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Comments on the Report of the Czech Republic on the implementation of the international covenant on civil and political rights 1 Submitted by the Counselling Centre for Citizenship/Civil and Human Rights, July 2001

Executive Summary

The Counselling Centre for Citizenship/Civil and Human Rights ("CCC/HCR"), a non-governmental human rights organization based in Prague, respectfully submits written comments concerning the Czech Republic for consideration by the Human Rights Committee ("the Committee"). We are aware of the efforts of the Czech Government to meet its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("the Covenant"). However, existing measures have proven insufficient to ensure full compliance with the terms of the Covenant. Consistent with its areas of expertise, the CCC/CHR has identified specific shortcomings with respect to Articles 7, 9, 10, 14, 17, 24, and 26 of the Covenant, many of which particularly affect the significant Roma minority in the Czech Republic. The absence of comments on other Articles of the Covenant should not be understood as a suggestion that there is full compliance with them. Rather, the CCC/HCR has concentrated on Articles to which it can speak most authoritatively.

Regarding Article 7, Roma in the Czech Republic are consistently subjected to degrading treatment by state and municipal authorities. In accordance with the aim of Article 7, to "protect both the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of the individual," our position is that Article 7 extends to all manifestations of degrading treatment and should not be understood restrictively as a prohibition of the torture or ill-treatment by police and prison officers or members of the armed forces. While members of the Roma minority are often mistreated by police, they suffer equally degrading and more widespread mistreatment in housing, education, and children's services, areas in which many Roma are particularly vulnerable. Prison conditions in the Czech Republic also fall short of the standards mandated by the Covenant. Finally, racially-motivated violence against Roma in the Czech Republic seriously impedes their enjoyment of civil and political rights. The under-enforcement of legal sanctions against racially-motivated violence constitutes a failure to protect Roma from such violence and so to ensure their civil and political rights.

Regarding Article 9, as conceded in the Czech Government's report on the implementation of the Covenant, the prevalence of pre-trial detention is a serious cause for concern. Contrary to the proposition that pre-trial detention should be exceptional, it is widely used in the Czech Republic for periods up to 4 years. In this area, too, Roma are subject to discrimination: it has been suggested that Roma prisoners are approximately twice as likely to be committed to pre-trial detention than non-Roma.

Regarding Article 10, the treatment of persons in custody in the Czech Republic is a continuing problem. Particular concerns have been raised regarding the widespread reports of police brutality occasioned by demonstrations against the meeting of the IMF in Prague in September 2000, investigations into which have been extremely limited. As mentioned with regard to Article 7, prisons are also a source of concern. Educational and other rehabilitative facilities for prisoners are generally lacking, and the Law on Prisons allows juveniles to be placed alongside adults in pretrial detention.

Regarding Article 14, equality before the courts is not always realized in the Czech Republic. Many shortcomings in the legal system, particularly difficulties with access to legal aid, lead to grave inequalities before the courts. In addition, the institution of the Punishment Order, a summary conviction procedure, contravenes the right to a hearing mandated by the Covenant. In general, discrimination against Roma in the criminal justice system generates various violations of civil and political rights. As well as the under-enforcement of offenses against members of Roma communities mentioned above, Roma defendants are more frequently subjected to pretrial detention and receive harsher sentences than non-Roma defendants.

Regarding Article 17, members of the Roma community are often subjected to municipal decrees and other state actions that threaten their rights under these provisions. Applications for municipal housing, for example, often include unjustifiable requests for personal data that violate the right to privacy, and some residents are required to waive their tenancy rights.

Regarding Article 24, in addition to specific disadvantages suffered by Roma children in education and children's services, the violation of civil and political rights in general has a deleterious effect on children.

Regarding Article 26, protection against discrimination for Roma and other minority communities is seriously inadequate. Legal remedies for victims of discrimination are either lacking, insufficient, or under-enforced. Consequently, the Roma community is systematically disadvantaged in both public and private life, leaving many Roma unable to exercise the civil and political rights enshrined in the Covenant.

