Czech Justice Ministry owes 300 million in unreturned court fees

The system of court fee collection and returning was changed in January 2009. The change will be scrapped and the previous system will be reintroduced as of next year, Kovarova said.

"The debts the judiciary has towards these persons reach 300 million crowns," Kovarova said, labelling the situation "unbelievable."

The state cannot afford having similar debts and failing to return court fees appropriately, she added.

Kovarova is a member of the caretaker government appointed this May.

Under the current fee returning system, the court fees go [from the justice sector] to the Finance Ministry's account first. Only after the ministry's approval they are returned back to the claimants, Kovarova explained.

A law that simplifies the procedure in accordance with the previous practice passed through the Senate last week, Kovarova said.

She said her ministry has worked out a bill to increase certain court fees. It reckons with the lower limit of a court fee to increase from 600 to 1000 crowns, and the upper limit from one million to 1.5 million crowns.

"The increase could help prevent unnecessary matters from being brought to court," Czech Union of Judges Tomas Lichovnik said in the discussion.

Kovarova connected the planned increase in the fees with the financial situation of the justice sector, which suffers from a shortage of money.

Opposing the plan, Marie Benesova, shadow justice minister for the Social Democrats (CSSD), said it is impossible to "put the burden of the sector's shortage of money on the citizens who would cover it."

In late September the daily Mlada fronta Dnes wrote that Czech courts also owe money to defence lawyers, translators and forensic experts. The debt reportedly stands at almost 129 million crowns and certain courts even face the threat of distraint as a result.

($1=17.277 crowns)

Autor: ČTK
www.ctk.cz