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The development of information technology and its use in everyday life must inevitably have an impact on public administration and its decision-making. Progress in artificial intelligence is also opening up wider opportunities for the use of automation of decision-making processes in public administration. Decision-making processes that once had to be handled by humans can now be automated. However, there must be a sufficient legal basis for this, setting out the legal limits of such automated decision-making. In this paper, the legal possibilities of automation of decision-making processes in the field of public administration in the Slovak Republic were examined, the obstacles that hinder the use of this tool were defined, as well as certain legal solutions eliminating or minimizing the consequences of these obstacles were outlined. The purpose of this paper was not to exhaustively describe and solve the problems with the automation of decision-making processes in public administration in the Slovak Republic. Rather, the purpose was to outline the problem areas that should be addressed in legal research in the coming period.

The paper focuses on the issue of automated decision-making in civil proceedings. First of all, attention is given to procedural institutes that direct and facilitate automated decision-making, in particular the digital court file and the legal framework of videoconferencing equipment, without focusing on electronic service of documents, which should be a separate paper. Asingle case of legal regulation of automated decision-making in the form of an electronic payment order is then analyzed (cf. Section 174a of the Code of Civil Procedure). For each of these fields, an analysis of digitalization to date is given, which is followed by a consideration of further developments. It also outlines the limits encountered by the use of modern technologies and the potential risks proposed adjustments.

This paper explores the evolution of the experimental paradigm in legal frameworks, tracing its development from early influences in comparative law to the contemporary application of regulatory sandboxes. It begins with the integration of empirical methods inspired by scientific research into the field of law. The exploration covers various aspects of experimental law, including federalism, comparative law, legisprudence, emergency and incremental legislation, soft law, sunset legislation, temporary regulations, and experimental legislation stricto sensu. The paper concludes by discussing the challenges and implications of balancing experimental law’s flexibility with the need for legal stability and security.

This paper examines how objectives of the European Union in the field of climate change affect the legal regulation of products and what impacts they also have on some connected issues. The current ecodesign legal regulation is based on the Ecodesign Directive and the particular requirements on products are then set in regulations following the Ecodesign Directive. The paper primarily focuses on the changes in ecodesign product regulation brought by the new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation proposal. The issue of the proposed legal regulation connected with environmental claims is also addressed in the text as it is an important complement to the sustainable products legal regulation.

It is generally accepted that law consists of two main domains – private and public. At the same time, there is clear scepticism about the sharp separability of these domains. The problém of distinguishing private and public law is undoubtedly also a problem of public administration and its implementation as it is possible that the public purpose will also be fulfilled by private law norms. In addition, there may be legal institutes that combine more or less the norms of public and private law, for which the designation of hybrid legal institutes seems appropriate. However, such institutes may present some difficulties associated with legal dualism. The aim of this two-part paper (within its limited scope) is to provide a basic introduction to the issue of socalled hybrid legal institutes. In the first part of the paper, besides some general background, the text presents a triad of such institutes that are applied in the context of public administration and for which some debate over their legal nature could be observed in the domestic literature. In the second part (which will be published in a future issue of the journal), the text attempts to answer the research question of how to deal with these institutes, or rather considers some basic criteria for distinguishing private and public law in the context of public administration regulation.

The paper contemplates the importance of Leopold Heyrovský’s position as one of the most influential professors at Charles University in the late 1800s. His textbook, as the first Czech-language textbook of Roman law, was first published in a position to be able to set forth the thesaurus of the Czech private-law legal terminology which is still used today. In this context, the paper offers an overview of the preceding position of the Czech language in the legal system.

Max Weber’s ambivalent view of evolutionary theory has sparked ongoing debate. While rejecting simplistic social Darwinism, his writings reveal an implicit evolutionary logic underlying broader cultural transformations. Across multiple works, Weber modeled cultural change through the interplay between charismatic innovation and institutional order. This paper argues Weber provides a sophisticated model of cultural evolution by elucidating the relationship between these two forces. The aim is to demonstrate how framing Weber’s dichotomy in evolutionary terms offers novel insight into his nuanced vision of social change.

