František Korbel specialises in legislation and public administration, administrative and constitutional law, construction law, right to information, e-Government, and IT law.

Between 2007 and 2013, he served as a Justice Minister deputy for legislation and informatics. At the Ministry of Justice, he managed the private law recodification project and played a key role in the adoption of the new Civil and Criminal Codes, the Business Corporations Act, the Private International Law Act, the reform of service of documents, the reform of appeals on points of law, and the major amendment to the Code of Administrative Justice (Act No. 303/2011 Sb.). František was also instrumental in the enactment of new laws on corporate criminal liability, security detention, victims of crime, mediation, and register of contracts. During his tenure, significant e-Justice tools were introduced, including the Insolvency Register, data mailboxes, and the Basic Registers system. Between 2009 and 2010, he also briefly served as Deputy Minister of the Environment. Since 2006, he has been an active member of the Legislative Council of the Government.

He deals with e-Government, legislation, and public law matters. František was a key author of the Digital Services Act, which was voted Law of the Year 2019 by the public, and the Bank Identity Act, which earned the same title in 2020. He also led the team of authors behind the original draft of the new Building Act, named Law of the Year 2021. Remarkably, František is the only lawyer to have ever received the Czech Architecture Award, recognized for his work on drafting the Prague Building Regulations.

In academia, he teaches at the Department of Administrative Law and Administrative Science at the Faculty of Law, Charles University in Prague, where he leads seminars on e-Government, the right to information, and construction law.

František is a lecturer at the Judicial Academy, the educational agency BOVA, and HAVEL & PARTNERS ACADEMY. He publishes and lectures on construction and administrative law, information technologies, and legislation. František is a co-author of the Commentary and Collection of Case Law on the Act on Freedom of Access to Information, Jirs’s Judicial Commentary on the Civil Procedure Code, contributed to Melzer’s Large Commentary on the Civil Code, and popular comparison tables showing changes between the former and the new private law. He is currently finalizing a White Commentary on the New Building Act for leading legal publisher C. H. Beck.

Membership in professional associations

Czech Bar Association (a member of Public Law Section)
Office of the Government, Legislative Council of the Government, Remonstrance Committee
Supreme Audit Authority, Remonstrance Committee
Ministry of Justice, commissioner for judicial exams
Ministry of the Interior (a member of the editorial board of the Správní právo journal)
Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague, Department of Administrative Law and Administrative Science

Languages
Czech, German, English

Education

Masaryk University, Faculty of Law, Brno (2005), Ph.D.
 	Masaryk University, Faculty of Law, Brno (2000), Mgr.
 	Masaryk University, Faculty of Philosophy/Faculty of Social Studies, Brno (Sociology)
 	Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prague (Mass communication)
 	Europainstitut, Saarland University, Saarbrücken Faculty of Law, University Salzburg

won dozens of disputes particularly related to access to information and construction issues at administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court
successfully repealed part of the Act on Free Access to Information, which prevented disclosure of judgements prior to their coming into force
led the team of authors in drafting the new Building Act
contributed to the preparation of building regulations for Prague, Brno, and Ostrava; for drafting the Prague building regulations, he was awarded the Czech Architecture Prize
participated in the preparation of the Digital Services Act and the establishment of bank identity
organised city development projects, was involved in urban planning, zoning and building permit procedures and local referenda
leads the HAVEL & PARTNERS team in developing methodologies for urban cooperation with investors; prepared methodologies and contract templates for Prague, Brno, Jihlava, and several municipal districts of the Capital City of Prague
leads the HAVEL & PARTNERS team supporting the adoption of the Metropolitan Plan for the Capital City of Prague.
represents parties to large real estate transactions and complex restitution disputes
represented parties to legal disputes in Germany and Austria
led the process of revoking unlawfully acquired university degrees and personally drafted, promoted and defended the decision on the revoking of unlawfully acquired graduate and postgraduate degrees at the Faculty of Law of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen
as a Deputy Minister of Justice, he led the Legislative Section, where since 2007 he managed work on (among others) the adoption of the new Criminal Code 2007, the Act on Security Detention, several amendments reforming the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Civil Procedure Code, the Administrative Procedure Code, the Insolvency Act, the Arbitration Rules, the Code of Notarial Practice and the Code of Executor’s Practice, the large amendment to the Act on Courts and Judges, the amendment to the Act on Court Experts and Interpreters, the Act on Higher Judicial Officers, the amendment to the Act on Legal Profession, the Act on Insolvency Trustees, the Act on Electronic Acts and Authorised Conversion of Paper Documents, the Mediation Act, the Act on Victims of Criminal Offences, the reform of the Supreme Court appellate procedure in civil matters, the Act on Criminal Liability of Legal Entities, then abolishment of anonymous shares, the Act on Transformation of Companies and Cooperatives, the New Civil Code, the Companies Act, the Act on Private International Law and auxiliary legislation for the recodification of private law
as a Deputy Minister of Justice, he led the project of implementation of a new private law, securing the publicity of the effects of the new Civil Code and education and in the judicial and public administration sectors
as a Deputy Minister of Justice, he led a digitalisation project in the judicial sector; implementing the insolvency register, electronic payment orders, the InfoSoud, InfoJednání and InfoData, applications the electronic notice board, data boxes, main registers, publication of the case law of courts of lower instances, automatic voice transcription, the new commercial register and the electronic originals of court files in pilot projects (CEPR, enforcement)
as a member of the Legislative Council of the Czech Government, he has assessed hundreds of other acts submitted by public administration central bodies since 2006
in addition to his role at the Faculty of Law at Charles University in Prague, he has also served at the Faculty of Law at Masaryk University in Brno, the Faculty of Law at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, and the Faculty of Art and Architecture at the Technical University of Liberec
since 2000, he has been active in municipal affairs as a member of the town assembly and the council of the City of Tábor

