Document 25 - Amendment to the Act on the Collection of Laws and International Treaties - RJ
Summary
The Act comprehensively regulates the digitization of the legislative process through the e-Legislation system, the mandatory use of which is postponed by one year – newly from 15 January 2027. The aim is to ensure the technical stability of the system, complete its modifications and enable the training of users after the elections to the Chamber of Deputies. The State Budget Act and its amendments are permanently exempt from the mandatory use of the system in order to maintain the current method of their preparation.
The amendment introduces the obligation to use an electronic system for all phases of legislative drafting, from the preparation of a draft to publication in the Collection of Laws and International Treaties. The Ministry of the Interior will be the administrator of the system, which must be publicly accessible, allow offline work and protect the privacy of users. The authorities of regions and municipalities shall ensure free public access to the electronic Collection of Laws, the Collection of International Treaties and the Official Journal of the EU.
The Act unifies the legal framework for the publication of legislation, repeals the existing Act on the Collection of Laws and sets out new requirements for explanatory reports, which must include an assessment of economic, social and environmental impacts. The practical consequence is an increase in transparency, efficiency and availability of legal information for citizens and public administration, without direct impacts on the business environment.
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[1/2] The bill postpones the mandatory use of the e-Legislation system for the creation of constitutional laws, ordinary laws and legislative measures of the Senate by one year – newly only from 15 January 2027. The aim is to enable the completion of technical modifications to the system, its stabilisation and the training of new users after the elections to the Chamber of Deputies.
At the same time, the Act permanently excludes the State Budget Act and its amendments from the mandatory use of e-Legislation in order to maintain the current method of their preparation and promulgation. Transitional provisions for bills submitted before 15 January 2026 and finalised under the existing rules are also being modified.
The amendment does not have an impact on the rights of citizens or the business environment, it is a technical adjustment of the legislative process and the digitization of legal creation. The Act enters into force on the day following its promulgation.
[2/2] The Act introduces the obligation to use an electronic system for the creation of legislation for all stages of the legislative process – from the preparation of a draft to its publication in the Collection of Laws and International Treaties. The Ministry of the Interior will be the administrator of this system, which must be publicly accessible, allow offline work and protect the privacy of users. Regional and municipal authorities must ensure free public access to the electronic Collection of Laws, the Collection of International Treaties and the Official Journal of the EU. The law also sets out precise procedures for signing legislation electronically and transitional periods for the introduction of the system until 2027. At the same time, it repeals the existing Act on the Collection of Laws and other related legal regulations, thus unifying the legal framework for the publication of legislation.
Explanatory reports are now required to contain a detailed assessment of the impacts of draft laws – including economic, social, environmental and impacts on equality, child protection and privacy. The transitional provisions set out specific dates from which the electronic system will be mandatory to use for different types of legislation, with full effect from 1 January 2024 and a gradual transition to 2026-2027.
The Act strengthens the transparency of the legislative process, the digitalisation of state administration and the availability of legal information for the public, thereby modernising the way Czech legislation is created and published.