The law firm ACHOUR & PARTNERS is representing a major private company in judicial proceedings in connection with the acquisition of real estate and the implementation of a large-scale development project in a dynamically developing area of the capital city of Prague. The estimated construction costs of the development project exceed CZK 3 billion.
Legal services in these proceedings are provided by Gabriel Achour and Marek Hausmann.
This is an exceptionally complex and multifaceted dispute requiring detailed legal analysis beyond the scope and complexity of standard litigation. The outcome of the proceedings and the resolution of intricate legal issues with direct practical implications have the potential to contribute to the harmonisation of case law in the assessment of the performance of obligations within large-scale, long-term transactions relating to the development of extensive areas for residential use.
The key issues addressed in the proceedings include, in particular the termination of obligations arising from agreements on future contracts; the admissibility of amendments to the essential elements of such agreements in a form other than written; the unilateral waiver of rights; third-party benefits arising from concluded agreements; and the right of a third party to claim performance under an agreement on a future contract. A further fundamental issue concerns the legal nature of certain construction works and the implications thereof for the concluded agreements.
An additional significant legal issue addressed in the dispute is the scope of evidence required to demonstrate the fulfilment of contractual preconditions giving rise to the right to call upon the counterparty to conclude the future (implementation) agreement.
The proceedings also involve issues of public construction law, including, for example, the effects of the existence of multiple building permits authorising different construction projects on the same plot of land in circumstances where such projects are mutually incompatible by their nature.
Throughout the proceedings, and particularly in the legal argumentation on the merits, there is a strong emphasis on the need for a deeper and more firmly embedded application of certain principles developed within German jurisprudence, including, inter alia, the legal significance of conditions precedent and the frustration thereof. The principle of “Treu und Glauben” is also analysed in detail within the Czech legal framework, where it is enshrined in Section 6 of the Civil Code. Originating from Section 242 of the German Civil Code, this principle fundamentally shapes the understanding of obligations in private law. In the proceedings, we seek to protect good faith and fair dealing and to promote a shift in the perception of the “Treu und Glauben” principle - not merely as an auxiliary rule of interpretation, but as a fundamental guiding principle in assessing the legitimacy of claims in private law relationships.
The outcome of the proceedings will have a significant impact on the development of this area.