Press releases

HAVEL & PARTNERS Joins Affordable Housing Initiative and Support for Efficient Construction of Municipal Apartments

The Czech-Slovak law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS has joined the Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI), aimed at streamlining the construction of rental apartments in the Czech Republic to significantly improve housing accessibility. Supported by HAVEL & PARTNERS and other partners such as Central Group, Česká spořitelna, KPMG Czech Republic, Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), and […]

Significant Matters

HAVEL & PARTNERS advised Česká spořitelna on the tax deductibility of a donation to an education foundation

The law firm’s legal and tax experts provided comprehensive advice to Česká spořitelna in resolving a complicated tax issue related to a donation and its tax deductibility. The tax administration did not accept the reduction of the tax base in respect of a donation granted by Česká spořitelna to the Depositum Bonum Foundation. The tax […]

Press releases

HAVEL & PARTNERS donated CZK 150 thousand to the Dejme dětem šanci organisation

HAVEL & PARTNERS presented a charity cheque for CZK 150,000 to the non-profit organisation Dejme dětem šanci during the Lawyer of the Year 2022 gala evening. The contribution goes to projects that help children and young people from children’s homes to enter independent adult life. The firm regularly contributes to charitable causes during the announcement […]

Significant Matters

HAVEL & PARTNERS negotiated the first cooperation agreement according to the Prague methodology for developers

Specialists from HAVEL & PARTNERS, led by partner František Korbel, counsel Jan Fikar, and associate Tomáš Kalenský, represented the City of Prague in the successful negotiation of the first cooperation agreement in accordance with the Prague Methodology of Investor Participation. On the basis of the Methodology, developers financially contribute to the development of the area […]

Publications and newsletters

Major change in employment law

Authors: Dalibor Kovář, František Korbel, Petra Sochorová Let us inform you about an expected major change in employment law, initiated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic. It is a long-awaited amendment to the Labour Code and related labour law legislation. Although the amendment has been in the inter-ministerial comment […]

Press releases

The new Building Act, in the drafting of which HAVEL & PARTNERS was involved, became the Act of the Year 2021

In the 13th year of the Act of the Year poll, the new Building Act won, which is expected to bring about a major simplification and acceleration of building permitting procedures in the Czech Republic. The legislative team of HAVEL & PARTNERS, led by partner František Korbel, was involved in the preparation of the Act. […]

Articles and Interviews

DIGITALISATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN THE NEW CONSTRUCTION ACT

Authors: František Korbel, Dalibor Kovář Source: Building World (december 2021) In view of the current efforts to digitalise all kinds of procedures and acts, it is not surprising that the most debated act of recent years, Act No. 283/2021 Sb. (the “new Construction Act”), introduces a number of principles and provisions that are to lead […]

Press releases

The partners of HAVEL & PARTNERS nominated by the Moderní advokacie platform succeeded and were elected members of the Board of Directors and other bodies of the Czech Bar Association

At their assembly, attorneys-at-law elected all four representatives of the law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS, nominees of the Moderní advokacie platform, to the supreme bodies of the Czech Bar Association. For the next four years, František Korbel, a partner in the law firm, will be a member of the Board of Directors of the Czech […]

František Korbel

Membership in professional associations

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