Declares
Unabridged text of Public Prosecutor’s Office Act No. 283/1993 Coll. ,
as amended by Act No. 261/1994 Coll.,
Act No. 201/1997Coll., Act No. 169/1999 Coll., Act No. 11/2001 Coll.
and Act No. 14/2002 Coll.
Public Prosecutor’s Office
Act
The Parliament has adopted this Act of the Czech Republic as follows:
GENERAL PROVISIONS
1) The public prosecutor’s office has been established as a system of state authorities determined to represent the state in public interest protection in cases entrusted by law in the public prosecutor’s office jurisdiction.
2) This Act regulates the status, jurisdiction, internal relations, organization and administration of the public prosecutor’s office; further this Act namely regulates the status of public prosecutors as persons by whom the public prosecutor’s office performs its competence, position of interns and the Ministry of Justice jurisdiction.
1) In performance of its competence the public prosecutor’s office is obliged to use means provided by law.
2) In performance of its competence the public prosecutor’s office always cares for quick and effective proceeding according to law; it performs its competence impartially, while respecting and protecting human dignity, equality of all before law and cares for protection of human rights and liberties.
1) Solely public prosecutors dispose of cases entrusted in jurisdiction of the public prosecutor’s office; other authorities or persons may not interfere with their powers or replace or represent them in their performance.
2) A superior public prosecutor’s office is authorized by law to interfere with disposal of cases in jurisdiction of an inferior public prosecutor’s office only in a method and scope stipulated hereby.
PUBLIC PROSECUTOR´ S OFFICE JURISDICTION
Section 4
1) In the scope, under conditions and in a method stipulated by law the public prosecutor’s office is:
a) The body of public action in criminal proceedings and performs other duties resulting from the Criminal Procedure Code;
b) Performs supervision of observing legal regulations at places of serving custody, imprisonment, protective in-patient treatment, protective or institutional training, and at other places, where personal freedom is restricted by legal power;
c) Acts in other than criminal proceedings.
2) According to its jurisdiction stipulated by law the public prosecutor’s office participates in crime prevention and providing aid for victims of crimes.
Cancelled
1) The public prosecutor’s office is authorized to file a motion for opening civil proceedings or enter civil proceedings already opened only in cases stipulated by law.
2) The Civil Procedure Code regulates the procedural status, powers and duties of the public prosecutor’s office that has filed a motion for opening civil proceedings or entered such proceedings.
SYSTEM OF PUBLIC PROSECUTOR´ S OFFICE
Section 6
1) The system of the public prosecutor’s office consists of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, high public prosecutor’s offices, regional public prosecutor’s offices and district public prosecutor’s offices; at the status of state emergency also higher and lower martial public prosecutor’s offices.
2) In the municipality of the capital of Prague the regional public prosecutor’s office’s jurisdiction is exercised by the City Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague and district public prosecutor’s offices´ jurisdiction is performed by district public prosecutor’s offices. In the municipality of Brno the district public prosecutor’s office’s jurisdiction is performed by the City Public Prosecutor’s Office in Brno.
3) The Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, high public prosecutor’s offices, and regional public prosecutor’s offices are accounting units.
1) The seats of public prosecutor’s offices and their territorial jurisdictions are the same as the seats and jurisdictions of the courts.
2) The public prosecutor’s office is competent to represent the state at the court of jurisdiction of this public prosecutor’s office, unless specified otherwise by a special legal regulation.
Section 8
1) The chief public prosecutors are the following persons:
a) The Supreme Public Prosecutor being the head of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office;
b) High public prosecutors, being the heads of high public prosecutors´ offices;
c) Regional public prosecutors, being the heads of regional public prosecutors´ offices, and the City Public Prosecutor, being the head of the City Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague (hereinafter referred to as “regional public prosecutors”);
d) District public prosecutors, being the heads of district public prosecutor’s offices, district public prosecutors, being the heads of district public prosecutor’s offices in Prague and the City Public Prosecutor, being the head of the City Public Prosecutor’s Office in Brno (hereinafter referred to as “district public prosecutors”).
2) The chief public prosecutor is represented by his/her deputy or deputies in order and scope determined by him/her.
3) The chief public prosecutor determines the internal organization of the public prosecutor’s office at the head of which he/she is and divides the public prosecutor’s office’s administration duties among public prosecutors; at the same time he/she ensures public prosecutors´ specialization by special legal regulations.
1) The Government appoints the Supreme Public Prosecutor at the proposal of the Minister of Justice.
2) The Government may remove the Supreme Public Prosecutor from office at the proposal of the Minister of Justice.
3) The Minister of Justice may appoint and remove the Supreme Public Prosecutor deputies at the proposal of the Supreme Public Prosecutor.
1) The Minister of Justice appoints high public prosecutors at the proposal of the Supreme Public Prosecutor.
2) The Minister of Justice appoints regional public prosecutors at the proposal of the high public prosecutor being the head of the high public prosecutor’s office, in jurisdiction of which the regional public prosecutor is to be appointed.
3) The Minister of Justice appoints district public prosecutors at the proposal of the regional public prosecutor being the head of the regional public prosecutor’s office, in jurisdiction of which the district public prosecutor is to be appointed.
4) The Minister of Justice may remove a high public prosecutor, regional public prosecutor and district public prosecutor from office, in case they seriously breach duties resulting from execution of the public prosecutor’s competence; if it is not a removal for breach of duties within the public prosecutor’s office state administration performance (hereinafter referred to as “the public prosecutor’s office administration”), he/she does so at the proposal of the chief public prosecutor, who by Paragraphs 1 to 3 is competent to propose the appointment to the office from which the public prosecutor is to be removed.
5) The Minister of Justice may also appoint or remove a regional or district public prosecutor at the proposal of the Supreme Public Prosecutor.
6) The Minister of Justice appoints or removes deputies of high public prosecutors, regional public prosecutors and district public prosecutors at the proposal of the public prosecutor whose deputy is to be appointed or removed.
1) The chief public prosecutor or the chief public prosecutor deputy may resign from his/her office by a written notice to the person having appointed him/her to this office. The chief public prosecutor’s position or chief public prosecutor deputy’s position cease after expiration of the calendar month following the month in which the notice of resignation was served.
2) The chief public prosecutor’s position or chief public prosecutor deputy’s position cease on the day in which their public prosecutor’s position ceased.
3) Resignation from the chief public prosecutor’s position or chief public prosecutor deputy’s position or removal from such positions does not result in cessation of the public prosecutor’s position.
1) In the scope stipulated by the law the Supreme Public Prosecutor is superior to high public prosecutors, the high public prosecutor is superior to regional public prosecutors in the high public prosecutor’s office jurisdiction and the regional public prosecutor to district public prosecutors in the regional public prosecutor’s office jurisdiction.
2) In the scope stipulated by the law the chief public prosecutor is superior to public prosecutors acting with the public prosecutor’s office, the head of which the chief public prosecutor is.
Powers of the Supreme Public Prosecutor
1) To unify and regulate procedures of public prosecutors in performing competence of the public prosecutor’s office or ensure the unified internal organization of the public prosecutor’s office and unified exercising the file service the Supreme Public Prosecutor may issue instructions of general nature; these instructions are binding for public prosecutors, and providing the Supreme Public Prosecutor determines so, also for other employees of the public prosecutor’s office.
2) The Supreme Public Prosecutor may provide opinions for the public prosecutor’s offices to unify interpretation of laws and other legal regulations in performing competence of the public prosecutor’s office.
3) The Supreme Public Prosecutor may order the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office or a public prosecutor’s office authorized by the Supreme Public Prosecutor to check the finished cases the competent public prosecutor’s office has dealt with and impose remedial measures in case of deviation.
4) If in connection with performing competence of the public prosecutor’s office the Supreme Public Prosecutor obtains facts of disunity in decisions of courts, he/she is competent to propose the President of the Supreme Court to suggest the Supreme Court to adopt an opinion of the interpretation of law or another legal regulation.
5) The Supreme Public Prosecutor authorizes public prosecutors acting with a concrete public prosecutor’s office to perform supervision at places where personal freedom is restricted [Section 4 Paragraph 1 Letter b)]; he/she is also competent to authorize public prosecutors of the immediately superior public prosecutor’s office to supervise this case.
6) The Supreme Public Prosecutor’s competence is to perform further powers related to the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s duties by this Act or special legal regulations.
7) Within six months of a calendar year at the latest the Supreme Public Prosecutor submits through the Ministry of Justice a report of the public prosecutor’s office’s activity for the previous calendar year to the Government.
Relations in the Public Prosecutor’s Office System
Section 12a
1) Disputes of jurisdiction among public prosecutor’s offices are settled by the public prosecutor’s office that is immediately superior to the concerned public prosecutor’s offices.
2) The immediately superior public prosecutor’s office decides on removal and transfer of a case to a different inferior public prosecutor’s office, in case the chief public prosecutor of the concerned inferior public prosecutor’s office is excluded from considering the case by legislation regulating the proceedings, unless specified otherwise hereunder.
3) The immediately superior public prosecutor’s office decides on remedial measures filed against a decision of the immediately inferior public prosecutor’s office in its jurisdiction, unless specified otherwise by this Act or a special legal regulation.
4) In cases of excluding the chief public prosecutor of the public prosecutor’s office supervising the case or deciding on remedial measures the procedure follows Paragraph 2 accordingly. The public prosecutor’s office having been referred to in the case for the reason mentioned in the first sentence supervises the case or decides on remedial measures instead of the public prosecutor’s office the case was removed from.
5) Removal or transfer of a case and remedial measures are decided by a resolution, against which no complaint is admissible, unless specified otherwise by a special legal regulation governing the proceedings.
Section 12b
1) Acts that could be performed by the competent public prosecutor’s office with difficulties or immoderate expenses or cannot be performed in its jurisdiction shall be performed by another public prosecutor’s office upon request.
2) In case the requested public prosecutor’s office cannot perform the act in its jurisdiction, it shall transfer the request to the public prosecutor’s office in whose jurisdiction such act can be performed, of which fact it is aware of; otherwise it returns the request.
3) The Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office may give request to the regional public prosecutor’s office with jurisdiction according to the child’s residential address1) in investigation of a motion for the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s proposal for denial of paternity.
Supervision
Section 12c
Supervision is performance of powers specified hereunder to guarantee operation and control relations between different instances of public prosecutor’s offices and inside the individual public prosecutor’s offices in performing competence of the public prosecutor’s office.
Section 12d
1) The immediately superior public prosecutor’s office is competent to perform supervision of procedures of immediately inferior public prosecutor’s offices in its jurisdiction in disposing of cases in their jurisdiction and issue written instructions for their procedures. It may also unify the immediately inferior public prosecutor’s offices´ procedures by instructions relating to more cases of a concrete kind.
