the Labour Code came into effect, notably in relation to the adoption of the new Civil Code. In addition to technical changes in response to new terms used in the Civil Code some important practical changes were also introduced.

The new Civil Code affects the Act No. 435/2004 Coll. on Employment, which deals with topics such as eliminating discrimination, the employment of foreigners, state employment policy, retraining, and it also regulates the activity of children while participating in artistic or cultural activities for a legal entity or an individual. A number of changes came into effect on 1 January 2014.

Salaries and compensation for employees in the cultural sector are covered by government regulations that review salaries in the public sector (the main criteria are education and age) and they issue a catalogue of jobs in which artistic jobs and other professions in the field of culture have their set place.

The Labour Code regulates the legal relationship between employer and employee in connection with an employee's performance of work for an employer, but it does not apply to persons who are self-employed. On some points the law indirectly affects the self-employed, for instance, with regard to business travel abroad, through the Income Tax Act.

The conditions for the entry and residence of foreigners on the territory of the Czech Republic are regulated by the Act on the Residence of Aliens on the Territory of the Czech Republic (Act No. 326/1999 Coll., or the Act on Aliens). The latest amendment to the Act on Aliens came into effect in July 2019. The amendment, among other things, set up the terms of three government projects and modes of economic migration: the migration of key workers, scientific workers, and highly qualified workers. Quotas for economic migration from selected countries were introduced and a new type of special work visa for 1 year was established. Some conditions for the residence of students and researchers were also simplified. 

Council Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 established, for the first time in the history of the EU, that a mass influx of displaced persons within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC has occurred and introduces temporary protection (on a pan-European level). Act No. 65/2022 Coll. (referred to as Lex Ukraine), on certain measures in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine caused by the invasion of the Russian Federation troops, responds to the launch of the institute of temporary protection and the situation that has arisen.

Lex Ukraine consists of three standards to assist refugees[1] from Ukraine. The law proposed by the Ministry of the Interior regulates the allocation of temporary protection, the legal status of refugees and access to health care, the law proposed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs regulates employment, social security and children's groups, and the law proposed by the Ministry of Education regulates access to education.

The laws entered into force on 21 March 2022. They are adopted for a period of one year and will expire on 31 March 2023. In June 2022, an amendment was approved that tightens the provision of humanitarian benefits to refugees from Ukraine, regulates the procedure for granting temporary protection, and allows the government to regulate the submission of applications for residency permits by Russian and Belarusian citizens even outside of an emergency (see also 2.5.1).

[1] Refugees or arrivals from Ukraine in the context of this document means holders of temporary protection granted in the CR.

Last update: March, 2023

The CR essentially adheres to the standard continental model of copyright regulation (the droit d’auteur tradition). As regards moral rights, the Ministry of Culture has not registered any debate on this in recent years in the CR. In conformity with binding international and EC regulations the Copyright Act establishes a number of exceptions and limitations to copyright and copyright-related rights on the condition that the rules of the three-step test are adhered to. In the year 2000 a significant change was made to copyright legislation in response to technological developments when Copyright Act No. 121/2000 Coll. was introduced. This Act reflected the content of the 1996 ‘Internet Treaty’ of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and implemented the majority of directives of the European Community. An amendment to the Copyright Act, No. 216/2006 Coll., completed the implementation of European directives dating from between 2001 and 2004.  

In 2014 an amendment to the Copyright Act, No. 50/2019 Coll., came into effect that transposed two new copyright directives of the European Union into national law: namely, Directive No. 2011/77/EU, which amends Directive No. 2006/116/ES on the duration of copyright and related rights, and Directive No. 2012/28/EU on some permitted uses of orphan works.  

In 2017 an extensive amendment, No. 102/2017 Coll., was adopted and came into effect on 20 April 2017. It relates primarily to the legal regulation of the collective management of rights. This amendment transposed the European Parliament and Council Directive No. 2014/26/EU on the collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market.

In 2019 an amendment to the Copyright Act, No. 50/2019 Coll., was adopted that came into effect on 15 February 2019 that implemented the directives and orders of the EU on the performance of the international ‘Marrakesh Treaty’ of the World Intellectual Property Organization on enabling easier access to published works for people who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled. The Marrakesh Treaty was negotiated in 2013 and in the CR and the EU it became binding on 1 January 2019.