Expertise and Interest of the CCC/HCR

The Counselling Centre for Citizenship/Civil and Human Rights is a non-governmental organization that monitors the observation of human rights in the Czech Republic. Since July 1996, the CCC/CHR has implemented programs for the promotion of the rights of minorities and foreigners in the Czech Republic, defended the legal rights of victims of discrimination, monitored the observance of human rights in the Czech Republic, and drawn attention to existing and potential problems of discrimination in the Czech legal and administrative systems. The organization also advocates and promotes broader application in Czech law of international human rights treaties to which the Czech Republic is bound. The CCC/CHR has prepared and published numerous reports and submissions on human rights issues, including the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Convention Against Torture, and Czech compliance with European Union Directive 2000/43/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. Support for the CCC/HCR is provided by the Open Society Institute, the Open Society Fund, the UNHCR Prague, the Know-How Fund of the British Embassy, and the Fund of the Canadian Embassy.

We welcome the opportunity for the Committee to make use of our report in its analysis of the measures required to ensure Czech compliance with the Covenant.

Discussion

Article 7

Widespread discrimination against members of the Roma minority in the Czech Republic has rendered them particularly vulnerable to degrading treatment by state and municipal authorities. The extent of this problem far exceeds simple bureaucratic difficulties. Given the severity of the suffering it occasions, the CCC/HCR suggests that such treatment, while not the "disciplinary" procedures usually identified as contravening provisions of this kind, amounts to degrading treatment as prohibited by the Covenant. As indicated in the general comment on the implementation of Article 7, the guarantees of the article are extended to all persons, not simply prisoners or other detainees. Certainly, mistreatment of Roma by police and prison authorities continues to be a subject of concern in the Czech Republic1. But many Roma suffer equally degrading and far more widespread treatment in housing, education, and children's services.

Housing: The emergence of Roma ghettoes is an acute problem in the Czech Republic. Several factors have contributed to this phenomenon: the general economic vulnerability of many Roma communities; discrimination against Roma by private and municipal landlords; the unavailability of legal assistance; and the denial, between 1993 and 1999, of citizenship to thousands of Roma resident in Czech territory. In many of the areas where Roma have become concentrated, essential services are thoroughly inadequate. In addition, many Roma live in housing owned by municipalities and are consequently subject to terms and conditions that are established simply by municipal measures or decrees. As private legal entities, many municipal administrations claim that tenant agreements are essentially private contracts. In practice, however, municipalities enjoy far greater power than private landlords as they are able to issue generally binding decrees regarding tenancy terms and conditions. Although such decrees are necessarily subordinate to state legislation, the legal and practical possibilities of challenging municipal decrees are extremely limited. The terms and conditions extended to Roma residents are often highly restrictive, and municipal housing provided to Roma is often of a significantly lower standard than that offered to non-Roma residents. In some cases, non-Roma residents and local authorities have advocated the forced removal of Roma families from municipal housing. The most pronounced example of this tendency to confine Roma to ghettoes was the construction, in Usti nad Labem, of a 1.8m high wall between apartment blocks inhabited by Roma families and the residences of a few non-Roma families. Following considerable controversy, the Czech government removed the wall, but only after financing the relocation of the non-Roma families 2.

Dependence on municipal housing and a general lack of adequate public housing also render many Roma vulnerable to being removed to holobyty, recently developed institutions for "socially unadaptable" residents. Ostensibly last resort housing for those unwilling or unable to meet their rent obligations, or who otherwise represent problem tenants, holobyty are primarily used to segregate Roma families from the non-Roma population3. Conditions in holobyty are deplorable: many have no heating or hot water, and bathrooms and other facilities are shared and their use restricted or charged for. Residents also lose basic tenancy rights: in some facilities, residents are not allowed to receive visitors; some require residents to agree to allow authorities unlimited access to their apartments4. Subjection to such treatment cannot be considered simply a matter of local concern, problems best left to local authorities. Given its severity and extent, this level of mistreatment constitutes systematic degradation of Roma individuals.

The ways in which Roma are subjected to degrading treatment in housing is starkly illustrated by the events that followed serious flooding in 1997 in Northern Moravia. The Hrusov area of Slezska Ostrava was particularly badly affected by the floods, and residents of the area were evacuated to emergency shelters. In October 1997, the area was condemned as the foundations of flooded buildings were eroded, and it was eventually decided that the area could not be reoccupied.

