Soft law Evropských orgánů dohledu: nezávazné unijní akty se závaznými vnitrostátními účinky

In the EU, some tasks in the area of financial regulation were delegated to the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs). These EU agencies are empowered, among others, to issue guidelines and recommendations, i. e. soft law acts. From the Union's point of view, these acts are not legally binding. However, in the Czech context and mainly due to their enforcement by the Czech National Bank (CNB), these acts become practically binding for their main addressees - financial institutions. Such a setting demonstrates how multilevel regulation and enforcement in the EU work. The article analyses the Czech regulatory context and the practice of the CNB in order to show that ESA soft law acts may be genuine soft law in the relation between the EU and the Member States, but they are capable to induce binding legal effects on the national level when the national competent authority decides, within its discretion, to comply with them. Based on this analysis, the article also addresses issues related to the control and possible judicial review of ESA soft law.