In 2019, the drafting of a new amendment to the law began, but it is still in a state of discussion. The amendment is primarily intended to ensure the implementation of the (EU) Directive No. 2019/790 on copyright in a single digital market and (EU) Directive No. 2019/789. Member States were obliged to implement the Directive into national legislation by 7 June 2021 at the latest. The amendment is intended to ensure the protection and licensing of copyright on the internet, as well as fair remuneration for authors. The amendment is also intended to facilitate the use of copyrighted content in research or education and in making digitised cultural heritage accessible.

Last update: March, 2023

From 2000 to 2009 the Act on the Protection of Personal Data (the full name is Act No. 101/2000 Coll., on the Protection of Personal Data and on Changes to Some Laws) was the primary legislation regulating the protection of personal data and the work of the Office for the Protection of Personal Data. The Act was amended in 2004 in conformity with Directive No. 95/46/ES after the Czech Republic became a member of the European Union.

The purpose of the Act on the Protection of Personal Data was to implement the principles of the Charter of Basic Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms that guarantee citizens protection from invasions into their privacy and personal life through the unauthorised collections, publication, or other misuse of personal data.

Protection from damages arising from the processing of data is addressed in the Civic Code (Act No. 89/2012 Coll.). The issue of technological data processing is addressed in Act No. 181/2014 Coll., on cyber security.

Effective 24 April 2019, Act No. 101/2000 was nullified and replaced by the Act on the Processing of Personal Data (No. 110/2019 Coll.), which implements Regulation (EU) No. 2016/679 (GDPR).

The implementation of GDPR in the CR was initially accompanied by inconsistent interpretations and concerns from the culture sector about future sanctions. Ultimately, however, cultural institutions have not experienced any serious effects as a result. 

Last update: March, 2023

Act No. 500/2004 Coll., the Code of Administrative Procedure, declares the Czech language as the language of use in administrative communication, while a participant in an administrative procedure may also use the Slovak language in spoken and written communication. Citizens of the CR who belong to a recognised ethnic minority may also use the language of their minority in spoken and written communication. Anyone who claims to have an insufficient command of the language in which the procedure is taking place has the right to an interpreter. In an application procedure, an applicant who is not a citizen of the CR shall procure a translator at his or her own expense, unless the law states otherwise. The same procedure applies to other legislation, including, for example, the Criminal Code. 

There is no law regulating the use of language in the field of culture in the CR.

Last update: March, 2023

On 1 January 2014 the new Civil Code (Act No. 89/2012 Coll.), long in preparation, came into effect. This Civil Code signifies a recodification of an entire range of legislative measures in the areas of both private and public law. The status of legal persons will change and numerous pieces of current legislation will be fundamentally amended (see also chapter 4.3).

The Criminal Code (Act No. 40/2009 Coll.) makes several references to culture; for example, in connection with the prohibition of admission to cultural events, the persecution of groups of the population on a cultural basis, attacks on historical or cultural monuments, and community service work in the culture sector.

The following legislation pertains to the culture sector and especially to the area of heritage conservation:

• The above-mentioned Act No. 89/2012 Coll., Civil Code;
• Act No. 500/2004 Coll., Administrative Procedure Code;
• Act No. 283/2021 Coll., the Building Act;
• Act No. 499/2004 Coll., on Archives and Records Management and on Amendments to Some Acts;
• Act No. 114/1992 Coll., on Nature and Landscape Protection;
• Act No. 100/2001 Coll., on Environmental Assessment;
• Act No. 256/2013 Coll., on the Land Register of the Czech Republic (Land Register Act).

Other related legislation:

• Act No. 130/2002 Coll., on Support for Research, Experimental Development and Innovation from Public Resources and on an Amendment to Some Related Acts;
• Act No. 106/1999 Coll., on Free Access to Information;
• Act No. 365/2000 Coll., on the Information Systems of Public Administration and Amendments to Some Acts.

A great deal of discussion in the field of culture took place at the time of the preparation of the new Building Act in 2020 and 2021 and continues to take place even after its adoption. The main debate has been in relation to sufficient protection of cultural monuments and cultural heritage.

