President Pavel grants first pardons and vetoes law for the first time

In 2024, President Petr Pavel completed his first full year in office, making key decisions including granting four pardons and issuing his first legislative veto. He awarded 56 state honors on October 28, six fewer than the previous year, and oversaw personnel changes in the Constitutional Court. Pavel's pardons, issued in July, benefited two mothers with young children, a long-term foreign resident, and a Czech convicted abroad for drug smuggling. In September, he vetoed a bill removing lay judges from certain court panels, though Parliament overruled him. Pavel also approved the 2025 state budget despite reservations.