Overview

Justice.cz hosts the official Czech Commercial Register (Obchodni rejstrik), the authoritative legal record of all companies incorporated in the Czech Republic. Maintained by regional courts (krajske soudy) under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice, the Commercial Register is the definitive source for company existence, legal form, statutory bodies (directors, board members, supervisory board), shareholders, registered capital, and complete filing histories. Unlike ARES, which aggregates data from multiple registers for convenience, Justice.cz provides direct access to the primary source data including full filing histories, court decisions, and the document collection (Sbirka listin).

The Czech Commercial Register traces its origins to the Austro-Hungarian commercial code and has been modernized through multiple legislative iterations. The current legal framework is established by Act No. 304/2013 Coll. (Zakon o verejnych rejstricich pravnickych a fyzickych osob -- Act on Public Registers of Legal and Natural Persons), which replaced the earlier commercial register provisions of the Commercial Code. This act governs not only the Commercial Register but also the Foundations Register, Institute Register, Association Register, and Register of Unit Owners' Associations, all accessible through the Justice.cz portal.

The register is organized by court jurisdiction (Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Ceske Budejovice, Hradec Kralove, Usti nad Labem, and Plzen), with each court maintaining records for companies registered in its territory. Each company entry is identified by a section letter (A for sole traders, B for joint-stock companies, C for limited liability companies, etc.) and an insert number, forming a unique reference within that court.

For OSINT practitioners, Justice.cz is the single most important Czech data source for corporate intelligence. It provides legally binding information that cannot be obtained with the same authority from any aggregator. The filing collection (Sbirka listin) is particularly valuable, containing annual financial statements, articles of association, shareholder meeting minutes, expert valuations, and transformation project documents that reveal corporate strategy, financial health, and governance decisions.

Data Sources and Coverage

Justice.cz is the primary source -- all data originates from court filings submitted by companies as required by law. Coverage is comprehensive for all registered legal entities in the Czech Republic.

Data Type	Description	OSINT Relevance
Company Details	Name, ICO, legal form, registered address, incorporation date	Entity identification and verification
Statutory Bodies	Directors (jednatele), board members (clenove predstavenstva), supervisory board	Leadership mapping and PEP screening
Shareholders	Ownership structure, share capital, voting rights	UBO identification and corporate control analysis
Filing History	All documents filed with the court (Sbirka listin)	Financial analysis and governance review
Financial Statements	Annual reports, balance sheets, profit and loss statements	Financial due diligence and health assessment
Court Decisions	Liquidation, bankruptcy, mergers, transformations	Corporate distress and M&A tracking
Branch Offices	Registered branch locations	Geographic footprint mapping
Trade Restrictions	Limitations on statutory body authority	Risk assessment for contractual counterparties
Prokura	Power of attorney (prokura) holders	Authorized representatives identification
Legal Form Changes	Transformations, mergers, demergers, cross-border conversions	Corporate restructuring intelligence

Document Collection (Sbirka listin)

The filing collection is a uniquely valuable OSINT resource with no equivalent in many other jurisdictions:

Document Type	Czech Name	Intelligence Value
Annual Financial Statements	Ucetni zaverky	Revenue, assets, liabilities, profitability
Articles of Association	Zakladatelska listina / Spolecenska smlouva	Governance rules, voting mechanisms, restrictions
Shareholder Meeting Minutes	Zapisy z valnych hromad	Strategic decisions, disputes, dividend policies
Court Decisions	Soudni rozhodnuti	Judicial interventions, forced changes
Expert Valuations	Znalecke posudky	Asset valuations for mergers/transformations
Transformation Projects	Projekty premeny	Merger and demerger documentation
Annual Reports	Vyrocni zpravy	Management commentary and outlook

Temporal and Geographic Scope

The digital Commercial Register contains records dating back to the 1990s, with progressively more complete digital filings from the mid-2000s onward. Geographic coverage is the entire Czech Republic through seven regional courts. Historical paper records predating digitization can be accessed through court archive requests.