2) The immediately inferior public prosecutor’s office is obliged to follow written instructions by Paragraph 1, excluding instructions in violation of law in a concrete case. If for such reason the immediately inferior public prosecutor’s office refuses to perform the instruction, it shall notify the immediately superior public prosecutor’s office of reasons for such refusal in writing without undue delay; providing the immediately superior public prosecutor’s office insists on its instruction and does not apply another procedure, it shall remove the case from the immediately inferior public prosecutor’s office and dispose of it itself.
3) The immediately superior public prosecutor’s office may remove a case from the immediately inferior public prosecutor’s office and dispose of it itself also in the case of passivity of the immediately inferior public prosecutor’s office or unjustifiable delay in its procedure.
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1) Sections 62 and 62a of Family Act
Section 12e
1) The chief public prosecutor is competent to supervise the procedure of public prosecutors acting with the public prosecutor’s office the head of which the chief public prosecutor is and instruct them on procedure in disposing of cases in this public prosecutor’s office jurisdiction. It may also unify the public prosecutors´ procedures by instructions relating to more cases of a concrete kind. The chief public prosecutor may authorize another public prosecutor with performance of such powers or any of them.
2) Public prosecutors are obliged to follow instructions of the chief public prosecutor or a public prosecutor authorized by him/her, excluding instructions in violation of law in a concrete case. Providing the instruction was issued orally, the public prosecutor having issued such instruction shall confirm it in writing upon the request of the public prosecutor to be the addressee of the instruction.
3) If the public prosecutor refuses to fulfill the instruction for the reason by Paragraph 2, he/she shall immediately notify the public prosecutor that has issued such instruction of reasons for the refusal in writing. If the public prosecutor insists on the instruction, he/she shall immediately submit the case with his/her opinion to the chief public prosecutor. The chief public prosecutor is competent to cancel the instruction; unless he/she does so, the public prosecutor that has issued such instruction shall dispose of the case. If the chief public prosecutor issued the instruction, he/she shall dispose of the case himself/herself.
4) In a trial the public prosecutor is not bound by the instruction of the chief public prosecutor or the public prosecutor authorized by him/her providing that in the course of the trial the evidentiary situation has changed.
Section 12f
1) The public prosecutor authorized instead of the immediately superior public prosecutor’s office and the chief public prosecutor (Section 12 Paragraph 5) exercises powers resulting from supervision performance towards the public prosecutor competent to perform supervision at places where personal freedom is restricted [Section 4 Paragraph 1 Letter b)].
2) If the public prosecutor competent to perform supervision at places where personal freedom is restricted refuses to fulfill the instruction of the public prosecutor supervising the case by Paragraph 1 for the reason that the instruction is violating the law, the public prosecutor performing supervision shall dispose of the case himself/herself providing he/she insists on his/her instruction.
Providing Information
Section 12g
1) Public prosecutor’s offices mutually provide information needed to perform their duties. The information for this purpose means data of a public prosecutor’s office’s procedure in performance of its competence in a concrete case and data found by the public prosecutor’s office in this connection. The right to require information is not connected with the right to interfere anyhow with the procedure in the case for which the information is needed, unless it is supervision performance at the same time.
2) In its competence the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office is authorized to require a special report from any public prosecutor’s office on public prosecutors´ procedure in performance of the public prosecutor’s office competence, or impose on this public prosecutor’s office to proceed accordingly towards the immediately inferior public prosecutor’s offices in its jurisdiction. This does not affect powers of high and regional public prosecutor’s offices towards the immediately inferior public prosecutor’s offices in performing supervision.
Section 12h
1) In ensuring powers and duties execution of the Supreme Public Prosecutor the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office may anytime carry out necessary findings with any inferior public prosecutor’s office, which is obliged to provide necessary cooperation at its request. At the same time it may namely require submitting files maintained with inferior public prosecutor’s offices, consult them, make their copies and extracts and require information and necessary explanations. If it is different than a high public prosecutor’s office, the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office is not competent to interfere with disposal of a case not closed upon a final judgment.
2) Unless the chief public prosecutor or the public prosecutor from the competent public prosecutor’s office authorized by him/her attended the finding directly, the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office shall notify the competent chief public prosecutor of the results of finding. For a high public prosecutor’s office the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office shall use results of finding within the supervision.
Section 12i
Personal Data Processing
by the Public Prosecutor’s Office
1) Within its jurisdiction specified by law the public prosecutor’s office is competent to process personal data including sensitive data (hereinafter referred to as “personal data”.2) For purposes of investigative, prosecuting and adjudicating bodies the public prosecutor’s office is competent to keep central records of prosecuted persons containing personal data related to persons criminal proceeding is conducted against, injured persons, eventually other persons involved in criminal proceedings, next data on crimes to have been or be committed, and data closely related thereto.
2) In the course of personal data processing by Paragraph 1 the public prosecutor’s office proceeds by a special legal regulation3), except the case when:
a) In this activity the public prosecutor’s office is authorized to gather personal data obtained for different purposes;
b) Handing personal data over to other countries within cooperation in criminal cases carried out on the basis of the declared international agreement the Czech Republic is bound by does not need a prior consent of the Personal Data Protection Office.
PART FOUR
COMPETENCE
OF MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
AND PUBLIC PROSECUTOR´ S OFFICE ADMINISTRATION
Section 13
1) The Minister of Justice may anytime ask any public prosecutor’s office to provide information on the proceeding state of each case the public prosecutor’s office is engaged in, if such information is needed to fulfill objectives of the Ministry of Justice (hereinafter referred to as “the Ministry”) or if the Minister of Justice needs such information as a member of the Government.
2) Through the competent chief public prosecutor the Ministry may ask any public prosecutor’s office to process sources necessary to dispose of damage claimed for the reason of responsibility of the State for damage caused in public authority performance.4) Within consideration of the concerned claims the authorized employees of the Ministry are entitled to become acquainted with the contents of files and evidence tools kept with public prosecutor’s offices, as well as require copies and extracts from them.
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2) Section 4 Letters a) and b) of Personal Data Protection Act No. 101/2000 Coll., on amending some laws, as amended by Act No. 177/2001 Coll.
3) Act No. 101/2000 Coll.
4) Section 6 Paragraph 2 of Act No. 82/1998 Coll., on liability for damage caused in public authority performance by decision or undue official procedure and on amending Act No. 358/1993 on notaries and their activity (Code of Notarial Practice).
Public Prosecutor’s Office Administration
Section 13a
1) The duty of the public prosecutor’s office administration is to create conditions for due performance of its powers, namely in respect of personnel, organization, economy, finances and training, and to supervise due performance of duties entrusted in the public prosecutor’s office in a method and scope regulated hereunder.
2) The public prosecutor’s office administration performance may not obstruct performance of duties resulting from its powers.
Section 13b
1) The Ministry is the central body of the public prosecutor’s office administration.
2) The chief public prosecutors and their deputies are the public prosecutor’s office administration bodies; the public prosecutor’s office administration bodies act on behalf of the public prosecutor’s office in the scope of their performance of the public prosecutor’s office administration hereunder.
Section 13c
1) The Ministry performs the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office administration through the Supreme Public Prosecutor.
2) The Ministry performs high, regional and district public prosecutor’s offices administration directly or through the competent chief public prosecutors; the Ministry may also perform district public prosecutor’s offices administration through regional public prosecutor’s offices.
3) The chief public prosecutors perform the public prosecutor’s office administration in the scope specified hereunder.
4) The chief public prosecutors deputies perform the public prosecutor’s office administration in the scope determined by the competent chief public prosecutor; for district public prosecutor’s offices upon consideration with the regional public prosecutor.
5) While keeping their own responsibility the chief public prosecutors may authorize another public prosecutor or employee of the public prosecutor’s office, the head of which they are, to perform individual acts of the public prosecutor’s office administration.
6) The chief public prosecutors are responsible for administration of the public prosecutor’s offices the head of which they are to the Ministry; the regional public prosecutors are responsible for performance of district public prosecutor’s offices administration entrusted to them as well.
7) In the public prosecutor’s office administration performance the chief public prosecutors are superior to public prosecutors and other employees of the public prosecutor’s office the head of which they are; in the public prosecutor’s office administration performance regional public prosecutors are superior to district public prosecutors as well. In the public prosecutor’s offices administration performance the chief public prosecutors may issue measures binding for the subordinated.
Section 13d
1) The Ministry performs the public prosecutor’s office administration as follows:
a) Ensures public prosecutor’s offices operation in terms of organization, namely specifies numbers of public prosecutors, and professional and other employees of public prosecutor’s offices regarding the number of disposed cases; for the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office it specifies the numbers upon agreement with the Supreme Public Prosecutor;
b) Ensures public prosecutor’s offices operation in terms of personnel in a method hereunder;
c) Ensures public prosecutor’s offices operation in terms of finances and economy, namely by ensuring financial and material aspects of public prosecutor’s offices operation and audits the public prosecutor’s offices economy;
d) Within the approved budget it specifies the state budget finances chapters determined for the economy of the regional public prosecutor’s office and district public prosecutor’s offices in its jurisdiction minimally within the scope of division of binding indicators specified by the State Budget Act;
e) Organizes, operates and checks the public prosecutor’s office administration performed by the chief public prosecutors;
f) Settles complains filed hereunder (hereinafter referred to as “complaints”) against public prosecutor’s offices procedures;
g) Specifies methodology of selection of interns and runs their engagement with respect of methodology;
h) Operates and organizes interns´ training, it namely specifies numbers of interns for each regional public prosecutor’s office and decides on inclusion of their other legal activity period in their interns´ training;
i) Organizes and ensures professional final examinations of public prosecutors (hereinafter referred to as “the final examination”);
j) Organizes and runs professional training of public prosecutors and other employees of public prosecutor’s offices;
k) Monitors the public prosecutor’s offices operation;
l) Organizes, runs and checks performance of defensive and civil emergency planning, classified information protection, safety of persons and property, fire protection and duties of safety and protection of health at work (hereinafter referred to as “emergency management and safety duties”);
m) Coordinates and directs information technology use;
n) Performs further duties in the public prosecutor’s office administration resulting from legal regulations.
2) The Ministry monitors professional qualification of public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform positions with high, regional and district public prosecutor’s offices. For this purpose the Ministry;
a) Uses methodology in operating evaluation of professional qualification of public prosecutors by chief public prosecutors;
b) Monitors evaluation of professional qualification of public prosecutors and further evidence of their professional qualification.
3) The Ministry establishes the Council for Public Prosecutors´ Professional Qualification and ensures its activity in terms of organization, finance and material. The Ministry determines election terms of the Council’s members and substitutes out of public prosecutors.
