Children and Their Debts: Current Situation in the Czech Republic. Part One: General Findings and Particular Types of Debts

The paper deals with the issue of the debts of minors. For this purpose, the current legal regulation of the capacity to make juridical acts of minors, the administration of their assets by legal representatives under parental responsibility, and the maintenance duty of parents to children are first analysed. Consequently, six problematic types of debts that arise for minors are identified. Regarding fees for municipal waste, regulatory fees in healthcare, debts from contracts with cell phone operators, and debts resulting from the use of public library services, these are already resolved or at least solvable without the need to amend the existing legislation. As for the debt arising from the transfer of the lease to a minor as a result of the tenant’s death (usually a parent), this is a specific problem that will probably require a solution to change the legislation. However, due to the specificity of the problem, a deeper analysis will be needed. That being so, the main problem remains debts from public transport rides without a valid ticket, which are the focus of a separate paper.