Technical Architecture

Justice.cz does not provide a structured REST API for the Commercial Register. Data access is through the web interface at or.justice.cz, which requires HTML parsing for programmatic access. The Insolvency Register (ISIR), however, provides a separate structured API.

Web Interface Structure

or.justice.cz
  |-- /ias/ui/rejstrik-$firma    # Company search
  |-- /ias/ui/vypis-sl-firma     # Filing collection (Sbirka listin)
  |-- /ias/ui/rejstrik-$osoba    # Person search (statutory bodies)
  |-- /ias/ui/vypis-sl-detail    # Document detail and download

Data Formats

Access Method	Format	Structured	Notes
Web Interface	HTML	No -- requires parsing	Primary access method
Filing Documents	PDF, occasionally XBRL	PDF unstructured; XBRL structured	Financial statements increasingly in XBRL
ISIR API	JSON/XML	Yes	Insolvency register only
Open Data Dumps	CSV/XML	Yes	Periodic bulk exports via data.gov.cz

Search Capabilities

Search Type	Parameters	Returns
By Company Name	Full or partial name	List of matching entities
By ICO	8-digit identification number	Direct company record
By Person Name	First name, last name, date of birth	Companies where person serves
By Court and Section	Court + section letter + insert number	Specific company record
By Address	Street, city	Companies at that address

API Integration

The Prismatic Platform provides a structured adapter for Justice.cz that handles HTML parsing, document extraction, and data normalization.

defmodule Prismatic.Osint.JusticeCz do
  @moduledoc """
  Adapter for the Czech Commercial Register (Obchodni rejstrik) at Justice.cz.
  Provides structured access to company data, statutory bodies, and filing histories.
  """

  @base_url "https://or.justice.cz"

  @spec search(keyword()) :: {:ok, list(map())} | {:error, term()}
  def search(opts) do
    with {:ok, html} <- fetch_search(opts),
         {:ok, results} <- parse_search_results(html) do
      {:ok, results}
    end
  end

  @spec get_company(String.t()) :: {:ok, map()} | {:error, term()}
  def get_company(ico) do
    with {:ok, html} <- fetch_company_detail(ico),
         {:ok, company} <- parse_company_detail(html) do
      {:ok, company}
    end
  end

  @spec filings(String.t()) :: {:ok, list(map())} | {:error, term()}
  def filings(ico) do
    with {:ok, html} <- fetch_filings(ico),
         {:ok, filing_list} <- parse_filings(html) do
      {:ok, filing_list}
    end
  end

  @spec statutory_body_history(String.t()) :: {:ok, list(map())} | {:error, term()}
  def statutory_body_history(ico) do
    with {:ok, html} <- fetch_company_history(ico),
         {:ok, history} <- parse_statutory_history(html) do
      {:ok, history}
    end
  end

  @spec check_insolvency(String.t()) :: {:ok, map()} | {:error, term()}
  def check_insolvency(ico) do
    with {:ok, response} <- fetch_isir(ico),
         {:ok, status} <- parse_insolvency_status(response) do
      {:ok, status}
    end
  end
end

Usage Examples

# Search for a company by name
{:ok, results} = JusticeCz.search(name: "Prismatic")
# => [%{ico: "12345678", name: "Prismatic s.r.o.", court: "Praha", section: "C", insert: "123456"}]

# Get full company details including statutory bodies and shareholders
{:ok, company} = JusticeCz.get_company("12345678")
# => %{
#   ico: "12345678",
#   name: "Prismatic s.r.o.",
#   legal_form: "spolecnost s rucenim omezenym",
#   registered_address: "Vaclavske namesti 1, Praha 1, 110 00",
#   date_of_incorporation: ~D[2020-01-15],
#   statutory_bodies: [
#     %{name: "Jan Novak", function: "jednatel", since: ~D[2020-01-15]},
#     %{name: "Eva Svobodova", function: "jednatel", since: ~D[2022-06-01]}
#   ],
#   share_capital: %{amount: 200_000, currency: "CZK", paid_up: true},
#   shareholders: [
#     %{name: "Jan Novak", share: "100%", type: "physical_person"}
#   ]
# }

