Unjust justice? Or "Czech justice and its controversial cases"

On May 27, 2026, another of the most watched seminars on the topic of "justice" in our country took place in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. This time under the title "Justice? Czech justice and its controversial cases". It was organized by the Šalamoun Society under the auspices of the Constitutional and Legal Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The hall was filled to capacity, lectures not only by legislators, but also by foreign participants. Description of sky-high cases, when even foreign participants were amazed. From personal experience, I can tell you how this seminar differed from the one held on September 7, 2020 at the same place, with an equally packed hall. At the time, it was called "Justice and Law Enforcement: Do We Live in a Rule of Law?" and it was organized by the Alena Vitásková Institute (protection of human rights and freedoms) with the support of the SPD and the participation of representatives of a number of associations dealing with this matter. In 2020, the seminar was supported by the President of the Republic, Miloš Zeman, and he sent a greeting, which is part of the "Collection of Contributions", and at the beginning of the seminar this greeting was delivered by the then chairman of the SPD, Tomio Okamura. This year, at about the same time, the toast of the President of the Republic, Petr Pavel, went to the convention of Sudeten Germans in Brno. As you can see, each of the presidents had and has different priorities.

In 2020, a number of invited MPs did not show up, including the then Minister of Justice Maria Benešová, who apologized: "she had a lot of work". Subsequently, representatives of associations incl. Deputy Kobza (SPD) arranged a meeting with her at the Ministry of Justice. Several presidents of associations and legislators arrived at the ministry on the appointed day exactly at the appointed hour. They were prepared for the meeting with the Minister of Justice. It was not only representatives of associations from Prague, some traveled for several hours and sacrificed their vacations to do so. However, Minister Marie Benešová also apologized this time that she did not have time, that she had to go to the government. One should either speak well of the dead or be silent. So I will be silent. A number of politicians and legislators spoke at the seminar last week. The Minister of Justice, Jaromír Tejc, also made time, who undoubtedly pleased those present and the general public with his determination to improve the state of justice, law enforcement and justice for all. I believe that he will undertake this very demanding task and will thus be considered one of the few, if not the only one, who will achieve a partial remedy and restore citizens' trust in the rule of law. The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura, who has been fighting for the enforcement of law and justice for the entire time I have been following this area, had a courageous speech this time as well. I was no less impressed by the speech of Deputy Minister of Justice Zdeňko Koudelka, who also spoke at the seminar in 2020. I think he can evaluate for himself that during that time nothing to be corrected has happened in this area. Here, too, I firmly believe that, as the deputy minister responsible for legislation, he will advocate for correction. An interesting speech was given by Renata Vesecká, MP and chairwoman of the Constitutional and Legal Committee of the PČR. In conclusion, she did not fail to mention that the compensation of citizens harmed by the state - that is, for example, by illegal criminal proceedings - must be corrected. PS vice-chairman Radek Vondráček surprised me with his speech, namely his support for the Šalamoun Association, when he admitted that he too had to repeatedly ask this association for cooperation when, in the past, as the chairman of the committee, some citizens turned to him for help. It was pleasant to hear from the mouth of the legislator how highly he values ​​the professional qualities and perseverance of the Solomon Society.

Why do I pay more attention to the output of politicians than to those who have described in many cases the failure of justice, ruined lives and catastrophic shortcomings in legislation? Why don't I, for example, extract from the speech of Mr. Zdenko Koudelka his comparison of the failure of justice in the case of Robert Temple, who unjustly served twenty years in prison before he was acquitted and released on the basis of an international court? The deputy's polemic that he received a total of about 20 million CZK in compensation and that he will not evaluate whether it is a lot or a little. As far as I know, Mr. Templ demanded only 90 million CZK, he received a shameful 20 million CZK. In my view of Mr. Temple's ruined life, and I note that he is not alone in not getting a fair trial, the ninety million seems to me to be the bare minimum and he should have gotten what he asked for. No one takes into account that those who ruined his life with their sloppiness, arrogance of power, or unwillingness to deal with the case, continue to live mostly on taxpayers' money above the average income of ordinary citizens. Nothing happened to them at all! Among the cases, a whole series of "strange" convicts who are repeatedly waiting for the renewal of the process, or for the pardon of the president of the republic, which they do not receive - I mention the case of Kramný, Bouček, Straňák, Šimon, Fabián and many others. When the recovery system fails for a long time, as the seminar speakers stated, the president can intervene. At the same time, it is one of the supreme powers of the president to use this institution of "grace". Here it is necessary to recall the actions of our president Václav Havel, who surpassed all his successors in the field of granting pardons. In connection with the last seminar and the large participation of the legislators, I firmly believe that it is the legislators who have finally realized that they are fully responsible for the state of justice. That enforceability of law and justice is the basis of democracy. That judges cannot complete unclear laws with their judgments and judge according to their opinion, not the laws. That they too - the judiciary - must bear full responsibility for their actions, and their responsibility must be enshrined in laws. That the state must be responsible for properly compensating citizens and their families for illegal criminal prosecutions, for illegal official procedure. In no way do I want to imply the independence of the judiciary, it must remain independent. But the laws must be fundamentally changed to protect citizens against the will of so-called independents.

Ing. Alena Vitásková

Writer and publicist

In Prague on June 7, 2026