Courts without funds
Martin Murad·
Czech courts suffered a cash shortage – one regional court's account contained only seven crowns. Experts, ex-officio defence lawyers and interpreters could not be paid on time, threatening the credibility of the judiciary.
News report: Courts in the Czech Republic suffered a cash shortage. In one regional court an expert witness received a letter stating that his fee had not been processed because the court's account contained only seven crowns. Officials admitted that many courts were unable to pay experts, ex-officio defence lawyers and interpreters on time.
The vice-president of the Supreme Court warned that this undermines the credibility of the judiciary: courts admonish people to repay debts, yet they themselves fail to pay. Lawyers pointed out that the Criminal Procedure Code requires fees to be paid within 30 days and threatened to enforce payment via execution.