# Get complete filing history
{:ok, filings} = JusticeCz.filings("12345678")
# => [
#   %{type: :annual_report, date: ~D[2024-06-30], document_url: "..."},
#   %{type: :articles_of_association, date: ~D[2020-01-15], document_url: "..."}
# ]

# Get statutory body change history
{:ok, history} = JusticeCz.statutory_body_history("12345678")

# Cross-reference with insolvency register (ISIR)
{:ok, insolvency} = JusticeCz.check_insolvency("12345678")

Use Cases

Corporate Due Diligence

Justice.cz is the cornerstone of any Czech corporate due diligence process. Investigators verify company existence and legal standing, review the complete statutory body composition including historical changes (detecting rapid director turnover as a red flag), analyze financial statements from the filing collection, check for liquidation or bankruptcy proceedings, and examine shareholder structures to identify ultimate beneficial owners. The filing collection provides access to articles of association that reveal governance mechanisms, voting thresholds, and restrictions on director authority -- critical information for assessing counterparty risk.

KYC/AML Compliance

For Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering compliance, Justice.cz provides essential data: ultimate beneficial owner identification through shareholder structures, Politically Exposed Person screening through statutory body records, cross-referencing with EU Sanctions and OFAC lists, and corporate structure analysis to detect layered ownership typical of money laundering schemes. Czech AML legislation (Act No. 253/2008 Coll.) requires obligated entities to verify client identity using official register data, making Justice.cz an authoritative source for compliance.

Corporate Intelligence and M&A Monitoring

Justice.cz enables tracking of competitor corporate structure changes, monitoring mergers and acquisitions activity through transformation project filings, identifying related companies through shared statutory bodies (a director serving on multiple company boards reveals corporate networks), and analyzing financial trajectories through year-over-year financial statement comparison.

Insolvency and Credit Risk

Cross-referencing with the Insolvency Register (ISIR) via the Justice.cz portal enables early detection of financial distress. Monitoring for insolvency petition filings, reorganization plans, and creditor committee compositions provides critical signals for credit risk assessment and supply chain stability analysis.

Data Quality and Reliability

Quality Factor	Assessment	Details
Completeness	Very High	Legal mandate requires filing; non-compliance has legal consequences
Accuracy	Very High	Court-reviewed data; errors can be corrected through judicial process
Timeliness	High	Statutory changes registered within days; financial statements within legal deadlines
Authority	Authoritative	Primary legal source; data has evidentiary value in court proceedings
Standardization	Medium	Structured court records; PDF filings vary in format

Czech Legal Context

Act No. 304/2013 Coll. (Zakon o verejnych rejstricich) -- Primary legislation governing public registers
Act No. 90/2012 Coll. (Zakon o obchodnich korporacich) -- Business Corporations Act defining corporate governance
Act No. 89/2012 Coll. (Novy obcansky zakonik) -- New Civil Code providing foundational legal framework
Act No. 563/1991 Coll. (Zakon o ucetnictvi) -- Accounting Act mandating financial statement filing
Act No. 253/2008 Coll. (Zakon o AML) -- Anti-Money Laundering Act requiring register verification
Directive (EU) 2017/1132 -- EU Company Law Directive influencing register interoperability (BRIS)

Platform Integration

Justice.cz serves as the authoritative company data source within the Prismatic Platform, integrated into the comprehensive Czech entity intelligence pipeline.

defmodule PrismaticPerimeter.DueDiligence.CzechCompanyReport do
  @moduledoc """
  Generates comprehensive Czech company due diligence reports
  by combining data from Justice.cz, ARES, RZP, and Insolvency Register.
  """