Section 13e
1) The Supreme Public Prosecutor performs the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office administration as follows:
a) Ensures the operation of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office in terms of personnel and organization namely by participation in filling the positions of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office by public prosecutors, ensures their due filling by further professional and other employees and attends personnel matters of public prosecutors and other employees of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office;
b) Ensures the operation of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office in terms of economy, material and finances;
c) In accordance with powers stipulated hereunder the Supreme Public Prosecutor attends to proceeding continuousness with the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and supervises due duty performance by public prosecutors and other employees of this public prosecutor’s office;
d) Settles complaints;
e) Takes care of further professional training of public prosecutors and other employees of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office;
f) Ensures emergency management and safety duties of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office;
g) Ensures providing information by the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office pursuant to special legal regulations;4a)
h) Performs other duties, if stipulated so by this Act or by special legal regulations.
2) Through instructions of general character the Supreme Public Prosecutor issues exemplary organizational rules for the public prosecutor’s office and unifies and checks performance of public prosecutor’s offices´ file service.
3) The Supreme Public Prosecutor takes care of professional qualification of public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position for the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office. For such purpose the Supreme Public Prosecutor
a) Evaluates professional qualification of public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position for the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office (Sections 32a and 32b);
b) Files a motion for opening proceedings on the public prosecutor’s professional qualification by Section 32d;
c) Requires reports on results of professional training from the Judicial Academy, necessary to evaluate public prosecutors´ professional qualification by Letter a).
Section 13 f
2) The high public prosecutor performs the high public prosecutor’s office administration as follows:
a) Ensures its operation in terms of personnel and organization namely by filing motions for filling positions of the high public prosecutor’s office by public prosecutors, ensures its due filling by professional and other employees and attends personnel matters of public prosecutors and other employees of the high public prosecutor’s office;
b) Ensures the high public prosecutor’s office operation in terms of economy, material and finances;
c) In accordance with powers stipulated hereunder he/she attends to proceeding continuousness with the high public prosecutor’s office and supervises due duty performance by public prosecutors and other employees of this public prosecutor’s office;
d) Settles complaints;
e) Takes care of further professional training of public prosecutors and other employees of the high public prosecutor’s office;
f) Ensures emergency management and safety duties of the high public prosecutor’s office;
g) Ensures providing information by the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office pursuant to special legal regulations;4a)
h) Performs other duties if stipulated so by this Act or by special legal regulations.
2) The high public prosecutor checks the file service performance at the high public prosecutor’s office and regional public prosecutor’s offices in its jurisdiction.
3) The high public prosecutor takes care of professional qualification of public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position with the high public prosecutor’s office. For such purpose the high public prosecutor
a) Evaluates professional qualification of public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position with the high public prosecutor’s office (Sections 32a and 32b);
b) Files motions for opening proceedings on professional qualification of the public prosecutor by Section 32d;
c) Requires reports on results of professional training from the Judicial Academy necessary to evaluate professional qualification of public prosecutors by Letter a).
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4a) Section 16 of Act No. 106/1999 Coll., on Free Access to Information.
Section 13g
1) The regional public prosecutor performs the administration of the regional public prosecutor’s office and the district public prosecutor’s offices in its jurisdiction as follows:
a) Ensures their operation in terms of personnel and organization namely by filing motions for filling positions of the regional public prosecutor’s office and the district public prosecutor’s offices by public prosecutors, ensures their due filling by professional and other employees, attends personnel matters of public prosecutors and other employees of the regional public prosecutor’s office and in the scope specified by him/her also attends personnel matters of public prosecutors and other employees of the district public prosecutor’s offices;
b) Ensures the operation of the regional public prosecutor’s office and the district public prosecutor’s offices in terms of economy, material and finances;
c) Specifies the state budget finances determined by the state budget chapter administrator jointly for the regional public prosecutor’s office and the district public prosecutor’s offices´ economy minimally within the scope of division of binding indicators stipulated by the State Budget Act or the state budget chapter administrator;
d) For purposes of budget provisions and limit determination he/she performs the duties of the state budget chapter administrator towards the district public prosecutor’s offices;
e) In accordance with powers stipulated hereunder he/she attends to proceeding continuousness for the regional public prosecutor’s office and the district public prosecutor’s offices, supervises due duty performance by public prosecutors and other employees of these public prosecutor’s offices;
f) Settles complaints;
g) Takes care of further professional training of public prosecutors and other employees of the regional public prosecutor’s office and the district public prosecutor’s offices;
h) Considering the opinion of the Judicial Academy it ensures selection of interns and concludes contracts with the chosen candidates;
i) Runs and controls the interns´ training in the regional public prosecutor’s office jurisdiction and its performance;
j) Checks file service performance at the regional public prosecutor’s office and the district public prosecutor’s offices;
k) Ensures emergency management and safety duties for the regional public prosecutor’s office and the district public prosecutor’s offices;
l) Ensures providing information by the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office by special legal regulations;4a)
m) Operates and controls the state administration of the district public prosecutor’s offices performed by district public prosecutors;
n) Performs other duties if stipulated so by this Act or by special legal regulations.
The regional public prosecutor takes care of professional qualification of public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position for the regional public prosecutor’s office. For such purpose the regional public prosecutor:
Evaluates professional qualification of public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position for the regional public prosecutor’s office or the district public prosecutor’s office in his/her jurisdiction (Sections 32a and 32b);
Files a motion for opening proceedings on professional qualification of the public prosecutor by Section 32d;
Requires reports on results of professional training from the Judicial Academy necessary to evaluate professional qualification of public prosecutors by Letter a);
From district public prosecutors he/she requires opinions and other sources to evaluate professional qualification of public prosecutors of district public prosecutor’s offices by Letter a).
Section 13h
1) In accordance with instructions of the competent superior regional public prosecutor the district public prosecutor performs the district public prosecutor’s office administration as follows:
a) Participates in ensuring its operation in terms of personnel and organization, namely files a motion for due filling of the positions of the district public prosecutor’s office by public prosecutors and other employees and within the scope specified by the superior regional public prosecutor he/she attends personnel matters of public prosecutors and other employees of the district public prosecutor’s office;
b) Participates in ensuring the district public prosecutor’s office operation in terms of economy, material and finances;
c) Settles complaints;
d) Checks the file service performance for the district public prosecutor’s office;
e) Supervises the interns practice for its performance period at the district public prosecutor’s office;
f) Ensures providing information by the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office by special legal regulations;4a)
g) Performs other duties if stipulated so by this Act or by special legal regulations.
2) In accordance with powers stipulated hereunder the district public prosecutor attends to proceeding continuousness with the district public prosecutor’s office and supervises due duty performance by public prosecutors and other employees of this public prosecutor’s office.
3) The district public prosecutor monitors professional qualification of public prosecutors allocated or transferred to the district public prosecutor’s office. On the basis of the obtained facts he/she elaborates opinions and other sources for evaluation of their professional qualification.
Section 13i
Providing the competent state administration body finds out that the public prosecutor is guilty for breach of the public prosecutor’s duty or diminished trust in the public prosecutor’s office activity by his/her behavior or acts or degraded respect and dignity of the public prosecutor’s office, this body shall file a motion for opening disciplinary proceedings by a special legal regulation;5) accordingly the body shall file a motion for opening proceedings by a special legal regulation if the public prosecutor is not eligible to perform his/her office by Section 26 Paragraph 1.
Section 13j
In their competence the public prosecutor’s office administration bodies proceed in cooperation with the public prosecutors´ in-groups while they mainly consider:
a) Bills substantially concerning the public prosecutor’s office competence and its performance method;
b) Principal measures concerning the public prosecutor’s office organization, public prosecutor’s status and the public prosecutor’s office administration performance.
PART FIVE
LEGAL MEASURES
ENSURING THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE ACTIVITY
Section 14
1) Ministries and other state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, as well as authorities of professional and interest self-governance are obliged to lend files and documents to any public prosecutor’s office in performing its competence without delay. Within the scope of the public prosecutor’s office jurisdiction public prosecutors may consult the lent files and documents and make their copies and extracts.
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5) Act No. 7/2002 Coll., to regulate proceedings of matters of judges and public prosecutors.
2) Ministries and other state authorities, territorial self-government authorities, as well as authorities of professional and interest self-governance are obliged to suit requests of the public prosecutor’s office made in the scope of its jurisdiction and provide the office with necessary explanations without any delay. Providing a special legal regulation stipulates so, a consideration should be received for suiting the request. 5a)
3) Obligations by Paragraphs 1 and 2 relate to legal entities as well; they relate to individuals in the scope in which they are entrusted with the state administration performance by a special legal regulation or in which they perform their entrepreneurial activity.
4) Courts are obliged to allow the public prosecutor’s office to consult judicial files and make their copies and extracts in its competence performance. If in its competence the public prosecutor’s office asks the court to lend a file, the court may refuse its request only in case there are serious reasons to do so.
5) Provisions of Paragraphs 1 to 4 do not affect obligations resulting from special legal regulations on classified information protection, trade secret protection or protection of non-disclosure duty imposed or recognized by law. 5b) For purposes hereof a duty, the content of which is not specified by law, however resulting from a legal act made on the legal basis, is not considered a non-disclosure duty recognized by law.
Section 15
1) Unless specified otherwise by a special legal regulation, everybody is obliged to appear at the public prosecutor’s office upon summons and provide a necessary explanation there. This explanation content and course of this act shall be recorded.
2) The explanation may not be required on circumstances concerning classified information protected by a special legal regulation from a person obliged to keep it confidential or from a person, who would breach by such explanation another non-disclosure duty imposed or recognized by law, except the case when such person is relieved from such duties by a person authorized to do so by a special legal regulation.
3) A person may refuse to provide such explanation in case that he/she would expose himself/herself or a close person5c) to criminal the prosecutor’s office by such explanation. The public prosecutor is competent to examine justification of such refusal, if such procedure is not in the conflict with the purpose this explanation is required for.
4) A person that appears upon summons by Paragraph 1 is entitled to cost reimbursement under conditions and at the amount specified by legal regulations concerning travel reimbursement and proved loss of earnings reimbursement (hereinafter referred to as “reimbursement”). The reimbursement is provided by the state through the public prosecutor’s office having issued the summons. A person having been summoned to provide an explanation due to own unlawful conducting or solely in own interest may not claim reimbursement.
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5a) E.g. Section 15 Paragraph 9 of Act No. 48/1997 Coll., on public health insurance and amending and supplementing some related
acts, as amended by Act No. 242/1997 Coll., Act No. 2/1998 Coll., Act No. 127/1998 Coll., Act No. 225/1999 Coll., Act No. 363/1999 Coll., Act No. 18/2000 Coll., Act No. 132/2000 Coll., Act No. 155/2000 Coll., on finding of the Constitutional Court No. 167/2000 Coll. and Act No. 258/2000 Coll.
