3. 10. 2005
RSS backend
PDA verze
Čtěte Britské listy speciálně upravené pro vaše mobilní telefony a PDA
Reklama
Reklama
Celé vydání
Archiv vydání
Původní archiv

Autoři

Vzkaz redakci

OSBL
Tiráž

Britské listy

http://www.blisty.cz/
ISSN 1213-1792

Šéfredaktor:

Jan Čulík

Redaktor:

Karel Dolejší

Správa:

Michal Panoch, Jan Panoch

Grafický návrh:

Štěpán Kotrba

ISSN 1213-1792
deník o všem, o čem se v České republice příliš nemluví
3. 10. 2005

Czech judiciary seen as corrupt from abroad

"Whatever you do in the Czech Republic, never get entangled with the local judiciary," a top British businessman operating in the Czech Republic warned his colleagues at a recent Czech Business Day in Glasgow, Scotland.

He knew what he was talking about. The questionable behavior of some members of the Czech judiciary has reached scandalous proportions, as the following case indicates.

After the collapse of Russia's research institutions, Vladimir Maksimov, a nuclear scientist, was forced to look for new work. In March 1999, he leased the Elwa Spa in Karlovy Vary, took over its 25 employees and reconstructed the building. Maksimov's investment was worthwhile, he said, because he had signed an 11-year lease.

However, after the property had been remodeled, the Elwa's owners, a local company called Elwa Spa, thought differently. The company told Maksimov that he had in fact signed a lease not for 11 years, but for 10 months.

Maksimov protested and demanded compensation for the unexpected, premature termination of the contract. In response, Elwa Spa accused Maksimov and his colleague, Svetlana Voitkova, of forgery, claiming the pair had changed the original 10-month contract. The Karlovy Vary Police and judiciary launched criminal proceedings against Maksimov and Voitkova.

The prosecutor argued that the 10-month lease had been officially verified by a local notary in Kladno. However, the defence council showed by concrete examples that this particular notary's office would gladly turn any unverified papers into "legal documents." The defense also discovered a number of serious inconsistencies regarding dates, copies and signatures, indicating that various Czech legal authorities had committed or at the least condoned forgery.

When the case came before the Karlovy Vary District Court, the judge sided with the subjective, unsubstantiated and contradictory testimonies of the witnesses for the prosecution, although they were all individuals connected with the interests of the Elva Spa company.

Only a few days ago the court reluctantly found Maksimov and Voitkova innocent. Nevertheless, the judge said in her concluding speech that she was "75 percent convinced the accused were guilty."

For Maksimov there is no question of compensation for the unexpectedly terminated contract, and for the money he put into the Spa before it was yanked away from him.

It is extremely worrying that the judiciary in Karlovy Vary will evidently ignore evidence and persecute an obvious victim of a local conspiracy.

Cases like that of Maksimov and Voitkova may become more frequent. The Czech Parliament is planning to introduce a "Crown witness" system into Czech criminal proceedings. A Crown witness law would allow the discontinuation of an individual's prosecution if he or she discloses information that could contribute significantly to the detection of a serious crime.

Surely reliance on testimony by witnesses who can --- and will --- be pressured, rather than on incontrovertible documentary evidence, will lead to many more miscarriages of justice. The planned introduction of Crown witnesses seems an ominous throwback to Stalinism. During Stalin's show-trials people were found guilty on the basis of testimonies made by personal witnesses and "confessions" --- objective evidence wasn't used.

Originally published in Czech Business Weekly HERE

                 
Obsah vydání       3. 10. 2005
2. 10. 2005 Vladko dělá pro gaye v ČR víc než Jiří Hromada Fabiano  Golgo
3. 10. 2005 Bolest Antonín  Sova
3. 10. 2005 Na slepé víře program spravedlivé společnosti budovat nelze Michael  Kroh
3. 10. 2005 Smutný konec samce Alfa Ladislav  Žák
3. 10. 2005 Zvyšování platů ve zdravotnictví - problém nesystému Ivan  David
3. 10. 2005 Účelem zdravotnictví nikdy nebylo vydělávat peníze Petr  Wagner
3. 10. 2005 Czech judiciary seen as corrupt from abroad Jan  Čulík
3. 10. 2005 Sir David Frost bude pracovat v televizi Al Džazíra
3. 10. 2005 Internetové stránky BBC Action Network dostaly cenu za demokracii
3. 10. 2005 Michael  Marčák
3. 10. 2005 Soumrak individuální automobilové dopravy Jiří  Jírovec
31. 10. 2005
3. 10. 2005 Pár slov o obsahu a formě Evropské unie Egon T. Lánský
30. 9. 2005 Ptačí chřipka "usmrtí až 150 milionů lidí"
3. 10. 2005 Den troubení, den soudu Štěpán  Kotrba
3. 10. 2005 Sin City je nadsázka
3. 10. 2005 Sin City je nadsázka ničeho Jan  Paul
3. 10. 2005 Proč o nás nikdo neví - a nestojí Jan  Čulík
3. 10. 2005 Proč "o nás nikdo nic neví"? Jiřina  Fuchsová
3. 10. 2005 Eurohodina sem, česká hodina tam Michal  Vimmer
3. 10. 2005 Je lepší výstavbu mešit podpořit, než jí bránit. Ale co odluka státu od církví? Lucie  Doleželová
3. 10. 2005 "Šátkový zákon": rok poté Simone  Radačičová
3. 10. 2005 Chvála braku II aneb Definice braku Milan  Černý
2. 10. 2005 Václav Klaus a jeho boj proti intelektuálům Jiří  Staněk
30. 9. 2005 Zelení zvolení a VyVolení Milan  Daniel
30. 9. 2005 O nesmrtelné duši? Alex  Koenigsmark
29. 9. 2005 Sin City: alibistická oslava zvrácenosti Ján  Simkanič
3. 9. 2005 Hospodaření OSBL za srpen 2005
22. 11. 2003 Adresy redakce

Czech Politics: Jan Čulík's comment in Czech Business Weekly RSS 2.0      Historie >
3. 10. 2005 Czech judiciary seen as corrupt from abroad Jan  Čulík
12. 9. 2005 No justification for soaring oil prices Jan  Čulík
22. 8. 2005 Mapping the limits of democracy Jan  Čulík
1. 8. 2005 Media must not give to stereotypes Jan  Čulík
18. 7. 2005 Media mistakes may just be growing pains Jan  Čulík
20. 6. 2005 The unexamined life is not worth watching Jan  Čulík
9. 5. 2005 Capitalist lapses, Communist lures Jan  Čulík
25. 4. 2005 Secretive politicians vanquish a media foe Jan  Čulík
4. 4. 2005 The democratic deficit in Czech politics Jan  Čulík
21. 3. 2005 Free speech is ours, but don't dare use it Jan  Čulík
28. 2. 2005 Poor education leads to workplace problems Jan  Čulík
21. 2. 2005 Grossgate revisited:the conspiracy theory Jan  Čulík
7. 2. 2005 Why I don't trust some newspapers Jan  Čulík
24. 1. 2005 The Greatest Czech? Jan  Čulík
10. 1. 2005 Compassion begins at the border Jan  Čulík