  @spec generate_report(String.t()) :: {:ok, map()} | {:error, term()}
  def generate_report(ico) do
    tasks = [
      Task.async(fn -> JusticeCz.get_company(ico) end),
      Task.async(fn -> Ares.get_full_details(ico) end),
      Task.async(fn -> Rzp.get_licenses(ico) end),
      Task.async(fn -> InsolvencniRejstrik.check(ico) end),
      Task.async(fn -> NespolehlivyPlatce.check("CZ#{ico}") end)
    ]

    [justice, ares, rzp, insolvency, vat_reliability] = Task.await_many(tasks, 30_000)

    with {:ok, justice_data} <- justice,
         {:ok, ares_data} <- ares,
         {:ok, rzp_data} <- rzp,
         {:ok, insolvency_data} <- insolvency,
         {:ok, vat_data} <- vat_reliability do
      {:ok, %{
        company: justice_data,
        business_activities: ares_data.predmety_podnikani,
        trade_licenses: rzp_data,
        insolvency_status: insolvency_data,
        vat_reliability: vat_data,
        risk_score: calculate_risk(justice_data, insolvency_data, vat_data),
        filings_complete: check_filing_compliance(justice_data),
        generated_at: DateTime.utc_now()
      }}
    end
  end
end

NABLA Compliance

Axiom	Implementation
Signal Plurality	Justice.cz data cross-referenced with ARES, RZP, insolvency register, and DPH registry
Contradiction Preservation	Discrepancies between Justice.cz and ARES data preserved with both versions and timestamps
Provenance Mandatory	All data tagged with source (or.justice.cz), court jurisdiction, extraction timestamp
Time Decay	Registration dates and filing dates enable temporal confidence assessment
Source Independence	Justice.cz is the primary court source, independent from ARES aggregation layer

Performance Metrics

Metric	Value	Notes
Company Detail Extraction	1-3s	HTML parsing with HTTP request
Filing List Retrieval	2-5s	Depends on filing count
Document Download	3-15s	PDF size dependent
Insolvency Check (ISIR API)	< 1s	Structured API, fastest access method
Cache TTL	6 hours	Balances freshness with rate consideration
Coverage	~700,000+ active entities	All registered Czech legal entities

ARES -- Aggregated Czech business register providing faster lookups across multiple registers
RZP -- Czech Trade Licensing Register for business activity verification
Insolvencni Rejstrik -- Czech insolvency register with structured API
Nespolehlivy Platce -- Unreliable VAT payer list for financial risk signals
EU Sanctions -- EU sanctions list for cross-referencing statutory body members
OFAC -- US sanctions list for international compliance screening
Registr smluv -- Public contracts revealing business relationships with state entities
Podnikatel.cz -- Business aggregator providing quick consolidated company views

Connect & Contribute

Created by Tomáš Korcak (korczis) | Open Source under GHL

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Justice.cz

Capabilities

Try Justice.cz

Overview

Data Sources and Coverage

Document Collection (Sbirka listin)

Temporal and Geographic Scope

Technical Architecture

Web Interface Structure

Data Formats

Search Capabilities

API Integration

Usage Examples

Use Cases

Corporate Due Diligence

KYC/AML Compliance

Corporate Intelligence and M&A Monitoring

Insolvency and Credit Risk

Data Quality and Reliability

Czech Legal Context

Platform Integration

NABLA Compliance

Performance Metrics

Connect & Contribute

Intelligence Network

Related Content

Agent Ecosystem

Applications

Doctrine

Justice.cz

Capabilities

Try Justice.cz

Overview

Data Sources and Coverage

Document Collection (Sbirka listin)

Temporal and Geographic Scope

Technical Architecture

Web Interface Structure

Data Formats

Search Capabilities

API Integration

Usage Examples

Use Cases

Corporate Due Diligence

KYC/AML Compliance

Corporate Intelligence and M&A Monitoring

Insolvency and Credit Risk

Data Quality and Reliability

Czech Legal Context

Platform Integration

NABLA Compliance

Performance Metrics

Related Resources

Connect & Contribute

Intelligence Network

Related Content

Agent Ecosystem

Applications

Doctrine