However, some houses in the flooded area were preserved. While non-Roma residents of the flooded area were resettled elsewhere, these flooded apartments were made available to Roma residents of the area. The apartments were in total disrepair and clearly uninhabitable: they were often the only accessible apartments in otherwise destroyed blocks, stagnant floodwater remained, basements were filled with sludge, ceilings incomplete, and the apartments badly affected by mould. The condition of the housing is well-documented: according to the Regional Hygiene Office, circumstances in the area constitute a health risk5; a structural engineer, registered with Czech courts as an expert, declared the buildings irrecoverably saturated and irreparable6; standing water and sewerage remain and there is permanent and increasing contamination of the buildings by mould and spores7; water, sewerage, and electricity are not functioning in the area8.

Despite the uninhabitable condition of the apartments, they were considered appropriate by local authorities and were the only dwellings offered by the city to Roma residents. Denying a problem "in general," administrators did concede that individual apartments might be substandard9. Although evidently aware of conditions in the area - it had, of course, been condemned - local authorities maintained either that they had no plans to provide other housing for Roma families or that they had received no formal complaints about housing in the area and so were unaware of any problems. However, in an express acknowledgment of conditions in the area, the municipality offered residents a 30% reduction in rent10. Other responses were even more insulting: authorities have confirmed that they have no plans to provide alternative housing for the Roma, claiming that the residents are in arrears in rent or, in some cases, that they are themselves responsible for the condition of the apartments11. Despite the evident health risks posed by the environment, the administration clearly considers such housing suitable for Roma.

The health hazards of the Hrusov are illustrated by the case of D.Z., a 14 year-old resident of the Hrusov area. After the floods, D.Z. returned with his family to Hrusov, accepting the apartment offered by the city. After their return, D.Z. developed bronchial complaints, asthma, and skin allergies, A doctor who examined D.Z., also a court-registered expert, identified a direct causal relationship between D.Z.'s condition and the environment in Hrusov. She further suggested that continued exposure to such conditions would exacerbate D.Z.'s condition and could lead to increasingly serious medical problems. One of many examples, D.Z.'s case highlights the extent to which housing can be particularly fraught with issues of civil and political rights12.

Education: Roma children are also subject to particularly degrading treatment in education, of which the well-documented segregation of Roma children in "special schools" is the most glaring example13. Roma children, irrespective of their educational needs, have been systematically diverted into these facilities. As a consequence, many are seriously undereducated and ill-prepared to enter higher education or the labor market. While proposals to amend the Law on Education have been initiated, there are, as yet, no legal measures in place to redress this practice. As with the effects of forcing Roma into substandard housing, the segregation and undereducation of Roma children needs to be understood in its full gravity. As well as a general disadvantaging of the Roma community in general, such practices constitute serious harm to the integrity of the individual. The immediate and long-term effects are to subject Roma individuals to extreme social disadvantage and to make them increasingly vulnerable members of society. Consistent with the broad scope of Article 7, we submit that the continued mistreatment of Roma children constitutes degrading treatment and, therefore, a violation of their civil and political rights. Accordingly, positive measures are required to redress this situation in order to comply with the provisions of the Covenant.

Children's services: Children in orphanages and foster care are also at risk. In the Czech Republic, institutions providing services to children are regulated by decrees and decisions of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Physical Education, an arrangement that does not facilitate transparency and makes it difficult to ensure compliance of these institutions with the standards to which the Czech government is bound. A forthcoming report of the Children's Rights14 section of the Czech Government Human Rights Commission has identified serious problems in foster care facilities: physical and verbal abuse is commonplace; other forms of humiliating treatment are evident; maintenance of existing personal relationships is made difficult by restrictions on visitors and correspondence; siblings are not generally placed in the same institutions. Additionally, where a child has been placed in temporary care, often due to the critical housing situation of the parents, it often proves difficult for parents, once their situation has been remedied, to regain custody. In addition to the prevalence of degrading treatment, institutions are entirely self-scrutinizing. There is no domestic legislation governing the obligations and actions of these institutions; only internal administrative complaints of mistreatment can be made. Such an arrangement frustrates accountability, increasing the risk of mistreatment.

Prisons: As well as the degrading treatment discussed above, conditions in Czech prisons are a continuing source of concern. The general comment on Article 7 identifies prolonged solitary confinement as a potential violation of the Article; many prisoners serving life-sentences in the Czech Republic are in round-the-clock solitary confinement.15 During their exercise periods, furthermore, prisoners are manacled. Conditions affecting juveniles in detention also contravene the provisions of Article 7: following an amendment to the Law on Prisons in 2000, juveniles (15-18) may be placed in pre-trial detention alongside adult detainees. Justifying the amendment, the Director of the Prison Service suggesting that many juveniles were beyond the control of prison staff and that being detained alongside adults might prove "educational."16 There are also problems of accountability in the prison service; complaints are heard not simply within the Prison Service administration but by an internal inspection department of the specific prison in question. As conceded by the Czech Government, this arrangement serves to discourage complaints against mistreatment. Specifically, prisoners are reluctant to file complaints because they are skeptical about the possibility of a thorough and impartial investigation and fearful of reprisals by prison staff.

