Czech President Pavel faces possible competency lawsuit over NATO summit attendance

Petra Pavel NATO summit competency lawsuit Czech government Alena Schillerová

President Petra Pavel may be taken to court for a competency lawsuit if he does not attend the NATO summit in Ankara on 8 June. The Czech government could become the first to file such a suit against a sitting president, a step the president himself has hinted at.

Finance Minister Alena Schillerová told CNN Prima News that the likelihood of the president being excluded from the delegation is very low, saying the government plans to send Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the defence minister and other officials to explain defence spending and policy. Marian Jurečka, head of the KDU‑ČSL parliamentary club, called the dispute a loss for all parties, noting that the president’s absence would leave an empty chair at the summit.

The debate, sparked by the president’s late arrival at a meeting with the prime minister on 8 May, continues as officials prepare to decide the final composition of the Czech delegation before 8 June.