News

Czech constitutional court reverses key component of government health reforms

The Czech Constitutional Court has overturned a crucial component of the government’s healthcare reforms, ruling that unpaid sick leave must be abolished. As a result of recent government reforms, employees, rather than receiving the previous 40% of pay for the first three days away from work, received nothing. The government argued that the change was designed to reduce relatively high levels of illness-related leave taken by Czechs. However, in its ruling, the court found that the changed legislation was unconstitutional in that it failed to guarantee an employee’s right to security in times of illness. The court has declared that by June 30, the law must be reversed. This ruling comes as a part of a wider courtroom showdown in which the opposition Social Democrats have challenged the constitutional legality of many of the proposed reforms undertaken by the government such as fees for doctor’s visits.

Choirmaster Bohumil Kulinský found guilty of sexually abusing underage choirgirls

A regional court in the town of Hradec Králové has found choirmaster Bohumil Kulinský guilty of charges of sexual abuse of underage girls. The case relates to 49 separate counts of abuse of choirgirls in his charge between the years of 1984 and 2004. The former choirmaster’s defence rejected the charges during the trial although Mr Kulinský admitted having “sexual relations” with some of his pupils who were above the age of sexual consent – 15 in the Czech Republic. The defence also questioned the reliability of the testimonies given against him. The state prosecutor recommended a prison sentence of eight and a half years for Mr Kulinský and also recommended that he be prevented from having contact with children for a period of ten years. However, the court subsequently sentenced Kulinský to a three year suspended sentence.

Mobile operators to collect more information on private telephone calls

New electronic communication legislation passed by the government has raised concerns about the erosion of personal liberties. The legislation enables phone operators to collect data about their customers including where, when and whom people are calling. The legislation narrowly passed its second reading after being rejected in the first round by the coalition Green Party. The opposition Social Democrats have accused the bill of fomenting the notion of a police state, spying on its citizens. They also criticised that the state, not the companies involved would be paying for the collection of data – with an estimated price tag of around 300 million crowns. The governing Civic Democrats have defended the legislation arguing that it is similar to legislation enacted across the EU

Czech police to investigate brutal fouls in sports matches

Czech police have announced that they will begin to investigate serious fouls committed in sporting matches in the Czech Republic. According to the police, the investigations will begin from autumn and will cover incidents both deliberate and accidental which are deemed to be brutal in nature. The change in approach comes as a result of a March high court ruling in which a sports player was found guilty of causing injury to another player. Although the player was not punished, the court stated that the defendant bore criminal responsibility for the incident. Police have rejected charges that police intervention may affect the viability of contact sports such as boxing, stating that oversight and liability are a legitimate way to tackle egregious behaviour.

Institute for the Protection of Private Data finds hotel camera system broke the law

The governmental agency for the protection of private data has ruled that a camera system used in the Prague Savoy hotel was misused. Specifically, the case relates to a meeting between a Social Democrat lobbyist and Jiří Weigl, head of the office of the Czech president, which took place at the Savoy and was captured on its cameras. A recording of the meeting was made public around the time of the presidential elections leading to speculation that President Klaus was attempting to illicitly gain votes from some Social Democrat MPs – while the party officially supported opposition candidate Jan Švejnar. How the video recordings of the meeting were leaked to the media is still being investigated, but at present, the agency investigating the incident has found the hotel to be involved in excessive surveillance of its customers, storing surveillance recordings and not informing guests that they are being monitored. The hotel has denied the charges stating that recordings are made for the safety of its guests.

Amnesty International stages mock meeting of dictators in Prague

The human rights group Amnesty International, along with several other groups has staged a mock summit of several of the world’s worst dictators in Prague. The protest, in which images representing the Late Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, former Marxist Ethiopian leader Mengistu Haile Mariam and Charles Taylor from Liberia sat at a coffee table was undertaken to highlight the fact that the Czech Republic remains the only EU country which has not joined the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The ruling Civic Democrats as well as the Communist Party have resisted efforts to join the institution. A three-fifths majority would be required in both houses of parliament for the Czech Republic to ratify its membership of the ICC.

Finance ministry ups economic growth forecast

The Czech finance ministry has released a new forecast for the Czech economy which predicts that the country will continue to achieve strong levels of growth. The new prediction of 4.9% growth is up by 0.2% from previous predictions. In 2009, the ministry forecast growth of around 5.1%. However, inflation, which remains a key concern across the world, is expected to remain high at 6.5%, a considerably higher figure than the 2.8% rate of last year. Unemployment is also predicted to fall slightly to 4.2% with a rate of 3.6% predicted for 2009.

Senate expected to approve pension increase

The Czech senate is widely expected to approve a 465 crown increase in pensions from August this week. The move comes as a response to rising inflation levels in the Czech Republic. Extraordinary pension increases are allowed by law if inflation exceeds 10 percent. However, in this case, special legislation has been drafted to allow an increase if inflation exceeds only five percent.

72 year-old Czech woman charged with murder with a cooking utensil

A 72 year-old Czech woman from the town of Třinec has been charged with the murder of her ex-husband. The alleged murder weapon: a common cooking pot - which the woman is suspected of using to beat her ex husband to death with. The former couple had been divorced for ten years, although significant issues still reportedly existed between them. The woman has confessed to the murder, stating that her ex arrived at her home drunk and was determined to have an argument with his former spouse. The woman faces up to ten years in jail.

Weather:

It will be warm and cloudy today, with more sunshine and warmer temperatures of around 16 degrees Celsius expected tomorrow.