Racially-motivated violence: As set out in Article 2 of the Covenant, the Czech Republic is bound to ensure to all individuals the rights recognized in the Covenant. In this respect, the lack of positive action to combat racially-motivated violence against Roma in the Czech Republic must be considered a failure to protect the rights set out in Article 7. Racially-motivated violence against Roma is a serious problem in the Czech Republic17. Despite the severity of the problem, the provisions in the Criminal Code for increased sanctions for racially-motivated crimes are under-enforced. Police are generally disinclined to investigate racially-motivated attacks, and, where offenders are identified and charged, prosecutors and courts have shown a marked reluctance to exercise the provisions against racially-motivated crimes or even to recognize racially-motivated violence18. Offenders are generally charged with lesser offenses and receive disproportionately lenient sentences. A particularly striking example of this attitude is represented in a recent book published by a prominent state prosecutor. Referring to the 1998 murder of Ms. Heleny Bihariové, a Roma woman with four children, by two skinheads, JUDr. Miroslav Antl, Regional State Prosecutor for Hradec Kralové, claimed that the attack was not racially-motivated. His reasoning was that Ms. Bihariové was a prostitute and had previously been convicted for petty theft.19 JUDr. Antl also suggests that claims of racially-motivated violence are vastly exaggerated.20 JUDr. Antl's book has been endorsed by the Minister of the Interior, Mgr. Stanislav Gross.21 Without effective protection, Roma and members of other minorities are persistently at risk of violence and so deprived of their civil rights.

Police brutality and complaints procedures: Events surrounding the IMF Summit in Prague in September 2000 warrant consideration by the Committee. Widespread allegations of police brutality followed the demonstrations, and many complaints were filed. Despite the volume of complaints, there has been little investigation of police action during the demonstration.22 As with complaints procedures in the Prison Service, there is no external scrutiny of police action; all complaints are heard by an internal complaints and inspection department. This lack of accountability seriously compromises the guarantees of Article 7.

Article 9

Pre-trial detention is very liberally used in the Czech Republic. As noted in the Czech Government report on ICCPR, almost 90% of requests for pretrial detention are approved and lengthy pretrial detention is not uncommon.23 Statistics on pretrial detention indicate that the numbers of prisoners in pretrial detention is declining slightly. However, average lengths of pretrial detention, or detention during trial, have risen during the same period, and significant numbers of prisoners are detained for periods of 2 years and over, either awaiting trial or during trial. As a result of now-repealed citizenship laws enacted after the separation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, some prisoners were subject to expulsion orders in addition to prison sentences. Complications with expulsion orders have resulted in some prisoners remaining in detention for periods exceeding 2 years following the completion of their sentences. Figures for the year 2000 show that 5967 prisoners were held in either pretrial detention, detention during trial, or detention awaiting expulsion; the average length of detention was 180 days. Over 700 prisoners were detained for more than a year.

Article 10

Many of the concerns raised with respect to Article 7 represent similar violations of Article 10. Physical and verbal abuse of arrested persons, in addition to amounting to cruel and degrading treatment, also contravenes the provisions of Article 10(1). Many of the allegations made regarding the treatment of those arrested during the IMF protests, if substantiated, would suggest that there are insufficient measures in place to protect the humanity and dignity of such persons in police custody.

Similarly, prison conditions also contravene the provisions of this article. As stipulated in the general comment on the implementation of Article 10, penitentiary systems should be rehabilitative; many Czech prisons, however, have inadequate educational and other rehabilitative facilities.24 As mentioned above, current laws also make it possible for juveniles to be placed in pre-trial detention with adults.

Article 14

Equality before the courts is particularly problematic in the Czech Republic. In addition to lengthy delays in the courts, which contravene Article 14 para 3(c), many aspects of judicial procedure lead to serious inequalities before the courts. Such procedures, moreover, lead to serious discrimination against Roma within the criminal justice system.

