Czech Minister of Justice Pavel Blažek believes that after approval in the parliament, criminal proceedings will become more efficient, it will help overcrowded prisons and reduce state expenses, reports TASR correspondent in Prague. Among other things, the proposed amendment will allow the imposition of fines for any crime, however, it cannot be the only punishment for serious acts.
The change should also occur if alimony is not paid. Currently, hundreds of people are serving time in prison for neglecting maintenance obligations, according to the new law non-payers were to be threatened with execution. In certain cases, they would go to prison for a maximum of a year. Another novelty is the reduction of the rate for repeated theft or endorsing terrorism on the Internet.
Blažek promises modernization, efficiency and prevention from the amendment. He expects that recidivism should decrease and safety should increase. “We and Slovakia have the most prisoners in the entire EU, punishment here is old-fashioned and outdated, and we are moving away from the rest of the EU, where alternative punishments are already imposed and the system works for them,” said the minister. According to him, in the Czech Republic there is still a problem in the social awareness that if someone does not go to prison, it is not a punishment. However, he does not agree with that.
According to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, a change in the criminal code is inevitable. “We have perhaps the most people per population in prisons. Prison sentences are given here for things that can be punished in another way if we have to,” Fiala commented on the approved draft amendment from Azerbaijan, where he participated in the COP29 climate conference. Therefore, he was not at Wednesday’s government meeting. According to him, the system will work better after the intended changes. “It will be more preventive, more effective and simply better,” added Fiala.
Part of the draft amendment is also partial relaxation of the rules for growing and keeping hemp. It should be a criminal offense if people have more than five plants at home and keep more than 100 grams of dry matter, 50 grams outside the house.
The former president of the Pirates, Ivan Bartoš, pointed out on the X social network that much more hemp can be obtained from the permitted amount of plants than the proposed permitted amount of dry matter. According to him, people will be able to have plants, but they will only be able to use a minimal part of them. Blažek pointed out that it is a negotiated compromise.
