Court reopens Walderode restitution case

The District Court in Semily has resumed hearings in the Walderode restitution dispute. The noble family has unsuccessfully sought the return of Hrubý Rohozec chateau and other properties, confiscated after World War II under the Beneš decrees, for over 30 years now. Late last year, the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic upheld a complaint by Johanna Kammerlander, widow of Karel des Fours Walderode, citing a violation of her right to judicial protection. Karl Des Fours Walderode filed for restitution of land and property in 1992 on the grounds that he had regained Czechoslovak citizenship, but died in 2000. At former hearings the certificate stating that he had regained Czechoslovak citizenship in 1947 was not recognized.