Punishment Orders: The institution of the Punishment Order violates the entitlement to a fair and public hearing mandated by paragraph 1.25 As conceded in the Czech Government report, Punishment Orders raise serious concerns in terms of the guarantees of Article 14.26 Essentially, convictions without a hearing, Punishment Orders are designed to allow judges to expedite the administration of justice by waiving hearings where the case, as they see it, is relatively straightforward. Punishment Orders are issued in a significant proportion of criminal proceedings.27 In 1987, the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the Simplification of Criminal Justice stipulated that summary proceedings should not be used to deprive persons of their liberty.28 In the Czech Republic, the Rules of Criminal Procedure provide for imprisonment for up to one year. Generally, persons subjected to Punishment Orders have had inadequate representation. Defendants can insist on a hearing, but many are reluctant to do so for fear of attracting sentences, should they be convicted, exceeding the maximum allowed under a Punishment Order.

Paragraphs 3(b) and 3(d) also warrant close attention. Provisions for legal aid are very poor in the Czech Republic. It is both rare and beyond the means of many parties. The unavailability of legal aid makes it extremely difficult for many people, particularly members of the Roma community, either to defend themselves in court or to seek to vindicate their rights through the legal system.29 Compounding this potential for inadequate or non-existent representation, other procedural problems limit the defense of rights. Defendants' rights to examine witnesses, as stipulated by para 3(e), are extremely limited. They may neither call their own witnesses nor examine witnesses against them directly. Evidentiary problems also frustrate equality before the courts. Parties are unable to introduce expert evidence unless the witness is already registered with the court as an expert. Retaining the services of expert witnesses is often costly, forcing many defendants or litigants to forego the benefits of expert testimony.

These problems with access to justice are particularly acute for members of Roma communities. As mentioned above, Roma face serious discrimination in the criminal justice system, ranging from under-enforcement of offenses against Roma to differential and discriminatory use of pretrial detention and the imposition of harsher sentences.30 There are also suggestions that many defendants, particularly Roma, are coerced into confessions, in violation of para 3(g), with threats of more severe punishment or other restrictions if they fail to do so.31 Such confessions, furthermore, may be used as the basis of the imposition of a Punishment Order, and there are no provisions for rendering coerced confessions inadmissible.

This differential standing before the law is a matter of grave concern in the Czech Republic and fails to comply with the guarantees of Article 14. As well as procedural inequities in both the criminal and civil justice systems, even where formal equality is nominally available, in practice, Roma are frequently denied their rights before the law. Facing greater likelihood of arrest, conviction, and harsher sentencing, Roma, then, are disproportionately affected by the consequences of having passed through the criminal justice system; specific problems include consequent difficulties with access to housing and opportunities for employment, and, particularly during the period between 1993 and 1999 when many Roma were denied citizenship in the Czech Republic, despite having been born and lived their entire lives in Czech territory, vulnerability to the imposition of an expulsion order, which itself could lead to significant periods of detention after the completion of prescribed prison sentences. In addition, discrimination against Roma means that neither the criminal nor the civil justice system adequately protects the rights of Roma in the Czech Republic; many crimes against Roma go unreported for a lack of faith in either the police or the courts, and Roma are disinclined to pursue their rights through the civil justice system as favorable outcomes are unlikely and the costs of representation, court fees, and the possibility of being required to pay their opponents' costs, are prohibitive.

Article 17

The guarantees of Article 17 are most often violated in relation to the provision of housing. As many Roma live in municipal housing, their tenancies are governed by municipal decree; there is no direct control over the terms and conditions that may be imposed on tenants in municipal housing. As noted above, tenants in holobyty are frequently forced to waive their rights to privacy and the integrity of their home. Similarly, applications for many municipal services routinely require personal data irrelevant to the services in question. Of particular concern is the requirement that applicants for municipal housing provide proof that neither they, nor any members of their family, have a criminal record.32 As well as another form of indirect discrimination against Roma, such requests constitute a violation of privacy rights and, in a sense, the imposition of a double punishment. Having been sanctioned for their offences, convicted offenders should not be subjected to further disadvantages. There are, however, no legal measures to protect against such violations of privacy. The lack of explicit legislation governing the conduct of municipalities renders their decrees beyond external scrutiny. In addition, the Data Protection Office, tasked with administering the Law on Data Protection, which is designed to protect sensitive personal data, does not consider the municipal request for documentation of a criminal record to be a request for sensitive personal data.33

Article 24

As noted above, many Roma children are subject to considerable disadvantages in the education system. Generally, children are particularly vulnerable to the deprivation of rights discussed above. The vulnerability of the Roma community to poor living conditions, substandard education, and high levels of unemployment represent serious threats to child welfare. As discussed in the general comment on the implementation of Article 17, special provisions are required for the protection of children.

