How to Conduct a Tender for Legal Services in the Czech Republic: Legal Basics for Contracting Authorities

Ing. Petra Hučíková, MBA
Ing. Petra Hučíková, MBA
29.3.2026 | ARROWS law firm

Procuring a public contract for legal services requires specific approaches that differ from standard tenders for supplies or construction works. Contracting authorities face risks of discrimination or conflicts of interest, which may result in fines imposed by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS). This article will guide you through the essential legal minimum for the correct and safe award of a contract under Act No. 134/2016 Coll., on Public Procurement, as effective in 2026.

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The specific position of legal services in the public procurement system

Legal services are not like other commodities. The Public Procurement Act (Act on Public Procurement), specifically Section 129, classifies standard legal advice among so-called social and other specific services. This regime is less formalised than the standard above-threshold procedure.

In practice, this means that when a public authority launches a procedure for legal services under the simplified regime, it does not have to strictly follow all deadlines and formal steps of an open procedure.

This flexibility is an advantage on the one hand, but on the other it entails greater responsibility. If the contracting authority abuses this discretion and sets discriminatory conditions, it faces a fine that may reach up to 10% of the contract price.

Note the exemption under Section 29( k) of the Public Procurement Act. It is crucial to know that certain legal services are entirely excluded from the scope of the Act. This concerns in particular representing a client in court, arbitration, or administrative proceedings, and advice directly related to such proceedings.

Thresholds and determination of the legal nature of the procurement procedure

Before preparing the contract, you must correctly determine the estimated value, which decides the applicable regime. This is where frequent numerical mistakes occur.

  1. Small-scale public contract: The threshold for services is CZK 3,000,000 excluding VAT. If the estimated value of your contract is equal to or lower than this amount, you do not have to conduct a procurement procedure under the Public Procurement Act. However, the obligation to comply with the principles of transparency, equal treatment, and non-discrimination remains.
  2. Below-threshold and above-threshold regime: Legal services fall within the category of specific services. The key threshold here is set by EU law and amounts to EUR 750,000 (approx. CZK 18–19 million at the current exchange rate).

Even under the simplified regime, you must publish a contract notice and provide a reasonable period for preparing the tender.

Choosing the type of procurement procedure: open procedure versus simplified regime

For legal services (if they do not fall under the Section 29 exemption), you essentially have two main approaches to choose from:

An open procedure is strictly formalised. The contracting authority invites an unlimited number of suppliers. You must publish the procurement documentation on the contracting authority’s profile, comply with the statutory minimum time limits, and communicate exclusively electronically. A procedural error is easily challengeable before the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS).

The simplified regime (Section 129 of the Public Procurement Act) is the most suitable for legal services. In the procurement documentation, the contracting authority sets its own rules for how the procedure will run, but these must not breach the fundamental principles. For example, it does not have to strictly require the opening of envelopes at a specific time in the presence of a committee, unless it sets such a requirement itself.

In practice, the simplified regime is strongly recommended for legal services because it allows better calibration of qualitative assessment and reflects the specifics of the legal market.

Defining the subject-matter of the public contract: what exactly are you procuring?

Defining the subject-matter of performance is the cornerstone of success. Contracting authorities often launch a tender for “legal services” in overly general terms. Legal services include various specialisations: public procurement, IT law, dispute resolution, employment law, or legislation.

The result is often the selection of the cheapest supplier, who may not have the capacity for the required specialisation.

We recommend specifying the subject-matter, for example, as follows: “Provision of legal services in the form of ongoing advice in the area of public procurement law and construction law in an expected scope of 50 hours per month.” This enables tenderers to price their capacity correctly.

Supplier qualification: beware of discrimination

Setting qualification requirements is a minefield. Under Sections 73 et seq. of the Public Procurement Act, the supplier proves eligibility and qualification. In legal services, the most common mistakes relate to technical qualification (Section 79). Contracting authorities often require:

  • Disproportionate turnover: Requiring turnover of CZK 20 million for a contract valued at CZK 2 million is discriminatory, and ÚOHS fines such practices.
  • A specific number of employees: A requirement such as “the law firm in Prague must have at least 20 lawyers” is unjustified for standard contracts. Even a smaller boutique firm can provide top-tier service.
  • Specific references: Requiring references that mirror the subject-matter of the contract down to the last detail is hidden discrimination. References must be proportionate to the complexity of the contract.
  • Length of experience: A requirement such as “a team member must have 15 years of experience” is often assessed as disproportionate. Length of experience alone does not guarantee quality.

Properly set qualification requirements are proportionate to the subject-matter, non-discriminatory, and directly related to the subject-matter of the contract.

Award criteria: price versus quality

The Act prefers evaluation based on economic advantage. For legal services, which are highly intellectual in nature, price should not be the only criterion.

A recommended mix of criteria for legal services:

  1. Tender price (weight 40–50%) – typically an hourly rate.
  2. Experience of the delivery team (weight 30–40%) – assessment of the specific experience of key experts beyond the minimum qualification requirements.
  3. Work methodology/Quality of the solution (weight 10–20%) – e.g., preparation of a model legal opinion.

Contracting authorities may even set a fixed price and evaluate quality only. This is suitable where the budget is predetermined and the best expert is sought. Beware of subjective criteria such as “overall impression” – criteria must be transparent and objectively verifiable.

Transparency and digitalisation: an obligation, not a choice

Public procurement in the Czech Republic is fully digitalised. All communication between the contracting authority and the supplier must take place electronically, ideally via a certified electronic tool (e.g., NEN, E-ZAK, TenderArena).

Contracting authority obligations:

  • Publish the procurement documentation on the contracting authority’s profile on the day the procedure is launched.
  • Ensure unrestricted remote access to the documents.
  • Communicate exclusively via the electronic tool (not by email outside the system).

