News

The Czech Republic came one step closer to recognising the International Criminal Court on Wednesday, when Senators voted to acknowledge the treaty on which the court was founded. The Czech Republic is the only EU state not to recognise the international court, which handles serious crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ruling Civic Democrats, who have a majority in the Senate, previously blocked approval of the treaty that gave rise to the International Criminal Court. But critics such as Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg argued that continued opposition was undermining the Czech Republic’s international reputation. On Wednesday, Senators voted 60 to 10 to recognise the 1998 treaty. The proposal will now return to the lower house for a second vote.

Two Czech bug hunters arrested in India for poaching have maintained their innocence and called to be released. Emil Kučera and Petr Švácha are currently being detained in Darjeeling, awaiting their trial which is set to take place on July 21. The Indian press has suggested that the Czechs could belong to an international network of butterfly smugglers. If found guilty of poaching from the Singalila National Park, the pair could face up to seven years in prison. In a phone call to their colleague from the Czech Entomologists’ Association, Messrs Kučera and Švácha insisted that they were innocent.

Also on Thursday, the Czech Senate approved a new animal rights bill which restricts livestock transportation and outlaws the use of live animals for the purpose of training hunting dogs. The bill was presented to the Senate by Agriculture Minister Petr Gandalovič, who said that it introduced a number of ‘significant changes that improve the treatment of animals’. Livestock must now be transported for no longer than eight hours in total. Fines will be imposed for those who not only maltreat animals, but also fail to prevent the maltreatment of animals. The bill was previously rejected by the Senate, whose members were unhappy with the clause banning the use of live animals when training hunting dogs. But the Agriculture Minister revised the bill slightly, and on its second reading, it passed.

Prime Minister Topolánek has said further investigation into Deputy Prime Minister Jiří Čunek’s personal finances is meaningless. The prime minister was referring to the incomplete audit performed by the US investigation agency Kroll at the request of Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. The audit was meant to exonerate Mr. Čunek but although it ruled out that he had taken a bribe it could not rule out other financial irregularities in his personal finances. While Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg wants to continue with the investigation the prime minister argued that drawing-out the painful Čunek saga and covering the same ground repeatedly was meaningless.