The Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, today expressed publicly his concerns concerning the Government of the Czech Republic’s proposed changes to laws concerning the judicial system.
The Special Rapporteur said draft amendments to the Act on Courts and Judges “appear to confer extensive powers on the Minister of Justice over the judiciary and in particular regarding appointments, the exercise of judicial functions, the evaluation of the performance of judges and the removal of judges".
According to Mr. Cumaraswamy, "These amendments may be seen as being inconsistent with and in violation of the principles of judicial independence contained in regional and international instruments such as the Council of Europe Standards and United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary".
The Special Rapporteur wrote on 2 March 2001 to the Government expressing his concerns regarding the proposed amendments. Mr. Cumaraswamy also offered to meet with a delegation from the Government of the Czech Republic during the current session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva to discuss his concerns. He has since learned that the Bill providing for the proposed amendments is scheduled for the first reading in Parliament in early April 2001, he added.
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