Last update: March, 2023

The Act on Establishing Ministries and other Central Administrative Bodies, dating from 1969, clarifies the responsibilities of the Ministry of Culture (see also 1.2.2).

Regulations were created to apply to the field of culture in general, and not to focus specifically on one discipline, and were introduced under Act No. 203/2006 Coll. on Some Kinds of Cultural Support and Amendments to Related Regulations. This Act defines the term ‘public cultural service’ and it covers some kinds of state support; for example, it specifies the newly introduced term ‘contribution for creative and study purposes’, which enables selection procedures for scholarships for artists and allows state guarantees for borrowed objects that had hitherto been lacking in the Czech legal system. The Act also defines state-funded organisations in the field of culture and it allows their establishment, division, merging, or cancellation. It describes the process of the insurance of property borrowed by a state-funded organisation for exhibition purposes.

There is no specific legislation to which the formation of cultural policy is subject. Financing for cultural organisations and the procedure for business entities and individuals are defined by the budget rules of the Republic .

The long-discussed proposal for a law allowing the establishment of public institutions in the field of culture is also missing. This act should fundamentally transform the environment in which cultural contributory organisations and organisations at the lower administrative level operate. The new legislation should seek to:

• enable multiple subjects in public administration to jointly establish institutions;
• enable a balance between political and professional responsibility for the management of an institution and thereby increase the effectiveness and quality of its management – for example, statutory bodies should be appointed and dismissed according to precisely defined rules by their administrative boards;
• ensure funding in a medium-term outlook and the autonomous use of funds and reserves;
• make it possible to optimise the tax status of institutions;
• enable the creation of a sensible system for organising and awarding public commissions and tenders.

There is no specific legislation which defines what an artist is.

Mechanisms focused on the support to culture from extra-budgetary sources are covered by Act No. 239/1992 Coll. on the State Cultural Fund of the CR and Act No. 496/2012 Coll., on Audio-Visual Works and Support for Cinematography and on the Amendment of Certain Legislation (Audio-Visual Acts), which stipulates the terms of operation of the State Film Fund.

The Act on the State Cultural Fund defines the financial sources of the Fund, i.e. incomes from renting real estate, ‘bona vacantia’ copyright fees, and interest from bank account savings. In 2011 an amendment to the Act on Czech Television made it possible to secure another source of financing for the Fund from revenue from advertising broadcast on Czech Television Programme 2.

The Act on Audio-Visual Works defines the sources of funding for the State Film Fund. There was also a change from the previous act in the terms of payment for the organisers of cinematographic presentations, where in the place of the existing practice where organisers of a public presentation pay a fee of 1 CZK to the Fund, collected via admission tickets, under the new act the organiser of a cinematographic presentation will pay a fee of 1% of the basic admission price to a cinematographic presentation.

Act No. 203/2006 Coll. on Some Forms of Support for Culture and on Changes to Some Related Acts as Amended in Act No. 227/2009 Coll. defines public cultural services and also enables the formation, division, and dissolution of the contributory organisations of the Ministry of Culture. This Act also establishes the procedure involved when the state acts as guarantor for exhibition loans and it defines grants for creative and study purposes provided by the state.

In May 2020 Act No. 247/2020 Coll., on Certain Measures to Mitigate the Effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic Known as SARS CoV-2 on Cultural Events came into effect. The Act dealt with the matter of vouchers for cultural events scheduled to be held up to the date of 31 October 2020. In conformity with the Act customers were required by 31 March 2021 to request organisers for a voucher for a cultural event and the organiser was required to issue the customer with such a voucher with a value at least equal to that of the admission price that has already been paid.

Table 4:       List of existing cultural legislation

Table 5:       List of conventions and other international legal instruments related to culture

Last update: March, 2023

Act No. 20/1987 Coll. on State Monument Preservation (amended) defines the protection of collections in museums and galleries, conditions and the means of registration of museum collections and rights and duties of museum collection owners. Standardised public services provided by museums and galleries are regulated.

Act No. 71/1994 Coll. covers the sale and export of goods of cultural value.

