Development of legislation concerning chocolate in the European Union and Czech Republic is summarized. The discussion concerns in particular authorization of substitution of cocoa butter in chocolate. Composition and physicochemical properties of cocoa butter and requirements for substitutes of the Equivalent type (substitutes completely miscible with cocoa butter) are described. The methods studied with the goal of determination of the cocoa butter substitute content in chocolate are characterized. For identification and determination of substitutes completely miscible with cocoa butter in chocolate icings, near-infrared absorption at 966.4 cm^-1 (trans bonds) was used.