The United States of America was on its move towards equal civil rights in the middle of 60s. The movement mostly formed and led by the personality of Martin Luther King, achieved many of its goals. The support of the Washington government was unquestionable, and the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson made legislatively great moves in the way of remedy of the old injustice connected mostly with numerous Afro-American minority. From this point of view, it is not surprise that these steps could be signs of a positive turn. But was it actually true? However, there were still plenty things to do. It was clear that just few signatures on the papers with laws could not bring the change on their own. Change of the society takes some time and before everyone who meant the change seriously appeared a new challenge. The abolition of segregation meant that the focus of the ones who were discriminated shifted to the North of the USA and the question was whether King and his colleagues will be successful also there and how the nature of the struggle for the civil rights will change.

This paper delves into the intricate intersection of the phenomenon of regulatory sandboxes and public law and focuses on the issue of legislative empowerment for the establishment of a regulatory sandbox. Based on the example of the Czech Republic, which lacks a fully operational regulatory sandbox, the study investigates the legislative prerequisites for initiating such a framework. Using the qualitative doctrinal research, the authors examine diverse conceptual frameworks, aiming to identify the optimal legislative approach for implementing and sustaining a regulatory sandbox. Notably, the study scrutinizes the viability of constructing a regulatory sandbox under general administrative empowerment clauses within the Czech legal context, considering the principles of legality and intra vires doctrine inherent in continental administrative law. The research contributes insights to the ongoing discourse on regulatory sandboxes, providing a nuanced understanding of the legislative prerequisites for their operation, with a focus on the specific challenges and opportunities within the Czech regulatory landscape.

The subject of this paper is a description and analysis of the life and work of the extraor¬dinary personality of the exiled lawyer F. A. Mann who became an extraordinary expert in public international law, private international law, comparative law and commercial law, who, moreover, laid the foundations of monetary law as a special subject of legal doctrine. As the famous English judge, Lord Denning, would say: “Mann contributed more than anyone else to the development the science of law in our time.” Born in a German Jewish family, he studied and began an academic career in Berlin. He was then forced to flee to Great Britain, where he studied law again and became a renowned solicitor and legal scholar. His career was crowned after World War II, when he became a leading figure in international legal organizations, leaving a far-reaching influence in English and international jurisprudence. In the 1960s and 1970s, he lectured at German universities in particular, where he received the highest honours, and also influenced German jurisprudence.

The presented paper examines the First Republic activities of Bohuslav Ečer, general of the judicial service, professor of international criminal law and well-known “Nazi hunter”. Ečer’s legal and political activities are examined, as well as his analysis of events on the international scene. Ečer’s political and legal views during the First Republic illustrate his character and personality traits and illuminate his actions during and after World War II.

This article aims to analyze and synthesize the knowledge pertaining to the various aspects of the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Czechoslovak Republic, particularly focusing on their influence on the negotiation, content, and implementation of the Modus vivendi. The paper primarily delves into the circles associated with the diplomatic relations between the Czechoslovak Republic and the Holy See. It also addresses the transfer of privileges from the former Monarchy to the newly established Czechoslovak Republic. Additionally, the article explores certain aspects of the confessional legal legislation of the Czechoslovak Republic during the period preceding the negotiation of the Modus vivendi, specifically from 1918 to 1928.

The aim of the article is to draw attention to one of the current trends in climate litigation, in which the solution of a human rights issue becomes the essence of the dispute. This trend is known as the “human rights turn”, whereby the failure to fulfil or adequately fulfil national or international climate commitments is linked directly to the violation of fundamental human rights. The paper notes the impact of this trend on the interpretation of some fundamental human rights (in particular the right to life, the right to respect for private and family life and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment). It draws attention to the need to strike a balance between protecting the rights of present and future generations. The application of the principle of intergenerational solidarity and the principle of proportionality is a primary factor in addressing this issue.