Act No. 122/2000 Coll. covers protection of museum collections.

Act No. 101/2001 Coll. covers repatriation of illegally exported cultural goods.

Act No. 214/2002 Coll. covers the export of certain cultural goods from the tariff territory of the European Communities.

Last update: March, 2023

There is no specific legal standard to regulate this field. One of the state funded organisations – the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra – is founded by a Presidential Decree.

Last update: March, 2023

There is no specific legal standard that regulates this area.

Act No. 148/1949 Coll. establishes the National Gallery in Prague under the Ministry of Culture.

Last update: March, 2023

Act on Non-periodical Publications No. 37/1995 Coll. regulates the publishing of books and other non-periodical publications.  The price of a book is not fixed in the CR.

Act on the Periodical Press (Press Act) No. 46/2000 Coll. regulates the publishing of the periodical press.

Act No. 257/2001 Coll. regulates the system of libraries and conditions for running public library and information services (Library Act). It does not apply to libraries established according to the Trades Licensing Act.

Last update: March, 2023

Act No. 517/1992 Coll. on the Czech Press Agency regulates the functioning of the Agency.

Act No. 273/1993 Coll. on Some Conditions of the Production, Dissemination and Archiving of Audio-Visual Works, which, among other things, lays out the obligations of producers and distributors of audio-visual works and defines the activity of state budgetary organisations – the National Film Archive. In conformity with this law the MC maintains a register of subjects operating a business in the audio-visual field and a register of Czech and non-Czech audio-visual works.

Act No. 36/1993 Coll., on Certain Arrangements in the Field of Radio and Television Broadcasting.

Act No. 496/2012 Coll., on Audio-Visual Works and Support for Cinematography and on the Amendment of Certain Legislation defines the obligations attached to the production and the provision of access to cinematographic and other audio-visual works, the status and work of the National Film Archive, and the status and work of the State Cinematography Fund, its funding, the provision of support for projects in the field of cinematography and the offer of incentives to the film industry.

Act No. 231/2001 Coll. regulates radio and television broadcasting and regulates the rights and obligations of business entities and individuals in the operation of radio and television broadcasting. The European Convention on ‘transfrontier television’ is implemented in the Act.

Act No. 483/1991 Coll. regulates Czech Television; Act No. 484/1991 Coll. regulates Czech Radio and Act No. 517/1992 Coll. regulates the Czech Press Office.

Act No. 348/2005 Coll. covers radio and television fees and amendment of certain regulations.

Act No. 132/2010 Coll., on Audio-visual Media Services on Demand, which is the transposition of the Directives on Audio-visual Media Services of the European Parliament (formerly Television without Borders).

Act No. 206/2005 Coll., on the Protection of Certain Radio and Television Broadcasting Services and Services of the Information Society.

Act No. 46/2000 Coll. regulates the rights and responsibilities for publishing the periodical press and amendments to certain other regulations (Press Act). In 2012 the Act was amended.

The European Commission has been pursuing 19 cases against the CR since the beginning of 2022 because legislators have failed to approve legislation based on European directives within the given deadlines. One of them is a draft law on video sharing.

One of the best-known video sharing platforms is YouTube. Such services are still subject to almost no legal regulation. The directive is late in being incorporated in the Czech Republic, as Member States were supposed to do so by September last year.

The draft defines the services of a video sharing platform, determines who is the provider of such a service and defines what constitutes a user-generated video. The provider of the video sharing platform service will have to notify the Broadcasting Council of its operation. The provider is to be editorially responsible for the content of the programmes and video content that it offers to the public.

In particular, the legislation is intended to introduce rules to protect the recipients of shared video content from hate speech, violence and incitement to terrorism, and children from content that could impair their development. It is also intended to strengthen existing consumer protection against unacceptable content in commercial communications.

In addition, the bill prohibits the broadcasting of advertising and teleshopping spots in programmes for children and also deals with accessibility of programmes for the hearing and visually impaired.

Last update: March, 2023

There is no legal standard that regulates just the field of culture. An appropriate way of legislatively establishing support for the creation of works of art in the public space is currently under discussion, in particular the idea of setting aside 1% of a commission in public architectural competitions for the creation of a work of art in public spaces.