Ex-Constitutional Court judge Kateřina Šimáčková joins European Court of Human Rights

Czech magistrate Kateřina Šimáčková officially resigned her post as a Constitutional Court judge on Friday to join the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. She had been a member of the highest Czech court since 2013.

President Miloš Zeman has yet to nominate a replacement, who would then need to win approval by the Senate.

He previously said he would wait until the next government takes office, installing a new Minister of Justice, before nominating a replacement for Šimáčková on the 15-member court.

Šimáčková said she considered it important that a woman be named to fill her spot at least for symbolic reasons. Otherwise, there would be only one woman among the Constitutional Court judges.

In Strasbourg, she is due to begin her tenure at the European Court of Human Rights first as an observer, and begin working on specific cases as of January.