Judge Ltd.: may Czech judges do business?

Keywords: business – judges – Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic – gainful activity

Abstract: The Czech legal and political debate in the autumn of 2023, in connection with the selection of new constitutional judges, was dominated by an issue that has not yet been publicly addressed. At least not in such a public way. What rules apply to judges' extrajudicial business activities? Even though the Czech law concerning judiciary and judges prohibits any gainful activity, with legal exceptions, we must ask if this strictness is observed in practice. This article analyses Czech legislation on the private business activities of judges of general courts and the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. In particular, it shows the ambiguity of the current rules and the uncertainty of the judiciary as to what is and what is not allowed, while the current situation is not clarified by case law. To put this into context, the text also examines foreign legislation, especially German and Austrian, which again demonstrates the legal uncertainty arising from the legislation in question and shows the strictness of the Czech legislator. The article concludes by suggesting how the Czech legislation could be amended to better reflect the real situation of a large number of domestic judges, but also to fulfil the main purpose of the rules - the protection of the dignity of the judges and the judiciary.

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