Damaging someone else's property is a crime of anger. A kick to a car after an argument in a car park, a smashed shop window, a neighbour's wrecked fence. The offender usually does not deny it; the dispute tends to be about how much it cost, and that is exactly where it is decided whether it is a misdemeanour or a crime.
The thresholds
- Damage of at least CZK 10,000. Below that it is a misdemeanour. The amount of damage is set by the cost of repair or the value of the item, and it is worth having it reviewed: the Constitutional Court dealt with the case of a man convicted of kicking a departing car, damage CZK 20,416, who claimed he never touched the car at all and whose request for an expert report the court refused.
- Graffiti (spraying, painting, writing on) is criminal regardless of the amount of damage.
- Intent. Damage caused by negligence (an accident, carelessness) is not a crime under § 228; it is dealt with in civil proceedings.
What you are facing
Up to one year, a ban on activity or forfeiture of the item; for larger damage, up to three years. In practice a fine and compensation. In these cases a diversion is the rule, provided you compensate the damage before the matter reaches the court.
What this rests on
No advice on this page is an opinion. Each one has a section of the law and a court decision behind it. Click through, the full text is on Europaius.
Statute
- § 228 tr. zákoníkudamage to property: damage that is not negligible, up to one year; graffiti with no damage threshold
- § 138 tr. zákoníkudamage threshold of CZK 10,000
- § 307 tr. řáduconditional discontinuation of criminal prosecution
Case law
- II. ÚS 3203/23 (Ústavní soud, 30. 4. 2024)a kick to a car in a car park, damage CZK 20,416, fine CZK 20,000; the Supreme Court set aside the compensation order, the Constitutional Court dismissed the complaint
- 3 Tdo 749/2024 (Nejvyšší soud, 24. 9. 2024)challenging the amount of damage goes to the objective element of the offence; even an attempt to damage property is criminal
Related cases
- Kopl po odjíždějícím autě. Škoda 20 416 Kč, trest 20 000 Kč. 2024 (in Czech)
A different situation?
- You or someone close to you has been detained
- Pre-trial detention is looming, or someone is already in it
- A police summons has arrived
- Criminal complaint: you want to file one, or one has been filed against you
- You have been charged with a criminal offence
- A penal order has arrived
- Alcohol or drugs behind the wheel, driving ban
- Plea agreement, conditional discontinuation
- House search
- You have become the victim of a crime
- European arrest warrant, extradition abroad
- Charged with embezzlement
- Disorderly conduct: a brawl, a pub, the street
- Dangerous threats and stalking
- You drove while banned from driving
- Charged with bodily harm
- Violation of the inviolability of the home
- Defamation
- Conditional release from prison
- Negligent homicide: a fatal accident
- Credit fraud and subsidy fraud