The legal consequences of the breach of pre-emption right

Abstract

Pre-emption right may be agreed in the contract on sale as one of the collateral clauses. General rules concerning the pre-emption right are included in the Civil Code. These general rules apply in both the pre-emptive right stipulated in the contract between the parties (the contractual right of first refusal), as well as for pre-emptive right arising under the law (statutory right of first refusal). It can also be used in the field of commercial obligations. Generally speaking we can state that the legislation concerning the pre-emption rights is very austere, unsystematically arranged and therefore allowing for too broad interpretation with undefined limits. It means at the same time a considerable legal uncertainty in its application. Participants of the legal relationship may often find only subsequently through the case law in which cases the violation of pre-emption law occurred. The aim of this paper is to analyse individual cases of violation of pre-emptive rights, both pre-emptive right with effects of an obligation and pre-emptive rights with effects of right in rem.