5b) E.g. Section 24 of Tax and Fees Administration Act No. 337/1992 Coll., as amended by Act No. 35/1993 Coll., Act No. 157/1993 Coll., Act No. 302/1993 Coll., Act No. 315/1993 Coll., Act No. 323/1993 Coll., Act No. 85/1994 Coll., Act No. 255/1994 Coll., Act No. 59/1995 Coll., Act No. 118/1995 Coll., Act No. 323/1996 Coll., Act No. 61/1997 Coll., Act No. 242/1997 Coll., Act No. 91/1998 Coll., Act No. 29/2000 Coll., Act No. 159/2000 Coll., Act No. 218/2000 Coll., Act No. 227/2000 Coll., Act No. 367/2000 Coll., Act No. 271/2001 Coll., Act No. 320/2001 Coll., and Section 7 of Act No. 61/1996 Coll., on certain measures against legalization of proceeds of crimes and amending and supplementing related Acts, as amended by Act No. 15/1998 Coll. and Act No. 159/2000 Coll.
5c) Section 116 of Civil Code.
5) The claim for reimbursement expires unless filed within 3 days by the person having appeared at the public prosecutor’s office upon the summons; this person must be notified of this fact.
6) Provisions of Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall not be applied providing a special legal regulation applies to the public prosecutor’s office’s procedure in requiring explanation.5d)
Section 16
1) The public prosecutor’s office may impose a procedural fine of up to 50,000, -CZK on a person, who shall not obey the summons of the public prosecutor’s office without a satisfactory excuse by Section 15 Paragraph 1, or order to bring this person. The procedural fine may be imposed repeatedly.
2) A complaint with dilatory effect is admissible against imposing a procedural fine. The complaint may be lodged with the public prosecutor’s office that has imposed the fine within 3 days upon service of the decision on imposition thereof. Unless the public prosecutor’s office meets the complaint, it shall immediately submit it to the immediately superior public prosecutor’s office or the Supreme Public Prosecutor to decide if the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office has imposed the fine.
3) Otherwise the Criminal Procedure Code provisions shall be reasonably applied to notices of decisions on procedural fines, course of terms, determination of written form elements of such decision, decision of a complaint against such decision and bringing a person.
4) A final and conclusive decision on procedural fine imposition is enforceable upon expiration of the performance term. By the Civil Procedure Code the court shall perform the decision at the proposal of the public prosecutor’s office that has decided on the procedural fine imposition at first instance. The fine proceeds become the income of the state budget of the Czech Republic.
5) In case a member of armed forces or armed corps in active service does not obey the summons by Section 15 Paragraph 1, the public prosecutor’s office may transfer his/her disciplinary punishment to the competent commander, officer or director. In case a person in custody or serving his/her imprisonment does not obey the summons, the public prosecutor’s office may transfer the person to the director of the prison or remand prison to imposition of a procedural measure or disciplinary punishment. The competent commander, officer or director is obliged to notify the public prosecutor’s office on the result. A similar procedure is applied in the case of persons being subject to disciplinary responsibility by special legal regulations.
Section 16a
Acceptance and Disposal of Submissions
1) A submission is considered by its contents: it may be filed in writing, by wire, fax, telex, electronic mail or orally in protocol.
2) The submission must clearly show who is filing, in what matter, what his/her reasons are and what the filing person seeks of the public prosecutor’s office. In case any of the mentioned requirements is missing in the submission and the filing person fails to complete such requirement upon a notice within the specified term, the public prosecutor’s office shall keep it without any measures. Anonymous submissions are only disposed of if they contain sufficient data for verification of their content; otherwise the submission is kept without any measures.
3) Unless the public prosecutor’s office where the submission has been filed is competent to dispose of the submission and the content of the submission indicates that a different public prosecutor’s office is competent to dispose of the submission, it shall transfer it to such different public prosecutor’s office and notify the filing person of this fact.
4) In case disposal of the submission is not in the public prosecutor’s office’s competence and a different state authority is competent to dispose of it, then the public prosecutor’s office where the submission has been filed shall immediately send the submission to the filing person and notify such person on where he/she should file according to the nature of the matter. If the competent jurisdiction does not result
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5d) E.g. Criminal Procedure Code
from the submission content and its content obviously does not relate to the public prosecutor’s office competence, the public prosecutor’s office shall notify the filing person of this fact and keep the submission.
5) If the submission contains prescribed requirements and its disposal is in the jurisdiction of the public prosecutor’s office where it has been filed, the public prosecutor’s office shall examine its justification. If the public prosecutor’s office finds out violation of law or another legal regulation, it shall adopt appropriate measures for remedy within its competence.
6) Having examined the justification of the submission the public prosecutor’s office is obliged to notify the filing person of the disposal method within 2 months upon service or return of the submission by a superior public prosecutor’s office at the latest; this deadline may only be exceeded in case the sources necessary for disposing of the submission cannot be obtained, on which fact the person having filed the submission must be notified in writing.
7) In case the filing person is not satisfied with the disposal method, he/she may ask the immediately superior public prosecutor’s office for a review of the disposal, while its decision on the same matter is final. The filing person must always be instructed of such fact. If the request for a review of the public prosecutor’s office’s procedure contains new facts that could themselves or in connection with others justify different consideration of the matter, the immediately superior public prosecutor’s office shall return the matter to the inferior public prosecutor’s office for another review.
8) Provisions of Paragraphs 1 to 7 shall not be applied to submissions filed at the public prosecutor’s office by a special legal regulation. 5e)
Section 16b
Complaints
1) Everyone has the right to file a complaint against delays in performance of duties of the public prosecutor’s office or misbehavior of public prosecutors and other employees of the public prosecutor’s office.
2) The chief public prosecutor, superior to the public prosecutor the complaint is directed against, is competent to settle the complaint; he/she is also competent to settle a complaint against an employee of the public prosecutor’s office, the head of which he/she is. The Minister of Justice is competent to settle a complaint against the Supreme Public Prosecutor. The complaint is filed at the person competent to settle it.
3) The person competent to settle a complaint is obliged to review facts contained in the complaint; if needed for due investigation of the complaint, he/she shall examine the complainant, the persons the complaint has been filed against, or eventually ask other persons for opinions, who could contribute to clarification of the matter. If the complaint has been found justifiable or partially justifiable, in the notice of complaint settlement he/she shall notify the complainant of measures adopted to remove discovered defects.
4) If the same complainant files another complaint in the same matter without containing new facts, the complaint shall be kept without any other investigation and the complainant shall not be notified; the complainant must be notified of this fact in the response to the previous complaint.
5) Otherwise provisions regulating submissions to the public prosecutor’s office apply to filing and settling complaints, while the chief public prosecutor, superior to the chief public prosecutor having disposed of the complaint is competent to review the complaint settlement; and if the Supreme Public Prosecutor or the Ministry has disposed of the complaint, the Minister of Justice is competent to do so.
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5e) E.g. Criminal Procedure Code, Petition Right Act No. 85/1990 Coll., Act No. 106/1999 Coll., on Free Access to Information, as amended by Act No. 101/2000 Coll., and Act No. 159/2000 Coll.
PART SIX
PUBLIC PROSECUTORS APPOINTMENT
AND EMPLOYMENT
Section 17
1) A citizen of the Czech Republic, qualified for legal acts, unimpeachable, over 25 years old on the appointment date, having achieved university education by studying a magisterial study program in legal branch at a university in the Czech Republic, 5f) having successfully passed the final examination, with moral characters guaranteeing his/her due execution of his/her office, and agreeing to be appointed to the public prosecutor’s position, while allocated to a concrete public prosecutor’s office, may be appointed the public prosecutor.
2) The specialized judicial examination, judge examination, unified judge and advocacy examination, military juridical examination and prosecutor examination taken before the effective date hereof have the same effects as the final examination hereby.
3) The Minister of Justice hereby decides on recognizing other examinations to be the final examination.
4) The condition of unimpeachability is not complied with by the one who has been convicted for a crime upon a final judgment, unless he/she is considered non-convicted by a special legal regulation or decision of the President of the Republic.
Section 18
1) The public prosecutor position arises by appointment.
2) The Ministry of Justice appoints the public prosecutor for an indefinite period at the proposal of the Supreme Public Prosecutor.
3) After his/her appointment the public prosecutor takes the following oath into the hands of the Ministry of Justice: “I do swear to my honor and conscience in protection of public interest to proceed always in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Czech Republic, as well as international agreements the Czech Republic is bound by, respect human rights, basic liberties and human dignity and keep confidentiality of facts I shall learn in connection with execution of the public prosecutor’s powers even after this office execution termination. In execution of the public prosecutor’s powers as well as in my personal life I shall protect dignity of my occupation.” Refusing the oath or taking the oath under reservation results in cessation of the public prosecutor’s position.
4) In the Czech republic the public prosecutor’s employment is created by appointing into the public prosecutor’s position and commences upon taking the oath by Paragraph 3 by the day determined for this position performance commencement. Unless hereby specified otherwise, the public prosecutor’s office to which the public prosecutor has been allocated to perform the position executes the employment rights and duties.
5) The public prosecutor’s employment terminates by the date of the public prosecutor’s position cessation.
6) The Employment Code governs the public prosecutors´ employments, unless hereby specified otherwise.
7) The public prosecutors´ salaries are governed by a special legal regulation.
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5f) Section 46 of Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on universities and amending and supplementing some subsequent acts (University Act), as amended by Act No. 210/2000 Coll., and Act No. 147/2001 Coll.
Allocation for the position performance and its changes
Section 19
1) The Minister of Justice allocates the public prosecutor to perform his/her position to a concrete public prosecutor’s office upon his/her previous approval. Additional withdrawal of this approval results in the position cessation, unless the public prosecutor may be allocated to another public prosecutor’s office upon his approval.
2) The Minister of Justice may transfer the public prosecutor to another public prosecutor’s office of the same or higher instance upon his/her approval or at his/her request; unless hereby stipulated otherwise, the Minister of Justice may transfer the public prosecutor to a public prosecutor’s office of lower instance upon his/her approval only. The public prosecutor files an application for transfer through the Supreme Public Prosecutor, who shall attach his/her opinion to the application. By the day of the Minister of Justice’s decision on the public prosecutor’s allocation the public prosecutor may withdraw his/her application. While transferring public prosecutors to public prosecutor’s offices of a higher instance also evaluation of their professional qualification is considered.
