The Czechoslovak Act on Economic Espionage of 1935

Abstract

In interwar Czechoslovakia, economic affairs fell within the competence of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Commerce. Consequently, this central institution became the initiator of legislation against economic espionage. Nevertheless, it seems that for a long time the ministry underestimated the importance of protecting classified information, by preparing the Act on economic espionage. Importantly, it was not the only instance in which the ministry failed to act appropriately. At the same time, surprisingly the problem of economic espionage did not attract the attention of the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of the Interior either. This appears to be puzzling, especially given that the latter was being continuously informed about the competition in the economic and scientific-research spheres through the network of the Intelligence Central Office. The Act on Economic Espionage (Act No. 71/1935), owing to its delayed publication, was received very critically by certain circles, being regarded as excessively severe and even described as a “freak” within the legal system. It is worth noting that in the legal literature of the Third Reich, there were voices advocating that industrial espionage should be treated in accordance with the solutions provided by the Czechoslovak Act.