Justice Minister signals reversal on age of consent bill

The Czech Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil has signalled his willingness to renegotiate a recent law passed by the Lower House, which lowers the age of criminal responsibility and age of consent to 14. The law, which analysts suggest may not pass the Senate may now be amended to return the age limit to 15 if approved by the Upper House. The offer was made by the Justice Minister on Sunday and would involve the current law being passed, with the proviso that a new legislation would be presented next year which would return the age limit back up to 15. The Justice Minister has expressed concerns that if the current law is not passed, loopholes in the current system may not be closed. A new criminal code is scheduled to come into effect at the beginning of 2010.

Author: Dominik Jůn