3) Unless due performance of the public prosecutor’s office competence can be ensured by procedure under Paragraphs 1 and 2, upon expressing the opinion of the chief public prosecutor of the public prosecutor’s office the public prosecutor has been allocated to the Ministry of Justice may transfer the public prosecutor even without his/her approval or application to another public prosecutor’s office, if the public prosecutor’s office organization or public prosecutor’s offices jurisdictions have been changed by law.
4) By Paragraph 3 the public prosecutor may only be transferred to another public prosecutor’s office of the same instance within the jurisdiction of the public prosecutor’s office one instance higher or to the public prosecutor’s office one instance lower within the jurisdiction of the public prosecutor’s office the public prosecutor has been allocated to for the position performance. The public prosecutor may only be transferred by Paragraph 3 within 6 months from the effective date of the act creating a reason for such decision; for the same reason the public prosecutor may not be transferred repeatedly. For transfer by Paragraph 3 also personal and family background of the public prosecutor and evaluation of his/her professional qualification are considered.
5) The salary of the public prosecutor having been transferred to perform the position to another public prosecutor’s office by Paragraph 3 remains the same, while such salary would otherwise appertain to him/her by a special legal regulation, unless his/her transfer creates a claim for a higher salary.
6) By Paragraph 3 a remedial measure may be lodged against the decision of the Ministry of Justice to the Supreme Court by a special legal regulation5g).
Section 19a
1) To ensure due performance of the public prosecutor’s office duties and upon his/her approval the public prosecutor may be temporarily allocated to perform the position to another public prosecutor’s office for a period not longer than 3 years, or to another body or organization for a period not longer than 1 year. To use his/her experience or improve professional skills and upon his/her approval the public prosecutor may be temporarily allocated to the Ministry or Judicial Academy for a period not longer than 1 year.
2) The chief public prosecutor of the public prosecutor’s office being the immediately superior to both concerned public prosecutor’s offices decides on temporary allocation to another public prosecutor’s office. The Supreme Public Prosecutor decides on temporary allocation to the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office. In other cases the Minister of Justice decides upon consideration with the Supreme Public Prosecutor and in the case of temporary allocation to another body or organization also upon their approval or application. Determination of the temporary allocation period, which cannot be prolonged without approval of the public prosecutor, shall be a part of the decision.
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5g) Section 250l and subsq. of the Civil Procedure Code.
3) In the course of the allocation period the public prosecutor temporarily allocated to another public prosecutor’s office is entitled to
a) Adequate accommodation at the expenses of the state in the seat of the public prosecutor’s office he/she has been temporarily allocated to, unless he/she may be justifiably required to make a daily journey from his/her residential address to perform the position at the public prosecutor’s office;
b) Reimbursement for using a different than office road vehicle for the journey from his/her residential address to the public prosecutor’s office, he/she has been temporarily allocated to, and back, if agreed so; this reimbursement amount is governed by legal regulations on reimbursement for using road motor vehicles for business trips made by employees within their employment;
c) Reimbursement of proved travel expenses spent for the journey from his/her residential address to the public prosecutor’s office, he/she has been temporarily allocated to, and back, unless he/she has the right to have the costs reimbursed by Letter b).
4) Provision of Paragraph 3 applies accordingly, if by this Act the public prosecutor has been temporarily allocated to the Ministry, Judicial Academy or another body or organization in the Czech Republic.
Section 20
On Duty
1) The chief public prosecutor may order the public prosecutor to be on duty not longer than 600 hours in a calendar year to perform duties in competence of the public prosecutor’s office by the law, if their performance cannot be postponed. While ordering being on duty the chief public prosecutor respects equal workload of all public prosecutors.
2) For the period of being on duty the public prosecutor is obliged to remain at the workplace, residential address or a different suitable place determined by the chief public prosecutor.
Section 21
The Public Prosecutor’s Position Cessation
1) The public prosecutor position ceases by the date
a) On which the public prosecutor was to take the oath, if he/she refused to do so or did so with reservation;
b) On which the public prosecutor, upon his/her appointment, additionally withdrew his/her approval of the first allocation, unless he/she may be allocated to another public prosecutor’s office on his/her approval;
c) As of which the public prosecutor lost the citizenship of the Czech Republic;
d) As of which the public prosecutor was appointed for a judge, elected to be a deputy or senator of the Parliament of the Czech Republic or a member of the council of a local self-government;
e) As of which an office in public administration commenced for the public prosecutor;
f) Of 31 December of the calendar year in which the public prosecutor achieved 65 years of age;
g) Of the public prosecutor’s decease or legal force of decision of his death declaration.
2) Next the public prosecutor’s position ceases by the date of legal force of the decision
a) Of legal disqualification of the public prosecutor or limiting his/her legal qualification;
b) Convicting the public prosecutor for a crime committed intentionally or convicting him/her to unconditional sentence of imprisonment for a crime committed out of negligence;
c) Finding out that the public prosecutor is not qualified to perform the public prosecutor’s position for the reason stated in Section 26 Paragraph 1;
d) Finding out that the public prosecutor is not professionally qualified to perform the position;
e) Of imposing a disciplinary punishment of removal from the public prosecutor’s position.
3) The public prosecutor may resign from his/her position by a written notice to the Ministry of Justice; the public prosecutor’s position ceases by expiration of 2 calendar months following the month of service of the public prosecutor’s notice of his/her resignation to the Ministry of Justice.
Section 22
Temporary Removal
1) The Ministry of Justice shall temporarily remove the public prosecutor from the position, providing he/she has been temporarily allocated to the Ministry or Judicial Academy by Section 19a Paragraph 1, for the period of such temporary allocation.
2) The Ministry of Justice may temporarily remove the public prosecutor from the position if the public prosecutor
a) Is under prosecution; he/she may be removed by the final judgment of the prosecution discontinuance;
b) Is under disciplinary prosecution and his/her removal from the position has been proposed; he/she may be removed by the final judgment of the disciplinary prosecution discontinuance;
And if
c) For the reason stated in Section 26 Paragraph 1 the proceeding on his/her incapacity to perform the public prosecutor’s position has been opened; he/she may be removed by the date of the final judgment of such proceeding discontinuance.
3) Temporary removal from the public prosecutor’s position is realized by the day on which the public prosecutor receives the decision of temporary removal, unless a later date is stated in the decision.
4) For the period of temporary removal from the position the public prosecutor is entitled to his/her present salary by a special legal regulation.5h)
PART SEVEN
PUBLIC PROSECUTORS STATUS
Section 23
1) In his/her position performance the public prosecutor ensures the public prosecutor’s office competence; acts performed by the public prosecutor are considered to be acts of the public prosecutor’s office.
2) Liability for damage caused by unlawful decision or wrongful official procedure of the public prosecutor’s office is governed by a special legal regulation.5i)
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5h) Act No. 201/1997 Coll., regulating salaries and some other requisites of public prosecutors and amending and supplementing Act No. 143/1992 Coll., regulating salary and remuneration for being on duty in budget and some other organizations and bodies, as amended, and as amended by Act No. 155/2000 Coll. and Act No. 14/2002 Coll.
5i) Act No. 82/1998 Coll.
Section 24
1) In his/her position performance the public prosecutor is obliged to duly perform his/her duties with responsibility, while respecting principles stipulated by the law for the public prosecutor’s office activity; he/she is namely obliged to proceed thoroughly, duly, impartially and righteously without undue delay. He/she must refuse any external intervention or another influence, the result of which might be violating some of these duties.
2) In his/her position performance, personal life and exercising his/her political rights the public prosecutor is obliged to avoid all that might indicate justifiable doubts of observing duties stated in Paragraph 1, endanger seriousness of the public prosecutor’s position or the public prosecutor’s office or endanger trust in impartial performance of competence of the public prosecutor’s office or the public prosecutor. The following namely applies to the public prosecutor:
a) Interests of political parties, public opinion or media must not influence the public prosecutor in his/her position performance;
b) The public prosecutor must perform his/her position impartially, without economic, social, racial, ethnic, sexual, religious or other prejudice and in relation to persons, with whom he/she negotiates in his/her capacity he/she must avoid expressions of personal sympathies or negative attitudes;
c) The public prosecutor must not allow the public prosecutor’s position to be misused for enforcing private interest;
d) The public prosecutor must manage his/her own property as well as the property which has been entrusted to him with responsibility, enter into obligations the performance of which does not harm due performance of the public prosecutor’s position and manage his/her finances so that they may not be used for impermissible influencing his/her person in connection with the public prosecutor’s position;
e) The public prosecutor must not act as an arbitrator or mediator of a legal dispute settlement, represent participants in judicial proceedings or act as an agent of an injured person or a person being a participant in judicial or administration proceedings, excluding legal representation or cases when such procedure is allowed by a special legal regulation, or cases when it is representation of another participant in proceeding, where the public prosecutor is a participant, too.
3) The public prosecutor is obliged to educate himself/herself continuously and improve his/her knowledge for due performance of the position. He/she is namely obliged to participate in professional training in the Judicial Academy and professional training organized by the public prosecutor’s office and undergo evaluation and consideration of his/her professional knowledge and skills in a method specified by law.
4) The public prosecutor is obliged to hold due respect to other public prosecutors, other persons practicing legal professions, to other employees of the public prosecutor’s office and other persons, with whom he/she negotiates in his/her capacity; he is namely obliged to withdraw from inappropriate denouncement of the public prosecutor’s office and its competence performance, other public prosecutors, judges, attorneys and notaries.
5) The public prosecutor contributes with his/her knowledge and skills in professional preparation and professional training of public prosecutors, judges, interns and articling judges and other employees of the public prosecutor’s office and courts organized by the Judicial Academy, Ministry, the public prosecutor’s office or courts. If his/her duties within the position do not prevent from doing so, the public prosecutor may also contribute with his/her knowledge in professional training of namely lawyers and law clerks.
6) The public prosecutor may not perform any other gainful position or perform other gainful activity except for the case of own property management and scientific, pedagogic, literal, publishing, artistic, translating activity and activity in advisory bodies of the Ministry, Government and in bodies of the chambers of the Parliament ,5j) providing these activities are compatible with demands for due performance of the public prosecutor’s position
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5j) Section 49 Paragraph 6 of Act No. 218/2000 Coll., on budget principles and amending some related acts (Budget Principles).
7) If the public prosecutor has been entrusted with an individual act of the public prosecutor’s office administration, he/she is obliged to perform the entrusted act with responsibility.
Section 25
1) The public prosecutor is obliged to keep confidentiality of facts that he/she has learned within his/her capacity, even after the public prosecutor’s office position performance termination.
2) Unless specified otherwise by a special legal regulation,5k) the Supreme Public Prosecutor may release the public prosecutor from the confidentiality duty for serious reasons; the Ministry of Justice releases the Supreme Public Prosecutor from the confidentiality duty.
