The situation
Draft webshop terms and conditions for a new market, uploaded
A Dutch kitchenware brand is opening a Czech-language webshop, run from Utrecht. The agency adapted the Dutch terms into Czech. They choose Dutch law, limit liability for defects to six months, exclude liability for late delivery and let the brand change prices after the order. Launch is in five weeks.
Counsel has to check every clause against two sets of consumer rules: the Dutch ones the terms were written for, and the Czech ones that customers can rely on anyway. The returns clause is fine. The time goes on governing law, the legal guarantee, the price and delivery terms, and what has to be shown before the order button.
What the research has to settle
The rules behind the answer
- A choice of law keeps consumer protection
- A webshop that directs its sales to Czech consumers can choose Dutch law, but the choice cannot deprive them of the protection of the mandatory rules of Czech law. A clause that suggests otherwise can itself be unfair.
- The legal guarantee cannot be shortened
- Under the Sale of Goods Directive, the seller is liable for a lack of conformity that becomes apparent within at least two years of delivery. The Netherlands sets no fixed period and looks to the expected life of the product instead. A six-month limit fails in both countries.
- Unfair terms do not bind the consumer
- Under the Unfair Terms Directive, a standard term that creates a significant imbalance to the consumer’s detriment is not binding. Price changes after the order and broad exclusions of liability are typical candidates.
- Information comes before the order
- The total price, delivery costs, delivery date, the right of withdrawal and the legal guarantee must be given before the consumer is bound. The order button must make clear that the order involves an obligation to pay.
How it runs in azta
From the question to the document
The question, as you would type it
Attached are draft Czech-language terms for our Dutch webshop selling to Czech consumers. Which clauses conflict with Czech consumer law or the EU unfair-terms rules, in particular the Dutch choice of law, the six-month defect limit and our right to change prices after the order?
You start with
Draft webshop terms and conditions for a new market, uploaded
- 01
Upload the draft terms
Add the Czech draft and the Dutch original. azta reads both and points to the clause behind each finding.
File upload· Pro - 02
Research each clause
Ask how each clause fits Czech consumer law and the EU directives. azta cites the Czech Civil Code provisions and the EU instruments behind them.
Cited research· Free - 03
Write the review memo
Ask for a memo by clause, with the issue, the rule and replacement wording. Edit it in Canvas and translate passages into Czech.
Canvas · Ask azta· Pro - 04
Send the mark-up
Export the memo to Word for the agency and the Czech reviewer. The research stays with your file.
Word export· Pro You send
A review memo and marked-up terms, clause by clause
What you get
A review memo and marked-up terms, clause by clause
Review memo · draft
Czech webshop terms: clauses to change before launch
Governing law, clause 18. Dutch law may be chosen, but the clause must say that Czech consumers keep the protection of the mandatory rules of Czech law. As drafted, it suggests that Dutch law alone applies and risks being unfair.
Defects, clause 9. The six-month limit is below the statutory minimum and should be removed. The terms should describe the consumer’s rights for goods that do not conform and the period in which they can be exercised under Czech law.
Price changes, clause 4. The right to change the price of an order after the contract is concluded should be removed. Any wording on obvious pricing errors needs a separate review under Czech law.
Outcomes on your numbers
What azta is worth on this task
Pro pays for itself after
14 minutes a month
At €120 an hour, that is all the time Pro (€27 a month) has to take off your desk to cover its price.
Example figures. Replace them with your own.
- Hours back a year
- 22
- Capacity at your rate
- €2,592
- More webshop terms reviews a quarter
- 0.7
- Return on Pro
- 8×
- Research
- Drafting
- Your review
A scenario you set, not a promise. The hours that come back go to another client, or deeper into this one.
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Book a demoSources azta searches here
- e-Sbírka
- wetten.overheid.nl
- EUR-Lex · Curia
- Rechtspraak.nl
What stays with you
- Commercial choices that go beyond the legal minimum.
- The final Czech text, reviewed by a Czech-qualified lawyer.
- Approving the terms before launch.
Frequently asked questions
- Can azta compare our Dutch and Czech terms?
- Yes. Upload both and ask for a clause-by-clause comparison. azta points to the passage in each file it relied on.
- Does it check the checkout too?
- Upload the checkout text or describe the order steps, and ask what must be shown before the order. azta cites the rule for each item.
- Can it translate the terms?
- In Canvas you can select a passage and translate it. A Czech-qualified reviewer should check the final legal text.
