Proposal for abolishment of law on totalitarian regimes institute put forward

The Czech Constitutional Court has received a proposal to abrogate a law which allowed the recent establishment of the Czech Republic’s Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes. The proposal put forward on Thursday was signed by 57 opposition deputies from the Social Democratic as well as Communist Parties. The recently-founded institute is to study the periods of Nazism and communism in Czech history. From the start its establishment has strongly been opposed by left-of-centre politicians, who have argued it will be a waste of funds and say it could make it possible to politically influence the interpretation of history. It is unclear how soon the Constitutional Court might rule on the proposal.

Last week historian Pavel Zacek was elected the institute's first head; he will formally assume his new post on January 1.