Section 26
Legal Disability for the Public Prosecutor’s Position
1) The public prosecutor is not qualified to perform the public prosecutor’s position, if
a) His/her bad health condition prevents him/her from performing the public prosecutor’s position for a long term;
b) He/she has been convicted upon a final judgment for a crime and such conviction did not result in the public prosecutor’s position cessation, if the nature of the crime he/she has been convicted for impeaches his/her further continuance in the public prosecutor’s position.
2) The public prosecutor is not qualified to perform the public prosecutor’s position, if his/her insufficient professional qualification prevents him/her from due performance of the position.
PART EIGHT
DISCIPLINARY RESPONSIBILITY
OF PUBLIC PROSECUTORS
Section 27
The public prosecutor is responsible for disciplinary violation.
Section 28
Disciplinary violation means deliberate violation of the public prosecutor’s duties, the public prosecutor’s deliberate behavior or conduct diminishing trust in the public prosecutor’s office activity or degrading reputation and dignity of the public prosecutor’s position.
Section 29
The public prosecutor’s responsibility for disciplinary violation expires, unless a motion for opening disciplinary proceeding has been filed within 2 years upon its committing.
Section 30
1) For disciplinary violation the public prosecutor may be imposed with some of the following disciplinary punishments by seriousness of the disciplinary violation:
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5k) E.g. Section 46 Paragraph 5 Letter h) of Act. No. 148/1998 Coll., on classified facts protection and amending some acts, as amended by Act. No. 164/1999 Coll., Act. No. 18/2000 Coll., Act. No. 29/2000 Coll., Act. No. 30/2000 Coll., and Act. No. 363/2000 Coll.
a) A reprimand;
b) Salary decrease of up to 25% for a period of not more than 6 months and for repeated disciplinary violation committed by the public prosecutor in the period before erasure of the disciplinary punishment for a period of not more than 1 year;
c) Removal from the office.
2) The disciplinary punishment may be abandoned, providing hearing of the disciplinary violation of the public prosecutor is sufficient.
3) The chief public prosecutor may reprimand minor failures and lapses to the public prosecutor in writing without filing a motion for opening disciplinary proceedings.
Section 31
A special legal regulation governs disciplinary proceedings against public prosecutors.5)
Section 32
The special legal regulation stated in Section 31 also applies in case that:
a) The public prosecutor’s bad health condition prevents him/her from performing the public prosecutor’s position for a long term [Section 26 Paragraph 1 Letter a)];
b) The public prosecutor has been convicted upon a final judgment for a crime and such conviction did not result in the public prosecutor’s position cessation, if the nature of the crime he/she has been convicted for impeaches his/her further continuance in the public prosecutor’s position. [Section 26 Paragraph 1 Letter b)].
PART NINE
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION FOR
THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR’S POSITION PERFORMANCE
Professional Qualification Evaluation
Section 32a
1) Professional qualification of public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position with regional and district public prosecutor’s offices shall be evaluated after expiration of 36 months from their public prosecutor’s position commencement date.
2) Professional qualification of public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position with high public prosecutor’s offices or the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, as well as public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position with regional and district public prosecutor’s offices after expiration of the period stated in Paragraph 1 from their public prosecutor’s position commencement date are always evaluated after expiration of 60 months from their position commencement date or from the previous evaluation of their professional qualification.
3) A holiday to refresh is included into the periods stated in Paragraphs 1 and 2. If the public prosecutor did not perform his/her capacity due to impediments to the performance of occupation on his/her side or excused absence from work or other serious reasons, they are included into the periods stated in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of up to 3 months in a calendar year; however, these periods may be prolonged in this way by not longer than 24 months.
4) In evaluation there are namely considered professional knowledge, results of work, organizational abilities and personality traits of public prosecutors, findings of supervision, as well as activities performed by public prosecutors in addition to their ordinary work duties to ensure the public prosecutor’s office duties. The public prosecutor’s professional qualification is namely evaluated by the following criteria:
a) Knowledge of laws and other legal regulations applied in the public prosecutor’s activity;
b) Ability to apply his/her knowledge and skills in the public prosecutor’s activity;
c) Level of theoretical knowledge and knowledge of practice of the court related to the public prosecutor’s activity;
d) Level of is/her ability to organize his/her work and the public prosecutor’s activity;
e) Whether he/she performs publishing, scientific and pedagogical activity and what sort;
f) What the results of professional training of the public prosecutor are, especially on the basis of the report of results of his/her professional training elaborated by the Judicial Academy.
5) The public prosecutor’s professional qualification may be evaluated as excellent, satisfactory or unsatisfactory.
Section 32b
1) Public prosecutors´ professional qualification is evaluated by:
a) The regional public prosecutor, if it is a public prosecutor of the regional public prosecutor’s office and the district public prosecutor’s offices in his/her jurisdiction;
b) The high public prosecutor, if it is a public prosecutor of the high public prosecutor’s office;
c) The Supreme Public Prosecutor, if it is a public prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office.
2) The chief public prosecutor is evaluated by his/her superior chief public prosecutor; the Supreme Public Prosecutor is not subjected to evaluation.
3) The competent chief public prosecutors must evaluate public prosecutors´ professional qualification within 3 months upon expiration of periods stated in Section 32a Paragraphs 1 and 2 at the latest, unless impeded by serious reasons. The public prosecutor must be notified of his/her professional qualification evaluation within 15 days after its completion by the competent chief public prosecutor.
4) If the public prosecutor’s professional qualification has been evaluated as unsatisfactory, the competent chief public prosecutor shall file a motion for opening proceedings of the public prosecutor’s professional qualification by Section 32d within 1 month from the day of completing the public prosecutor’s evaluation.
Section 32c
Council for Public Prosecutors´ Professional Qualification
1) Council for Public Prosecutors´ Professional Qualification (hereinafter referred to as “Council”) decides on motions for consideration of public prosecutors´ professional qualification.
2) The Council has 9 members and consists of a public prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office elected by the public prosecutors of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, a public prosecutor elected by and out of the public prosecutors of each of the high public prosecutor’s offices and 2 public prosecutors selected by lot out of the public prosecutors proposed by regional public prosecutor’s offices; next the members of
the Council are a judge proposed by the Council of Judges of the Supreme Court, a lawyer proposed by the Czech Bar Association and 2 experts of the criminal law proposed by the deans of faculties of law of universities with the seat in the Czech Republic.
3) If a member of the Council cannot attend a Council meeting, he/she is represented by a substitute. The substitutes for the member of the Council elected out of the public prosecutors of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and for members of the Council elected out of the public prosecutors of high public prosecutor’s offices are the public prosecutors elected by these bodies in a similar method as the members of the Council, for the public prosecutors of regional public prosecutor’s offices other public prosecutors proposed by regional public prosecutor’s offices in the order made by lot, for the lawyer a lawyer proposed by the Czech Bar Association, and for the experts of the criminal law other experts proposed by the deans of faculties of law of universities with the seat in the Czech Republic.
4) The members and substitutes of the Council out of the public prosecutors of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, the members and substitutes of the Council out of the public prosecutors of high public prosecutor’s offices and the public prosecutors proposed to the Council by regional public prosecutor’s offices are elected by assemblies of public prosecutors of these public prosecutor’s offices in equal, direct and secret ballot. All public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position with the public prosecutor’s office where the ballot is held have the right to vote, be voted and propose members and substitutes of the Council. Each public prosecutor may only vote for one of the proposed candidates.
5) In the ballot held by the assembly of public prosecutors of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office and assemblies of the public prosecutors of high public prosecutor’s offices the public prosecutor having obtained the highest number of votes becomes the member of the Council and the public prosecutor having been voted to the following position is elected his/her substitute. In the ballot held by the assemblies of public prosecutors of regional public prosecutor’s offices the public prosecutor having obtained the highest number of votes is proposed the member of the Council. In case of parity of votes the decision shall be made by lot.
6) The competent chief public prosecutor summons the assembly of public prosecutors to elect members and substitutes of the Council on the basis of the date of holding the ballot determined by the Ministry.
7) Objections against the ballot validity by Paragraphs 4 and 5 may be lodged by the time of dismissal of the public prosecutors´ assembly summoned to hold the ballot; this assembly shall decide on the objections definitely; any review of such decision is excluded.
8) The Minister of Justice appoints the members of the Council and their substitutes out of judges, lawyers and judicial experts upon the proposal of the Supreme Court Criminal Division, Czech Bar Association or faculties of law of universities with the seat in the Czech Republic; The Minister of Justice appoints the members of the Council and their substitutes out of the public prosecutors proposed by regional public prosecutor’s offices upon results of the lot realized by him/her. The experts of the criminal law, proposed by the deans of faculties of law of universities with the seat in the Czech Republic to become the members of the Council and their substitutes, must not be judges, public prosecutors or lawyers at the same time.
9) The term of office of the members of the Council and their substitutes is 3 years from their election or appointment.
10) The public prosecutor elected to be the member of the Council out of the public prosecutors of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office is the chairman of the Council. The public prosecutors elected to be the members of the Council out of public prosecutors of high public prosecutor’s offices are the vice-chairmen of the Council. The substitutes are not entitled to perform these positions.
11) The Council may act and make resolutions at presence of at least 7 of its members or their substitutes. Any member of the Council that cannot attend hearing and resolution of the case for serious reasons shall be represented by his/her substitute. The approval of the absolute majority of the present members or their substitutes is needed to adopt a resolution. The members of the Council and their substitutes are equal in deciding.
12) The members of the Council and their substitutes are independent in execution of their office in the Council and in their decisions they are only bound by the legal order of the Czech Republic. They are obliged to decide without any delay, impartially and righteously and only on the basis of facts found out in accordance with the law.
13) The position of the member or substitute of the Council ceases by the day when the member or substitute discontinued to comply with requirements for being elected, proposed or appointed to this office.
Public Prosecutors´ Professional Qualification Proceedings
Section 32d
1) The proceeding only opens upon a motion filed by the competent chief public prosecutor (Section 32b Paragraphs 1 and 2) under conditions stated in Section 32b Paragraph 4.
2) The participants in the proceedings are:
a) The public prosecutor, whose professional qualification is to be proceeded;
b) Ministry of Justice;
c) The chief public prosecutor having filed the motion.
3) The participants may be represented in the proceedings.
Section 32e
1) Any member of the Council and his/her substitute are excluded from hearing and resolution of the case, if regarding the relation to the public prosecutor, whose professional qualification is to be proceeded, or to the participants´ substitutes there is a reason to doubt their impartiality.
