Thursday, 3 September 2026
Czech-Slovak law firm Chrenek, Toman, Kotrba is launching a new professional education platform focused on legal situations that increasingly form part of everyday corporate decision-making, ranging from police investigations and international recruitment to liability arising from artificial intelligence.
The Institut CHTK will begin its programme in October 2026 with three online seminars aimed at company executives, in-house lawyers, compliance specialists, professional advisers and representatives of public institutions. The initiative is intended to translate legal requirements into procedures that companies can apply when confronted with operational problems.
“Management today often deals with legal issues directly when making operational decisions and under time pressure. In such situations, knowing the relevant section of the law is not enough. You need to know how to proceed, what to watch out for and which mistakes to avoid. This is precisely the kind of experience from real practice on which we want to build the Institute,” said Tomáš Chrenek, Executive Partner at Chrenek, Toman, Kotrba.
The first seminar, scheduled for 13 October, will address how companies should respond when police authorities arrive at their premises. Led by partner Jakub Šefrna, it will cover the limits of mandatory cooperation, requests for corporate documents and electronic information, searches of business premises and the allocation of responsibilities between management, employees, internal legal teams and IT departments during the initial stages of an intervention.
International recruitment will be the subject of the second session on 15 October. Petra Silovská will examine the employment of workers from the Philippines as well as a new Czech government initiative concerning Indonesian workers for large industrial companies.
The programme will consider the process from recruitment through employment and residence requirements to the integration and retention of overseas employees. The issue has become increasingly relevant to industries dependent on substantial workforces, including manufacturing, construction and other parts of the Czech economy.
Artificial intelligence will take centre stage on 20 October, when Pavol Szabo will examine how responsibility may be allocated when an AI system produces an incorrect result, malfunctions or contributes to financial or other damage.
The session will consider the European AI Act alongside Czech and Slovak legislation, examining potential responsibilities across companies, directors, employees and technology suppliers. As businesses integrate AI into operational and management processes, determining responsibility for decisions influenced by automated systems is becoming a practical corporate governance question rather than solely a technology issue.
The institute plans to broaden its programme beyond the initial three subjects. Future areas are expected to include cybersecurity and NIS2, corporate and management criminal liability, employment law, public procurement, infrastructure, energy, property development and healthcare regulation.
Several of these areas have direct implications for real estate and construction businesses. Developers and contractors increasingly operate at the intersection of public procurement, international recruitment, digitalisation, cybersecurity and complex regulatory requirements. The adoption of AI adds another layer as companies introduce automated tools into document analysis, procurement, project management and other business processes.
The platform will draw on lawyers from Chrenek, Toman, Kotrba’s Czech and Slovak operations, allowing selected programmes to compare requirements across the two jurisdictions as well as the wider European regulatory environment.
Online sessions will be delivered live with opportunities for participants to submit questions, followed by access to recordings and supporting materials. The digital education programme is being produced and distributed in cooperation with EPRAVO.CZ.
The launch reflects a broader change in corporate legal risk. Issues once handled predominantly after a problem occurred are increasingly becoming matters of advance preparation and governance. For management teams, the challenge is shifting from simply understanding what legislation requires to establishing procedures that determine how an organisation responds when those rules are tested in practice.
