Czech Republic
Pillar III. Access to Remedy
Representation in court, legal assistance [pages 44-46]
Judicial proceedings assessing matters of business and human rights can often be very complex and convoluted. Furthermore, the victims in these disputes tend to be the economically or de facto weaker party (consumers, employees members of minorities, etc.) unable to afford decent legal assistance. The European Court of Human Rights takes the view that effective access to a court, including affordable legal systems, is part and parcel of the protection of human rights. The state, then, should take action to ensure that everyone, without fail, has the opportunity to seek judicial protection efficiently and effectively.
Representation in court is mainly the domain of lawyers, whose activities are regulated and guarantee a certain standard of quality, courtesy (to some degree) of checks conducted by the competent professional organisation, i.e. the bar association. However, for some types of proceedings it is advisable to permit representation by persons who, for example, possess specialised knowledge in a narrowly defined area of law or are willing to systematically provide representation free of charge. Even today, a trade union organisation may represent its members and associations may, in the course of their activities, represent victims of discrimination or foreign nationals in labour cases. It is worth considering expanding opportunities for representation by those organisations in the future. A trade union organisation could also represent other employees at the same employer; consumer protection associations could represent consumers; and associations that have long pushed for environmental protection in a particular place could represent plaintiffs in environmental cases. Other options could also be weighed up. Although these organisations can already provide representation, this is only as general agents (i.e. not systematically across a range of cases). Legislative enshrinement will enable them not only to pursue this activity systematically, but also make it possible to establish their liability more precisely, including, say, compulsory insurance.
Current state of play:
- If a party to judicial proceedings cannot afford a lawyer, the court may waive the court fees and appoint a representative if this is necessary to protect the party’s interests.
- In August 2017, a law entered into force that ensures that low-income groups can receive free legal assistance.
- The law allows certain legal persons (trade unions and associations) to represent parties to certain types of proceedings.
- Environmental protection associations may enter into certain types of proceedings.
- Associations whose members come from a certain place and whose activities depend on the state of the environment are treated as holders of the right to a favourable environment. Consequently, they have the full rights of a party to environmental proceedings and may even claim those rights in court.
- The bar association may assign a low-income applicant a lawyer for the provision of free legal assistance or legal services.
Tasks:
- Analyse issues surrounding an extension to the set of situations where legal persons may represent parties to proceedings.
Coordinator: Ministry of Justice
Deadline: 31 December 2020
- Evaluate the way the system of free legal assistance for the poor and needy works, especially the cost to the state, the bar association and applicants, the speed at which lawyers are assigned, and how much paperwork is involved. Evaluate the possibility of adding to the group of those who provide legal assistance.
Coordinator: Ministry of Justice
Co-coordinators: Ministry for Human Rights
Deadline: 31 December 2020
Access to evidence
Disputes deriving from the protection of human rights are complex in terms of their legal classification and from the aspect of precisely defining the action and the claim. Quantifying loss or damage in relation to non-economic rights is difficult,as is determining the extent to which a specific culprit is guilty.
Some of the evidence necessary tends to be in the complete control of the counterparty (e.g. minutes of the meetings of company bodies, internal instructions, and the working correspondence of employees). The Code of Civil Procedure recognises the “duty of release”, where the court, on a motion from the plaintiff, may indicate specific evidence (documentation) in the possession of the counterparty and order it to be released. However, such procedure is possible only after proceedings have been opened (i.e. the action must already have been brought), even though this evidence may be required to formulate the action, its statement of grounds, and the precise definition of the relief sought. The documentation solicited must also be very clearly specified.
Current state of play:
- The bill on compensation in competition includes the new concept of “proceedings to unlock evidence”, making it possible to petition the court for the parties to disclose certain materials necessary to specify a claim before the proceedings have been opened. The bill encompasses not only the disclosure of such evidence (including a fine to penalise non-compliance), but also means of protecting business secrets (the redacting of certain information or the occupation of the impartial person examining the evidence).
Task:
- Conduct a comprehensive analysis of how the existing provisions on the “proceedings to unlock evidence” under the said law function. In this respect, continuously monitor their use and effect by reference to data collected from the courts, with the possibility of drawing on expert assistance from the Office for the Protection of Competition and any experience it might have of this issue, while respecting the business secrets of the entities concerned (especially competitors).