2) The Council decides on exclusion of the member of the Council or his/her substitute; neither member of the Council nor his/her substitute, whom the decision on exclusion concerns, may vote.
3) The excluded member of the Council is represented by his/her substitute. If the substitute has been excluded, too, the Council shall hear the case and decide in his/her absence.
Section 32f
1) In consideration of professional qualification of the public prosecutor the Council examines his/her theoretical knowledge level, knowledge of laws and other legal regulations, knowledge of practice of the courts published in the Collection of Law Reports and Opinions and Collection of Judgments and Resolutions of the Constitutional Court, ability to apply knowledge and skills in performance of the public prosecutor’s office competence, publishing, scientific and pedagogical activity and other circumstances proving whether he/she has sufficient professional knowledge and skills necessary to perform the position of the public prosecutor.
2) The Council considers the public prosecutor’s professional qualification on the basis of his/her professional qualification evaluation made by the competent chief public prosecutor (Section 32a and 32b), evaluation of results of his/her professional training made by the Judicial Academy, facts found by supervision and other proofs, which may help to clarify decisive viewpoints confirming professional qualification of the public prosecutor.
3) Unless the documents and proofs under Paragraph 2 have been attached to the motion, the Council shall request the competent bodies to provide them.
4) If necessary, the Council or its chairman or the authorized member shall carry out needed examinations.
5) The proposal for professional qualification consideration, as well as the documents and proofs stated in Paragraph 3 and examination results by Paragraph 4 must be delivered to the public prosecutor and the other participants in their own hands, except for the case when they have submitted them to the Council themselves.
6) Withdrawal of the motion filed by Section 32a is not admissible, except for the case when the motion has been filed prematurely or the public prosecutor’s position ceased after its filing.
Section 32g
1) To consider the case the Council shall order proceeding, to which the Council shall summon the participants, their substitutes and all persons, attendance of whom is necessary. The summons must be delivered to the participants in writing in their own hands 10 days in advance at the least. The Ministry of Justice and the chief public prosecutor may also be summoned by phone, wire or fax.
2) The hearings of the Council are not open to public.
3) In case of absence of the public prosecutor, the professional qualification of whom is to be proceeded, the case may only be heard, if he/she refuses to attend the hearing or does not appear at the hearing without timely and reasonable excuse.
4) In the hearing the Council shall produce necessary evidence. The public prosecutor may be heard on the content of the produced evidence only and only upon his/her approval of this.
5) After finishing the hearing the participants and their substitutes have the right to express their opinions on the case. The public prosecutor shall obtain the floor as the last one.
6) Upon results of evidence and everything that the proceeding discovered, the Council shall decide whether the public prosecutor is or is not professionally qualified.
7) The Council decides upon a consideration; together with the members of the Council, the substitutes representing the members of the Council and the recorder no other person may attend the consideration.
8) The chairman or his/her representing vice-chairman conducts the Council vote. The junior members (substitutes) vote before the senior members, the chairman or vice-chairman votes as the last one.
9) The decision of the Council shall be delivered to the own hands of the participants; the remedial measures are not admissible.
10) The decision of the Council by Paragraph 6 comes into force by ineffective expiration of the term determined for filing a motion to the Supreme Court for consideration of the public prosecutor’s professional qualification. If refusing the motion or discontinuation of the proceeding closed the proceeding before the Supreme Court, the decision of the Council comes into force by the day of legal force of the Supreme Court decision on refusing the motion or discontinuation of the proceeding.
Section 32h
1) Execution of the office of the member of the Council and attendance of his/her substitute at the Council´s hearing are considered to be legal impediment to the performance of occupation for the reason of other act in public interest.5l) The member of the Council and his/her substitute are entitled to reimbursement of expenses occurred in the execution of the office and remuneration for the execution of the office in the scope and under conditions specified by the Ministry in a decree.
2) Unless hereby specified otherwise, provisions of the Rules of Administrative Procedure apply to proceedings before the Council adequately.5m)
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5l) Section 124 of Employment Code.
5m) Administrative Procedure Act No. 71/1967 Coll., as amended.
Public Prosecutors´ Professional Qualification Proceedings before Court
Section 32i
Any participant in the proceeding before the Council, who does not agree with the decision of the Council in the matter of the public prosecutor’s professional qualification, may file a motion with the Supreme Court for the public prosecutor’s professional qualification consideration.
Section 32j
1) The Supreme Court shall hear and decide on the motion for the public prosecutor’s professional qualification consideration in the panel consisting of the presiding judge and 4 judges.
2) Each of the Supreme Court divisions shall propose the President of the Supreme Court 7 candidates to the panel stated in Paragraph 1 out of the judges placed in the division. Out of the proposed candidates the President of the Supreme Court appoints the presiding judge, his/her substitute, the panel members and 4 substitutes; he/she cares for equal representation of all divisions in the members of the panel and substitutes and observes so that a judge placed in a different division than the division, where the presiding judge belongs to, may become the substitute of the presiding judge. The judge being or having been a member or substitute of the Council in the recent 3 years must not become the presiding judge, his/her substitute, member or substitute of the panel.
3) The term of the panel of the Supreme Court is 3 years by Paragraph 1.
4) If the panel performed acts in the proceeding of the public prosecutors´ professional qualification before expiration of its term, the panel shall complete the proceeding, in spite of expiration of its term.
Section 32k
1) The motion for the public prosecutor’s professional qualification consideration must be filed with the Supreme Court within 30 days upon service of a written decision of the Council. Default of time may not be waived.
2) The participants in the proceedings are those who were the participants in the Council proceedings.
Section 32l
1) After opening the proceedings the President of the Supreme Court shall immediately require the file of the Council, which is obliged to immediate submit it together with all documents, by which the evidence was produced in the Council´s proceedings.
2) The Supreme Court shall refuse the motion for the public prosecutor’s professional qualification consideration, providing that:
a) The Council proceeding was discontinued in accordance with the law;
b) The motion was filed with delay;
c) An unauthorized person filed the motion.
3) The motion having been served within the prescribed term to the body obliged to deliver it to the Supreme Court cannot be refused as a delayed motion.
4) Refusal of the motion by Paragraph 2 may be decided without ordering hearing.
Section 32m
1) Before the decision of the Supreme Court on the motion for the public prosecutor’s professional qualification consideration the person having filed the motion may withdraw it.
2) If the motion for professional qualification consideration is withdrawn, the Supreme Court shall discontinue the proceeding.
3) The proceeding discontinuance shall be decided on without ordering a hearing.
Section 32n
1) Unless the motion is refused or the proceeding is discontinued, the motion shall be delivered to the other participants of the proceeding to their own hands and the presiding judge of the Supreme Court shall order hearing of the case.
2) The participants, their substitutes and all persons, presence of whom is necessary, are summoned to the hearing. The summons to the hearing must be delivered to the participants into their hands in writing within 10 days in advance at least.
3) The Supreme Court hearings in matters of public prosecutors´ professional qualification consideration are not open to public.
Section 32o
1) Accordingly Section 32f Paragraphs 1 to 4 and Section 32g Paragraphs 3 to 5 apply in proceedings before the Supreme Court.
2) In finding the facts of the case the Supreme Court may also use the evidence produced in the proceeding before the Council, if its applied procedure was in compliance with the law. If necessary, the Court may repeat this evidence.
3) In the proceeding the participants may suggest evidence until the Supreme Court decides on the proposal. In the proceeding before the Supreme Court also such evidence that was not proposed by the participants in the proceeding before the Council may be produced. The Supreme Court is also obliged to produce other evidence not produced by the participants to find the facts of the case.
4) On the basis of the found facts of the case the Supreme Court shall decide whether the public prosecutor is or is not professionally qualified.
Section 32p
1) In proceedings on matters of the public prosecutors´ professional qualification the Supreme Court decides by resolution.
2) The Supreme Court resolution that decided whether the public prosecutor is or is not professionally qualified shall replace the previous decision of the Council.
3) In the resolution the Supreme Court shall also decide on reimbursement of proceeding costs.
4) No remedial measures are admissible against the Supreme Court resolution having decided in the case of the public prosecutor’s professional qualification.
Section 32q
Unless hereby specified otherwise, in the proceeding of the public prosecutor’s professional qualification before the Supreme Court provisions of Parts one and three of the Civil Procedure Code shall be applied adequately.
PART TEN
INTERNS AND INTERNS´ TRAINING
Section 33
Interns´ Training
1) The interns´ training is a professional preparation of interns for performance of the public prosecutor’s position. The period of the interns´ training is 36 months, while a holiday to refresh taken in the interns´ training period is included into this period. If an intern does not attend the interns´ training due to impediments in performance of occupation on his/her side or other excused absence from work, these periods are included into the intern-training period only up to 70 working days in each year of the term.
2) The term of execution of offices of judge and articling judge, judge of the Constitutional Court, the judge assistant of the Constitutional Court or the Supreme Court, practice of a lawyer and law clerk shall be included into the interns´ training. At the request of an intern the Ministry may include the period of another legal activity into the interns´ training term, if the intern gained experience necessary for the public prosecutor’s position performance in its term; such included term may not exceed 24 months.
3) The interns´ training is attended in the employment contracted by the employment contract. On behalf of the State the competent regional public prosecutor’s office concludes the employment contract with the intern and acts on behalf of the State with the intern in employment relations.
4) A person complying with requirements for being appointed the public prosecutor, excluding the age, final examination and approval with the allocation, may be employed as an intern and attend the interns´ training.
5) The employment is contracted with the intern for a definite period of 40 months. Unless the interns´ training period achieves the term of 36 months in the course of such employment, then prolonging of his/her employment may be agreed with the intern by a period necessary to achieve this term of interns´ training, however, not more than by 20 months. The intern’s employment shall always be prolonged by the necessary period upon his/her approval, unless the intern has achieved the interns´ training period of 36 months due to being enlisted in military service or absence from work due to pregnancy or care for a minor child.
6) On his/her employment commencement the intern takes the following oath in the hands of the regional public prosecutor: “I swear to comply with the legal code of the Czech Republic, carefully prepare for the public prosecutor’s position performance and master ethic principles of the public prosecutor’s position performance”
7) The intern is obliged to take simple acts of the public prosecutor or administrative activity being led by a public prosecutor or another professional employee of the public prosecutor’s office.
8) The intern is obliged to keep confidentiality of facts that he/she learned in his/her competence performance, even after his/her intern employment termination; the Supreme Public Prosecutor may release the intern from the confidentiality duty for serious reasons.
9) Unless hereby specified otherwise, the employment of the intern follows provisions of the Employment Code.
Section 34
Final Examination
1) After completing the interns´ training the intern is obliged to take the final examination, the purpose of which is to prove whether he/she has necessary knowledge and is appropriately professionally prepared to perform the position of the public prosecutor.
