Czech Human Rights Rwview

We are pleased to present the latest issue of the Czech Republic Human Rights Review.

We begin with "Thirty Years of Czech Independence: A Journey of Sovereignty, Democracy, and Unity," in which Adéla Hrdá reflects on three decades of an independent Czech state and its evolution into a democratic society. Next, Karolína Vejmolová examines how the current criminal justice system addresses past injustices, with a focus on the accountability of communist officials for deaths at the Czechoslovak border.

In the following section, the authors delve into the fascinating case law of the Czech judiciary. Adéla Hrdá explores the electoral jurisprudence of the Supreme Administrative Court in the context of elections to the upper chamber of the Czech Parliament. Jakub Dubják then analyzes the Constitutional Court's ruling on the wrongful placement of a child in a children's home without due process. In his next article, Jakub explores the Constitutional Court's stance on the "Do Not Resuscitate" order, raising the question: Should doctors consult patients in end-of-life situations? Barbora Headlandová offers a thorough examination of the Supreme Administrative Court's ruling on gender change. Finally, Jakub Dubják provides a detailed analysis of general court rulings on the alleged torture of a prisoner who was handcuffed to a window bar.

In "Czech Republic before the European Court of Human Rights in 2023”, Klára Popelková highlights the European level of human rights protection and offers an overview of Czech cases brought before the Strasbourg Court. Karolína Vejmolová returns with "A Sniper Fighting on the Side of Pro-Russian Separatists Sentenced to 21 Years", a chilling account of the prosecution of a Czech sniper responsible for multiple deaths during the conflict in Ukraine.

In conclusion, we pause to reflect on the tragic events of the mass shooting at Charles University in Prague. Daniela Skácelíková revisits the incident and examines its broader implications for public safety and the national psyche.

The Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democracy is proud to present a new issue of the Czech Republic Human Rights Review.

The year 2022 was marked by significant international events to which Czech law and policy had to respond. Most notably of which included Russian aggression in Ukraine and the consequential refugee influx and energy crisis. In our opening essays, Veronika Nováková introduces the newly adopted sanction act, known as the Czech Magnitsky Act, and investigates the legal ramifications of the Russian-Ukraine war. For example, changes in asylum law and criminal liability for war crimes before national courts.

In the following pieces, Veronika examines the Czech presidency of the Council of the European Union, and Kateřina Ochodková sheds light on the Czech endeavor in the UN Human Rights Council, first as its member, then as the presiding State.

Continuing, in analyzing the global climate crisis, Marie Gavendová probes into Czech commitments to reduce emissions and limit the use of coal-fired resources. Kateřina Ochodková then discusses a particular cross-border environmental case of the Turów Coal Mine in Poland.

Regarding the development in the Czech judiciary, Marie Gavendová analyzes intriguing discrimination cases before the Supreme Administrative Court. Do children and foreign nationals face discrimination in access to accommodation and restaurant services? Moreover, Kateřina Ochodková investigates a controversial “transgender” judgment of the Constitutional Court. Did it find the sterilization surgery, a statutory requirement for official change of one's gender, unconstitutional?

Marie Gavendová then scrutinizes an ongoing debate on same-sex marriage in the Czech Republic and illuminates the proposal for an amendment to the Civil Code that would introduce same-sex marriage before the law. Why are same-sex marriages still not permitted?

A positive change arrived in January 2022 when the compensation act for unlawful sterilization of women was finally adopted. Dominika Šudová probes into this long-awaited law and discusses its strengths and weaknesses. Dominika further explores the development in the area of rights of people with disabilities and explains how the Czech Republic monitors the commitments under the Optional Protocol of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

We wish you a stimulating and enjoyable reading

The Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democracy is proud to present a new issue of the Czech Republic Human Rights Review.

Searching for proportionality was the red thread of the major events that occurred in the Czech law in the “pandemic year” 2021. It is apposite that the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms celebrated its 30th anniversary as highlighted by Tereza Kuklová in her opening essay.

Tereza further examines a parliamentary (in)competence to stop the government from declaring a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic and debates the major shortcomings of anti-pandemic measures. To get a glimpse at some particular violations, Nikola Sedláková examines the Constitutional Court's judgment concerning a general ban on retail sales. Daniela Matyášová then probes into the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court which annulled the mandate to wear a respirator.

The next part of our review could be described by the notion of “security.” First, Tereza Kuklová introduces a controversial constitutional amendment regarding a right to defend one’s life with the use of a weapon. Nikola Sedláková examines various issues of national security emerging from the annual report of the Security Information Service. Daniela Matyášová then moves to discuss whether a recognition of same-sex adoption may be viewed as a threat to the Czech sovereignty. Lastly, Kateřina Ochodková discusses the constitutional procedure of removing presidential powers relating to the unfavourable health condition of the Czech President.

Regarding the security of a person, Jana Koblasová examines the right to be provided with a placenta after childbirth and Nikola Sedláková sheds light on the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights concerning mandatory child vaccination.

Our review concludes with remarks written by Kateřina Ochodková regarding an interesting effect of the new electoral system on elections to the (Czech) Chamber of Deputies in October 2021.

Notwithstanding the difficult times, we wish you an enjoyable reading.

The Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democracy is proud to present a new issue of the Czech Republic Human Rights Review. The issue sheds light on the principal problems that have occurred for human rights and democracy under the vein of the coronavirus in 2020.

In the opening article, Tereza Kuklová looks ahead and introduces challenges for human rights and democracy that the Czech Republic could face in 2021. Will the Czech Republic establish a National Human Rights Institution or is it going to finally provide compensation to involuntarily sterilized Roma women?

Lucie Nechvátalová continues with an article on a diplomatic event that occurred during the year - a contentious visit of the Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil to Taiwan. Her following article summarizes how the Czech Republic coped with COVID-19 during the first and second wave of the pandemic.

Our Review continues with topics that might attract the attention of various international actors. First, Simona Úlehlová looks at Strasbourg and introduces a selection procedure for a new Czech judge of the European Court for Human Rights. Tereza Bártová then discusses the repeated critique of the international human rights bodies towards the use of net cage beds in psychiatric institutions and the reluctance of Czech authorities to abolish this shameful practice. Aneta Frodlová analyses the independence and transparency of justice in the Czech Republic, as examined by the European Commission. And finally, Pavel Doubek introduces the Annual Report of the National Preventive Mechanism and its importance for the prevention against torture and ill-treatment.

The year 2020 was rich in profound judgements on freedom of expression, freedom of speech and religious freedom. Pavel Doubek introduces a regional court’s judgement that strikes a balance between individual religious sentiments and artistic freedom. Simona Úlehlová further explores the Supreme Court decision on the right of a muslim student to wear a hijab during the theoretical lessons at high school. The section is concluded by Klára Košťálová who explores the  findings of the Constitutional Court on the freedom of magazine publishers to ridicule leading political figures. 

The final part of the review is devoted to the rights of prisoners incarcerated in prison and patients treated in hospitals. To begin, Simona Úlehlová discusses the prisoners’ rights to a special diet on the basis of their belief, which is important for the general debate on the prisoners’ rights and corresponding duties of prison. Klára Košťálová then draws on the findings of the Constitutional Court with regard to the requirement of timely and effective pain relief of patients in a hospital, which is a challenge for the contemporary understanding of the concept of “lege-artis” treatment.

In the turbulent times of the pandemic, we wish you an enjoyable reading.

The Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democracy is proud to present a new issue of the Czech Republic Human Rights Review examining the year of 2019. Together with our members and trainees, we have prepared a total of 11 articles that are related to the Czech Republic.

To start the Review, we are pleased to publish a very special story. In 2019, we commemorated the 80th anniversary of Sir Nicholas Winton’s trains, which saved the lives of 669 Jewish children on the brink of World War II from the occupied territory of Czechoslovakia. We asked one of the rescued children, John Karlik, to share his memories.

Aneta Frodlová discusses whether it is possible under Czech law to complete an artificial insemination process after the death of a husband. Furthermore, the concept of same-sex marriage is currently an important issue in the Czech Republic, and therefore, Gabriela Štvrtňová reviews this in an article. 

Additionally, Zdeněk Nevřivý presents a judgment of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic concerning the Brioni Boutique Hotel in Ostrava. The hotel required Russian clients to sign a document saying they disagreed with the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.

In November 2019, only 30 years after the Velvet Revolution, an anti-government demonstration by the group, Million Moments for Democracy, was held in Prague at Letná hill. According to estimates, 283,000 citizens attended the demonstration, making it the largest demonstration since the fall of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Eva Dokoupilová explains what led to this event.

We wish you an enjoyable reading.

The Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democracy is happy to present a new issue of the Czech Republic Human Rights Review, which explores the year of 2018. 

In the opening piece, Laura Haiselová discusses the recodification of private law on limiting legal capacity of natural persons and presents the latest case-law of the Czech Constitutional Court.

In January 2018, the Czech Republic held the presidential elections. Lukáš Novák in his article discusses the alleged shortcomings in the process of registering candidates and the subsequent case-law of the Supreme Administrative Court and Constitutional Court.

Kristýna Šulková in her piece presents the judgment of the Municipal Court of Prague which ruled on the unlawfulness of the police intervention and its order to remove the flags of Tibet and Taiwan during the visit of the Chinese President to the Czech Republic.

Sometimes an unusual first name of a child can be a problem, at least according to the Registry Office. Barbora Antonovičová recalls the administrative saga concerning the registration of the name “Thymian” and discusses the subsequent judgment of the Constitutional Court.

Furthermore, in the article written by Barbora Antonovičová and Lucie Nechvátalová, you can learn about the case concerning the conditional release of a person sentenced to life imprisonment.

Finally, Aneta Frodlová analyses the judgement of the Constitutional Court concerning the vaccination obligation and participation rights of a child in a dispute between parents.

We wish you an enjoyable reading.

The Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democratization is pleased to present a new issue of the Czech Republic Human Rights Review examining the period of 2017.

You will find articles written by Adam Blisa and Michal Oščipovský focusing on the state of the constitutional judiciary in the Czech Republic and Central Europe, followed by articles from Laura Haiselová, Eva Drhlíková and Šárka Dušková on developments regarding the right to information and the use of classified information. Nela Černotová's article informs about the Czech National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights and the issue is closed by two articles from Kamila Abbasi and Kateřina Studecká focusing on criminal law topics.

We wish you an enjoyable reading.