Urban Exploration (URBEX) is a relatively recent leisure activity that is directly related to the exploration of abandoned and unused objects and areas, collectively referred to as brownfields. This survey of modern ruins is conducted for private purposes only, for the purpose of photo-documentation or video-visualization and their sharing within the community or presentation to the public. Due to the fact that the properties visited in this way are owned by other entities and there is often a real risk of damage to property and health, it is necessary to identify those legal aspects of URBEX that normatively regulate the relationship of both parties concerned. The aim of this paper is to define, within the framework of Czech legal standards, the rights and obligations of the property owner, which flow for them in connection with the realization of URBEX on real estate that is his property.

Europe is undergoing a massive transition to electricity generation from renewable energy sources. Photovoltaic power plants, representing one of the main renewable energy sources, require a lot of space, which is why agricultural land and building roofs are considered to be most suitable for such projects. However, performed analysis in the field of agricultural land, landscape or cultural heritage protection has shown that other public interests often constitute an important obstacle to the development of photovoltaic power plants, especially when the values represented by these interests are significantly affected by the project. The aim of this paper is to identify such cases, in addition to situations where the installation of photovoltaic power plants would be compatible with these public interests.

The following paper is the second part of an article dealing with the mining accident that took place in 2000 in the Romanian town of Baia Mare, which has been described as one of the worst environmental disasters since the Chernobyl accident. The first part focused on the circumstances of the accident, its consequences, and an analysis of the international legal framework in force at the time of the incident. The authors also describe the changes in international law adopted in response to the accident in Baia Mare and analyse the relevant case-law of the ECtHR related to the Baia Mare accident, Tǎtar v. Romania case. In the second part of the article, the authors discuss the response to the accident at the level of the European Union and the key changes in EU legislation adopted as a result of the accident. The article also points to changes made in national law in the Czech Republic, which directly or indirectly responded to the accident in Baia Mare. In conclusion, the authors relate this mine accident to the accident on the Bečva River that occurred in 2020.

Over the last few decades, the urban transport planning framework has changed significantly towards sustainable mobility planning. It brings new requirements for the education of transport experts. In the paper, we discuss the future of academic education concerning these changes based on case studies of two prestigious technical faculties in Germany and Poland and a social science faculty in Czechia offering study programmes related to sustainable urban mobility planning. We applied a self-assessment questionnaire to investigate how the study programmes prepare future mobility managers and present the concept of sustainable mobility to students. Our results show that the existing study programmes do not cover all steps of sustainable urban mobility plan development. We identified a few gaps common to the technical and social science faculties, such as consensus-seeking knowledge and methods, monitoring and evaluation tools and approaches, and the development of soft skills (presentation and communication skills and stakeholder involvement techniques).

Intention of the authors is to analyse the importance of national holiday of the Slovak National Uprising in a context of collective and historical memory of the Slovak nation. The aim of submitted paper is therefore to analyse various lines of opinion on the Slovak National Uprising, especially from the perspective of two totalitarian ideologies, as well as from the perspective of contemporary historiography after 1989. In the context of aforementioned analyses, authors deal with recent and historical interpretations from the historical and collective memory point of view, with an emphasis on legal consequences. The first years of independence and democracy brought to Slovakia re-increase of pro-fascist (ľudák’s) interpretation of history, which, however, did not succeeded in settling down in the collective memory of the Slovak nation. Nevertheless, the last years once again brought relativisation and misinterpretation of historical context of the Slovak National Uprising and its specific standing in society as a national holiday in particular. Reflecting these negative trends, the authors also consider possibilities of effective protection of national holidays, not only with the use of law.

The present study focuses on the question of the specialization of the councils of the Court of Appeal at the end of the 17th century, i.e. whether individual cases were assigned to judges according to their professional or other specialization. First of all, the paper defines the very notion of specialization as a phenomenon that can be perceived in terms of geography, language, subject matter and personnel. The initial sources are the minutes of the Court of Appeal, which survive for the end of the seventeenth century and from which it is possible to see which councils were assigned which cases to handle. On the basis of these protocols, the author conducts a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the collected sources and concludes that all four types of specialization were applied to a greater or lesser extent in the Court of Appeal, but that they were never fully implemented. Although this is an examination of a phenomenon that has not yet received the attention of the professional community, the results so far appear to be fruitful and may shed light on the internal workings of some courts, as it is a generally actionable phenomenon.