The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld seven complaints against the Czech Republic last year. In 13 other cases, the country was successful in its defence, and one case ended in a settlement, Petr Konupka, the Czech agent before the court, told journalists yesterday.
In 2023, only two complaints against the Czech Republic were successful.
Last year, the court found violations of the Convention on Human Rights in the abuse of women by Catholic priests and in the court review of juvenile detention. A legislative change will be needed regarding the review of detention of juvenile defendants; unlike in the review of adults, the time limit is now six months instead of three months, Konupka said.
On the issue of the abuse of women, the relevant legislation has already been changed by redefining rape in an amendment to the Criminal Code.
In 2022-2024, the ECHR issued 83 decisions concerning the Czech Republic, including 13 cases when it ruled that the Convention had been violated and nine cases that ended in a settlement. The complainants demanded CZK 518.5 million in compensation between them, of which CZK 4.5 million was awarded by the court.
Konupka said this trend is positive for the country, also because of the fact that Czech courts are increasingly able to work with ECHR case law.
The Czech Republic did not seek review of any of the unsuccessful cases before the Grand Chamber of the Court, said Konupka, as all of these decisions were expected.
Among the cases which the Czech Republic won last year, Konupka mentioned the expulsion of a foreign national on the basis of classified intelligence information. The ECHR examined whether it is lawful to deny a deported person the opportunity to be informed of the reasons for deportation. It concluded that the Czech Republic has sufficient checks and balances in the administrative courts, which can become acquainted with the classified reports and disclose their substance to the foreigner.
Konupka said his office knows of 45 cases related to the Czech Republic that are currently under consideration by the Strasbourg court. There are many more complaints, but the court rejects 90 to 95% of them outright, without seeking the opinion of the relevant government.
Of the current cases, six complaints concern restrictions on rights during the coronavirus pandemic in connection with government measures. There is also an ongoing dispute with the Liechtenstein family over the return of thousands of hectares of farm and forest land and a number of monuments.
The court will also consider a complaint by convicted former regional governor David Rath, who argued that statements of a former Czech President violated the presumption of innocence, and questioned the impartiality of the criminal court in his corruption case. Other complaints concern investigations into the abuse of a female minor and so-called hate crimes, i.e. whether law enforcement authorities dealt with possible racial motives.
An essential part of the work of the Czech government’s agent for the ECHR is the enforcement of court judgments. It has long been dealing with unequal access to education for Roma children in the Czech Republic, and Konupka says the state has so far failed to satisfactorily resolve this problem. Another persistent issue is unequal pay of men and women
