The Role of Foundations at the Beginning of the 21st Century
pages 155 - 170
ABSTRACT:

The authors have prepared their paper to present, to the extent allowed by its scope, a comprehensive view of the legal regulation of foundations. Such branch of law is often referred to as foundation law. The first part represents a short excursion into history, describing the status of foundation law after the establishment of the independent Czechoslovak Republic following the disintegration of Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In the following part, the paper deals with the new legal (statutory) regulation of the establishment and operation of foundations and endowment funds. With regard to the new Civil Code, which is now in force and is to become effective as of 1 January 2014, the authors make a brief excursion into the new legislation. The final part of the paper presents an overview of the oldest foundation existing in the Czech Republic, the Foundation Nadání Josefa, Marie a Zdeňky Hlávkových, which was founded in 1904 and which has preserved its legal continuity to the present.

keywords
foundation
endowment fund
foundation fund
endowment deed
foundation statute and the Foundation ‘Nadání Josefa
Marie a Zdeňky Hlávkových’
about the authors

Zdeněk Karfík is a lawyer, an arbitrator at the Arbitration Court attached to the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic and Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic, and a member of the Appellate Committee of the Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic; he is a long-standing external associate of the Faculty of Law, Charles University, Prague. In his legal practice, he specializes in financial, civil and commercial law. He has published numerous articles in this field.

e-mail: karfik@volny.cz

Marie Karfíková is a professor of financial law at the Faculty of Law, Charles University, Prague. In her academic work, she specializes in tax and insurance law. She regularly publishes articles on this subject in professional journals. She has co-authored numerous textbooks and monographs. Between 1999 and 2006,
she was a member of the Legislative Council of the Czech Republic; she has been a member of the Appellate Committee of the Czech National Bank since 2006 and a member of the Presidium of the Public Audit Oversight Council since 2009. She is also an arbitrator at the Arbitration Court attached to the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic and the Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic.

e-mail: karfikova@prf.cuni.cz