Failure to comply with the electronic form or late publication of documents are common reasons for ÚOHS to cancel the procedure.

Conflict of interest

Conflicts of interest remain a highly relevant topic in 2026. If a specific law firm in Prague was involved in preparing the tender conditions, that firm must not participate in the procedure as a bidder if this would distort competition in a way that cannot be remedied otherwise.

The contracting authority must require from suppliers an affidavit declaring the absence of a conflict of interest and must itself verify whether persons on the contracting authority’s side (evaluators, administrators) are not connected to bidders through personal or ownership links.

Standstill period and contract signing

After selecting the supplier and sending the award notice, the so-called standstill period runs (§ 246 ZZVZ). During this period, the contracting authority must not conclude the contract.

  • In standard procedures, this period is 15 days from delivery of the award notice.
  • If objections are filed, the period is extended until delivery of the decision on the objections.

Breaching the prohibition on concluding a contract during the standstill period is one of the most serious administrative offences, for which a ban on performance of the contract and a substantial fine may be imposed.

Integrity Pact: reducing corruption risks

An Integrity Pact is not a legislative term in the ZZVZ, but rather a contractual tool (often promoted by organisations such as Transparency International) under which both the contracting authority and bidders commit to complying with ethical standards beyond the statutory requirements. For significant procurements of legal services, introducing it can strengthen the credibility of the process and deter unfair practices.

Most common legal mistakes and case law

The decision-making practice of the ÚOHS (the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition) and the administrative courts identifies the following recurring mistakes:

  1. Incorrect determination of the estimated value: Artificially splitting the contract into smaller parts below CZK 3 million in order to avoid the Act.
  2. Discriminatory requirements: A requirement for an “attorney’s office at the contracting authority’s seat” is impermissible (interference with the free movement of services in the EU).
  3. Abnormally low tender price (§ 113): Contracting authorities forget to assess whether the hourly rate is abnormally low.
  4. Material amendment of the contract (§ 222): After signing the contract, the price cannot be increased or the scope of services changed at will without a new procedure, unless an exception set out in § 222 ZZVZ applies.

Relationship to EU legislation

The Czech ZZVZ transposes Directive 2014/24/EU. For contracting authorities, this means that for above-threshold contracts (above EUR 750,000 for legal services) they must ensure equal access also for foreign attorneys. A requirement for “knowledge of Czech law” is legitimate, but a requirement for “Czech citizenship” would be discriminatory.

Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS)

For contracting authorities that procure legal services on a regular basis, an efficient alternative is to establish a Dynamic Purchasing System (§ 138 ZZVZ). A DPS is a fully electronic process into which new qualified suppliers may be admitted throughout its duration.

The contracting authority establishes the DPS (as an above-threshold procedure) and then awards individual specific contracts within the DPS by inviting all admitted suppliers. It is a flexible and fast solution for repeated purchases of legal services.

Typical risks and their practical solutions

Risk

Legally compliant solution

Disproportionate qualification requirements

Require turnover of no more than twice the estimated value, or proportionately lower.

Non-transparent process

Use a certified electronic tool (NEN) and publish all documents in a timely manner.

Abnormally low price

Set evaluation criteria with an emphasis on quality (team experience) and consistently apply the mechanism for assessing an abnormally low tender price.

Premature contract signing

Strictly comply with the 15-day standstill period (or longer if objections are filed).

Conflict of interest

Ensure that the contract administrator is not linked to bidders by ownership or personnel ties.

Frequently asked questions

1. Do I have to run a tender even for a small legal service worth CZK 50,000?
No. If the contract value is up to CZK 3,000,000 excluding VAT, it is a small-scale contract. You do not have to follow the procedural rules of the ZZVZ, but you must comply with the principles (transparency, equal treatment, non-discrimination) and your internal guidelines.

2. Can I require a Czech-speaking lawyer?
Yes. A requirement regarding the working language (Czech) when performing the contract is legitimate and relates to the subject matter. However, it must not lead to discrimination based on nationality (an attorney from another EU country who speaks Czech must be allowed to participate).

4. Can the tender conditions be changed during the procedure?
Yes. Under § 99 ZZVZ, the tender documentation may be clarified, supplemented, or amended before the deadline for submission of tenders. If the change broadens the range of potential suppliers, you must appropriately extend the deadline for submission of tenders.

5. What about publishing contracts?
Public procurement contracts with a value above CZK 50,000 excluding VAT must be published in the Register of Contracts (Act No. 340/2015 Coll.). Contracts from above-threshold procurements and contracts above CZK 500,000 must additionally be published on the contracting authority’s profile under the ZZVZ (the obligations may overlap).

6. How long should we wait before signing the contract?
At least 15 days from delivery of the notice of selection of the supplier to all affected bidders.

Final summary

Procuring legal services requires balancing the procedural rigidity of the Act with the specific nature of attorneys’ work. The key to success is correctly determining the estimated value, setting non-discriminatory qualification requirements, and assessing quality rather than price alone.

If you are unsure about setting the parameters or are concerned about objections, it is always safer to consult the procedure with public procurement law experts. ARROWS advokátní kancelář has a team of ZZVZ specialists who can help you set up the procedure so that it withstands scrutiny by the ÚOHS. You can contact us at office@arws.cz .

Notice: The information contained in this article is of a general informational nature only and is intended for basic orientation in the topic. Although we take the utmost care to ensure accuracy, legal regulations and their interpretation evolve over time. To verify the current wording of the regulations and their application to your specific situation, it is therefore necessary to contact ARROWS advokátní kancelář directly (office@arws.cz). We accept no liability for any damages or complications arising from the independent use of the information in this article without our prior individual legal consultation and expert assessment. Each case requires a tailored solution, so please do not hesitate to contact us.

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