2) The final examination is taken before the examination board appointed by the Ministry of Justice. The examination board has 5 members and consists of public prosecutors, judges, employees working at the Ministry and other experts of legal theory and practice.
3) The final examination consists of a written and oral part. It namely focuses on judicial branches applied by the public prosecutor’s office in its jurisdiction performance, and legal regulations related to the organization of the public prosecutor’s office, courts and to the status and duties of public prosecutors.
4) The Ministry shall allow the intern to take the final examination by the end of penultimate month of his/her employment term upon his/her application filed with the competent regional public prosecutor’s office; the Ministry shall determine the examination date after the interns´ training completion, 1 week prior to the employment termination at the latest. If the intern cannot take the final examination due to serious obstacle, the Ministry shall determine another examination date within 1 month from the day when the Ministry learnt that the obstacle disappeared; in such case the employment of the intern shall be prolonged with his/her approval so that it terminates a week after the day previously determined for taking a repeated final examination, by not more than 6 months.
5) If an intern, having failed the final examination, applies for its repetition before the employment termination, the Ministry shall allow him/her to repeat the final examination within 6 months upon the application submission, however, the final examination may only be repeated once. In such case the intern’s employment shall be prolonged with his/her approval until the day determined for taking the repeated final examination.
6) Employment of the intern that passed the final examination shall be prolonged with his approval by 12 months from the day of passing the final examination. In case the intern has become a public prosecutor, the employment terminates by the day of his/her appointment to the office.
7) In the course of the employment by Paragraph 6 the intern performs acts by Section 33 Paragraph 7.
8) The specialized judicial examination as well as the advocacy examination is considered the final examination.
PART ELEVEN
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF PUBLIC PROSECUTORS
AND INTERNS
Section 34a
1) Professional training of public prosecutors and interns is namely ensured by the Judicial Academy.
2) Professional training in the Judicial Academy is attended by:
a) All public prosecutors allocated to perform the position to high, regional and district public prosecutor’s offices;
b) Public prosecutors allocated or transferred to perform the position to high, regional and district public prosecutor’s offices, having performed the position of the public prosecutor for a period longer than 3 years, if they were placed in the training by the Council of the Judicial Academy; they must be placed in the training, unless there are serious reasons for not doing so, once every 5 years, at least;
c) All interns within their interns´ training.
3) Out of the public prosecutors stated in Paragraph 2 Letter b) the public prosecutors performing the office of the high or regional public prosecutor or their deputy having achieved 60 years of age or acting for the Judicial Academy as teachers, are not placed in the training.
4) The professional training in the Judicial Academy lasts
a) 2 years for the public prosecutors stated in Paragraph 2 Letter a);
b) 1 year for the public prosecutors stated in Paragraph 2 Letter b);
c) The interns´ training term for interns.
5) The professional training of public prosecutors and interns at the Judicial Academy is accomplished by the final dissertation and its evaluation.
6) The Judicial Academy shall notify the evaluated public prosecutor, the competent chief public prosecutor, the Ministry or at the request of the Judicial Academy the Council of evaluation of results of the professional training of the public prosecutor.
PART TWELVE
TEMPORARY AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Section 35
1) With the effective date hereof prosecutors and investigators of the prosecutor’s office, including military prosecutor’s office, appointed to positions by present regulations are considered the public prosecutors appointed hereby till the date stated in Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 and on this date their present employment or service relationship terminates. This does not apply, if they show their disagreement with this procedure within 15 days from the effective date hereof. The public prosecutors, whose employment terminated by the previous sentence, are entitled to compensation or departure payment by a special law.6)
2) By the effective date hereof the prosecutors and investigators of the prosecutor’s office stated in Paragraph 1 are considered allocated to
a) The Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, if they have performed the office of a prosecutor or investigator of the prosecutor’s office of the General Prosecutor’s Office;
b) To regional public prosecutor’s offices in the jurisdiction of the regional prosecutor’s office, where they have performed the office of prosecutors or investigators of the prosecutor’s office;
c) To district public prosecutor’s offices in the jurisdiction of the district prosecutor’s office, where they have performed the office of prosecutors or investigators of the prosecutor’s office.
3) The Minister of Justice may decide on different allocation from that in Paragraph 2 within three months from the effective date hereof; unless the prosecutor or investigator of the prosecutor’s office approves on this allocation, his/her employment terminates by expiration of this period. The public prosecutors, whose employment terminated in this way, are entitled to compensation or departure payment by a special law.6)
4) Within 30 days upon the effective date hereof the Minister of Justice shall decide on allocation of prosecutors and investigators of the military prosecutor’s office to public prosecutor’s offices. Unless a prosecutor or investigator of the military prosecutor’s office agrees on this allocation, his/her employment terminates by expiration of this period.
5) The employment having commenced by Paragraph 1 is the employment for a definite period till 30 June 1994; this does not affect provision of Paragraphs 3 and 4. However, it shall be prolonged for an indefinite period, providing in its course the Ministry of Justice appoints a public prosecutor hereby. Public prosecutors, whose employment terminated by expiration of the period by the first sentence, are entitled to compensation or departure payment by a special law.6)
6) Other employees, being employed by the prosecutor’s office authorities as on the effective date hereof, become employees of public prosecutor’s offices in positions corresponding to their present positions as on the effective date hereof, to be employed by public prosecutor’s offices with their territorial jurisdiction corresponding to the prosecutor’s office where they used to work, and their present employment terminates. This does not apply, providing they show their disagreement with this procedure within 15 days from the effective date hereof.
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6)Act No. 195/1991 Coll., on departure payment upon employment termination, as amended by Act No. 37/1993 Coll.
Act No. 76/1959 Coll., on some military service relationships, as amended by Act No. 226/1997 Coll.
Section 36
Also the person having completed legal university education and proved qualification to perform the office of the public prosecutor by minimal six-year legal practice or scientific or pedagogic activity in the legal branch and successful passing the final examination may be appointed a public prosecutor by 31 December 1996, providing he/she complies with the conditions stated in Section 17 Paragraph 1.
Section 37
By the effective date of the Act regulating salaries of public prosecutors and interns, salaries of public prosecutors and interns are governed by Decree of Government of the Czech Republic No. 254/1992 Coll., regulating salaries of prosecutors, investigators of the prosecutor’s office and interns, as amended by Decree of Government of the Czech Republic No. 442/1992 Coll., and Decree of Government of the Czech Republic No. 145/1993 Coll.
Section 38
Tangible property and proprietary rights, including obligations related to such property, as well as other rights and obligations, transfer from the prosecutor’s office to the Ministry of Justice as on the effective date hereof. This also applies to the property used by the military prosecutor’s office and related rights and duties, unless the Ministry of Justice agrees otherwise with the Ministry of Defense.
Section 39
The High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Olomouc shall commence its activity on the date being the commencement date of the High Court in Olomouc; till then its competence is performed by the High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague.
Section 40
1) By its Decree the Ministry of Justice shall stipulate the following:
a. The rules of the public prosecutor’s office;
b. Details of the Council organization, ensuring its activity and remunerations and compensations of cash expenses of its members;
c. Procedure of selection of interns and their engagement;
d. The content of the interns´ training, its organization and details of the final examination;
e. Scope of acts to be taken by the interns.
2) By its Decree the Ministry of Justice may stipulate exclusions concerning seats and territorial jurisdictions of public prosecutor’s offices, in the public prosecutor’s office jurisdiction establish its branches or establish a public prosecutor’s office with exclusive jurisdiction or determine that cases of a certain kind from jurisdictions of several public prosecutor’s offices shall be disposed of by one public prosecutor’s office.
Section 41
If other regulations mention the prosecutor’s office, prosecutors and investigators of the prosecutor’s office, by the nature of the case this means public prosecutor’s office and public prosecutors hereby.
Section 42
The public prosecutor’s office may file a motion for opening a civil proceeding of invalidity of the contract to transfer the title in cases when, on its conclusion, provisions limiting freedom of its parties were not respected.
Section 43
If before the effective date hereof a disciplinary proceeding against a prosecutor or investigator of the prosecutor’s office, having become the public prosecutor hereby, was opened and not completed yet, then a disciplinary senate shall take over and complete the disciplinary proceeding by provision hereof.
Section 44
1) Provisions of laws and other legal regulations regulating the prosecutor’s protest and his/her notice are not respected.7)
2) As on the effective date hereof running of time ends by Section 17 Paragraph 2 of Prosecutor’s Office Act.8)
3) The prosecutor’s protests filed by the effective date hereof shall be disposed of by present regulations, while the public prosecutor acts instead of the prosecutor.
Section 45
Prosecutor’s Office Act No. 60/1965 Coll., as amended by Act No. 71/1967 Coll., Act No. 147/1969 Coll., Act No. 29/1978 Coll., Act No. 196/1988 Coll., and Act No. 168/1990 Coll., has been cancelled.
Section 46
This Act comes into effect on 1 January 1994.
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Act No. 261/1994 Coll., to amend Public Prosecutor’s Office Act No. 283/1993 Coll., came into effect on its declaration day (30 December 1994).
Act No. 201/1997 Coll., on salary and some other requisites of public prosecutors and amending and supplementing Act No. 143/1992 Coll., on salary and remuneration for being on duty in budget and some other organizations and bodies, as amended, came into effect on the first day of the calendar month following its declaration (1 September 1997).
Act No. 169/1999 Coll., on service of imprisonment and amendment of some related acts came into effect on 1 January 2000.
Act No. 11/2001 Coll., amending Act No. 335/1991Coll., regulating Courts and Judges, as amended, Act No. 436/1991 Coll., on some measures in justice, elections of lay judges, their withdrawal and removal from office and on state administration of courts of the Czech Republic, as amended, and Public Prosecutor’s Office Act No. 283/1993 Coll., as amended, came into effect on its declaration day (11 January 2001).
Act No. 14/2002 Coll., to amend Public Prosecutor’s Office Act No. 283/1993 Coll., as amended, and Act No. 201/1997 Coll., regulating salary and some other requisites of public prosecutors and amending and supplementing Act No. 143/1992 Coll., regulating salary and remuneration for being on duty in budget and some other organizations and bodies, as amended, as amended by Act No. 155/2000 Coll., came into effect on the first day of the second calendar month following its declaration day (1 March 2002).
Prime Minister:
Eng. Zeman, in his own hand
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7)E.g. Section 250i Paragraph 2 of Act No. 99/1963 Coll., Section 69 and Section 75 Paragraph 3 of Act No. 71/1967 Coll.
8) Prosecutor’s Office Act No. 60/1965 Coll., as amended.
Information of printing offices with their addresses.