Pavel Rychetský warns against government interference in Czech prosecution

Former Constitutional Court Chairman Pavel Rychetský has warned that the Czech government must not attempt to dictate how the judiciary makes decisions. Speaking on the program Poledne s Moravcem, Rychetský emphasized that for the country to maintain independent courts, the prosecution service must also remain procedurally independent from executive interference.

This commentary follows a proposal by Minister of Justice Jeroným Tejc to have public prosecutors align their work with government-approved criminal policy priorities. Tejc's stated priorities include appealing disproportionately low sentences for violent crime and animal cruelty, reducing the prosecution of controversial speech, and accelerating cases involving self-defense.

While the judiciary is constitutionally independent, the prosecution service falls under executive authority. Tejc intends to ask Supreme Public Prosecutor Lenka Bradáčová to issue methodological recommendations to unify prosecutorial procedures in line with these government priorities. Bradáčová responded by stating that prosecutors will continue to act according to all principles of criminal proceedings.