Coordinator: Ministry of Justice
Co-coordinator: Office for the Protection of Competition
Deadline: 31 December 2022
- On the strength of a comprehensive analysis, consider introducing the concept of “proceedings to unlock evidence” in other areas of law, or introducing general provisions in this respect.
Coordinator: Ministry of Justice
Deadline: 31 December 2022
Collective actions
Historically (bar the odd specific exception), Czech law has not accommodated collective means for the protection of rights. In disputes where there are a large number of victims, they must all bring their own action and lodge their own claim separately. Actions may be joined, but even so each plaintiff has the status of a separate party. This is particularly problematic in disputes where the overall loss or damage is large, but is fragmented among a large number of people. The costs of judicial proceedings (and the risk of having to pay the counterparty’s costs if the action fails) are disproportionate to the scale of the loss or damage, which deters people from lodging numerous claims that would otherwise be legitimate. This procedure is also expensive for the counterparty, which has to deal with scores – even hundreds – of actions, and even pushes up the cost to the courts in terms of the paperwork, the service of documents, the ruling per se, and the enforcement thereof.
The situation is much the same in the administrative judiciary in cases requiring the judicial review of decisions involving large numbers of parties. Here, too, there may be situations where a large number of persons feel that their rights have been infringed by a particular decision of a public authority, but the Code of Procedure of Administrative Courts does not let them file their claims collectively. Even if cases are joined within the scope of single proceedings, each plaintiff effectively acts independently.
Current state of play:
- The Consumer Protection Act allows consumer associations to seek injunctions. In practice, however, these provisions are not particularly effective and can really only be used in a narrow set of situations.
- The Ministry of Justice is contemplating the introduction of collective actions, but no final decision on the concept of such provisions has been reached. The emphasis is on the efficiency of this scheme and its constitutionality. An explanatory memorandum for this law is to be prepared in 2017.
Tasks:
- Prepare for the introduction of collective actions in civil proceedings before the courts.
Coordinator: Ministry of Justice
Deadline: 31 December 2020
- Drawing on the experience of collective actions in civil proceedings before the courts, consider whether to introduce collective actions in the administrative judiciary.
Coordinator: Ministry of Justice
Deadline: 31 December 2022
Integration of authorisation proceedings
The lack of uniformity of provisions in administrative law is reflected negatively in the issuance of permits and opinions in particular. An investor intending to implement a large-scale plan affecting multiple areas requires numerous individual permits and opinions from various bodies. In this respect, the Czech legal system is highly fragmented. Permits are issued in accordance with laws on building, the protection of nature and the landscape, water, clean air and others.
This fragmentation logically also has a bearing on rules for the participation of the relevant public in individual proceedings. Conditions for the participation of the relevant public are subject to special provisions set out in a separate law, and, at the same time, the relevant public abides by general rules in accordance with the Code of Administrative Procedure. In this respect, it can be difficult for the general public to navigate their way round individual processes, no matter how long the proceedings themselves are.
Integration should be aimed at faster proceedings, coordination, reduced red tape, and a uniform vision for the engagement of the relevant public. The integration of multiple proceedings into one, or the greater coherence of individual proceedings, will yield numerous benefits – the parties and the relevant public will find the proceedings clearer, the proceedings will be faster, and there will be less of an administrative burden. On the flip side, there will be risks, too. For example, the annulment of a decision by a court could have repercussions for those areas that are otherwise free of defects. These aspects need to be carefully balanced and the risks need to be mitigated, for instance by setting appropriate rules on judicial review.
Current state of play:
- An amendment to the Building Act adopted in 2017 led to the partial interconnection of zoning proceedings, building permit proceedings, EIA procedure and several other necessary authorisation proceedings.
Task:
- Chart the authorisation proceedings coordinated by a particular ministry and assess whether they can be merged with the authorisation processes of other ministries, or whether procedural rules can be unified.
Coordinators: Ministry of Regional Development, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Agriculture
Deadline: 31 December 2020
- Actively cooperate with other authorities on the integration of authorisation proceedings coordinated by various different ministries.
Coordinators: Ministry of Regional Development, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Agriculture
Deadline: Running