Court rejects opposition debate complaint but throws out community service for jobless
A skirmish in the battle over the fate of the right-of-centre government’s extensive programme of reforms reached its final stage on Tuesday. The opposition took a case to the Constitutional Court saying that laws changing the country’s health, social and pension systems had been pushed through in a manner that contravened their rights. In the end, the opposition saw that complaint rejected – but scored a partial success when community service for the jobless was overturned.
However, just over a year later, the manner in which the bills were pushed through came before the Czech Constitutional Court in a televised, public hearing in Brno on Tuesday.
The left-of-centre Social Democrats – who had at the time had attempted to filibuster the legislation with lengthy speeches in the lower house – said the government had used unconstitutional methods to force it through.
They said that the holding of a single, combined debate on all 14 laws – and the subsequent relatively short time limit on individual speeches – ran roughshod over their rights as the opposition.
“In our view this shows a tendency to demote Parliament into a voting machine with one task – to recast political decisions, where possible without unnecessary speeches, into approved laws. If the unconstitutionality of such restriction of debate is not shown, this method of approval could soon become a regular and normal sight.”
Representing the lower house was Marek Benda of the Civic Democrats, the biggest party in the coalition. He said the only thing that had been limited was opposition time wasting.
“No debate was shortened. The position of opposition parliamentary groups was respected and they could speak without limit. All persons with priority rights were allowed to speak. It was only an effort to protect the majority, in order for a decision to be reached…The constitutional order of the Czech Republic heeds the rights of minorities, but it also heeds the rights of the majority, so that decisions can be made.”
In the end, Chief Justice Pavel Rychetský delivered a ruling that rejected the complaint of the Social Democrats that their right to speak in the lower house had been breached by the combination of debates on all 14 laws into one.
The court’s rulings will, therefore, be regarded as a partial success by the left-wing opposition. The government, meanwhile, will be relieved that most of the key planks of its reform programme remain untouched.
