Aug 15, 2008
The 1992 Czech Constitution was amended in 2001 with the goal of conforming to the obligations of future EU membership, which occurred on 1 May 2004.
The ‘European amendment’ introduced changes in the application of international treaties and revised the powers of Parliament, the Constitutional Court and ordinary courts.
Judicial reforms in 2002 were followed by the creation of the Supreme Administrative Court, the Judicial Academy and judicial councils, and an increase in the powers of prosecutors through amendments to the Law on State Prosecution and the Criminal Procedure Code.
However, the judicial system still has a significant problem with regard to lengthy proceedings. Executive interference within the judiciary has been reported.
Czech Republic-Attacks on Justice 2005-Publications-2008 (full text, PDF)
Aug 15, 2008
Albania has continued reforming its legal system in the framework of its democratization process.
Meanwhile, the authorities must also cope with other serious challenges such as the fight against human and drug trafficking and the dismantling of organized crime.
Although the Constitution provides for an independent judiciary, political pressure, intimidation, endemic corruption, bribery, and limited resources have hampered the independent and efficient functioning of the judiciary.
A law on disclosure of personal assets was adopted in April 2003 to thwart the pervasive corruption in Albanian society, including the judiciary. Two important measures were adopted in order to improve the judicial system: the adoption in March 2004 of the Law on the Protection of Judges and Witnesses and the establishment of the Serious Crime Courts in January 2004 to deal with trafficking and organized crime.
On 12 October 2003, local elections in many major Albanian cities tested the performance of the new Electoral Code. Unfortunately, according to international observers, these elections fell short of international standards.
Albania-Attacks on Justice 2005-Publications-2008 (full text, PDF)
Jul 24, 2008
The ICJ is contributing to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Uzbekistan, which is of particular importance given the gross and systematic violations of human rights that continue to take place in that country.
Jul 24, 2008
The ICJ drew attention of the Human Rights Council’s working group on the UPR to several issues of concern for the protection of human rights and the rule of law in Serbia.
Jul 11, 2008
The operation of Kyrgyzstan’s judiciary has remained largely within the control of the executive.