Article 26

Racial and ethnic discrimination is widespread in the Czech Republic and existing measures are inadequate not only to meet the terms of Article 26, but compromise the enjoyment of many of the rights set out in the Covenant. While equality is guaranteed in the Czech constitutional order by the Charter of Fundamental Freedoms and Basic Rights ("the Charter"), there is, as conceded in the Czech Government report, a general failure to implement these guarantees in the legal system. Considerable legislative reform and development is required to bring the Czech legal system into compliance with the terms of the Charter. The Czech Republic's obligations in this area are extensive: in addition the very broad anti-discrimination mandate of Article 26, the Charter requires detailed anti-discrimination provisions in a wide range of areas, and, as a candidate for accession to the European Union, the Czech Republic is required to harmonize its domestic legislation with the anti-discrimination provisions of the acquis communautaire, particularly the recent directive on equal treatment regardless of racial or ethnic origin.34

The prevalence of discrimination against Roma in the Czech Republic constitutes a serious breach of the Covenant. As discussed above, Roma face grave problems in housing, education, and employment that frustrate their enjoyment of full civil and political rights. Also discussed above are the difficulties faced by Roma before the law. Whether victims of crime, defendants, or civil litigants, Roma are unable to rely on the justice system for the protection and vindication of their civil and political rights. Not only, then, are there shortcomings with respect to specific guarantees of the Covenant, but the situation of the Roma in the Czech Republic violates the broad principle of anti-discrimination represented by Article 26.

Conclusion

Considering these shortcomings in the protection of civil and political rights in the Czech Republic, and the extent to which the Covenant requires positive action to ensure compliance with its provisions, the CCC/HCR concludes that the following measures need to be adopted:

the amendment of the institution of the Punishment Order to eliminate the possibility of imprisonment, and an extension of the period in which a punishment order may be appealed; police, legal, and judicial reform to redress discrimination against Roma, and particularly a more concerted effort to combat violence and other forms of discrimination against Roma by private actors; the provision of free legal aid, and an extension of the range of cases in which representation is mandatory legislation specifically to prohibit discrimination in housing, education, and other social services external oversight of complaints against the police and the prison services regulation of municipalities that limit the imposition of degrading terms and conditions on residents of municipal housing.

Notes:
1 See Council of Europe, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, "Second Report on the Czech Republic," ECRI (2000) 4, March 21, 2000; United Nations Committee against Torture, "Conclusions and Recommendations of the Committee against Torture: Czech Republic," XXVI/Conc.5/Rev.1, May 14, 2001, para 8.(b).
2 See Ina Zoon, On the Margins, Supplement: Housing in the Czech Republic, Open Society, 2001, p.167.
3 Roma, who represent approximately 3% of the total Czech population, are vastly over-represented in holobyty: a survey of several holobyty in June and July 2000 indicated that Roma represented between 60% and 100% of residents; see On the Margins, p.181.
4 On the Margins, p.179 ff.
5 Statement by MUDr. Volf, Director of Regional Hygiene Office, July 26, 2001.
6 Evaluation of Structural Condition of Ostrava-Hrusov, April 26, 2001, conducted by Milan Lehky, court registered expert in construction.
7 Evaluation of the Environment Contaminated by Mould, Protocol No. 1310, May 15, 2001, conducted by Chemila Chemical and Microbiological Laboratories, SRO, accredited by Czech Institute for Accreditation.
8 On the Margins, pp.169-170.
9 Having stated that there were health risks in the area, the Regional Hygiene Office nonetheless concluded that the area "in general" was stable.
10 Prior to the reduction, rents in the apartments had been comparable to those charged before the floods.
11 Reference - deputy mayor of Ostrava.
12 Expert opinion in the Matter of the Examination of the Health of Minor D.Z., April 22, 2001, conducted by MUDr. Irena Krcmova, CSc, court registered expert in allergenic and clinical immunology.
13 See A Special Remedy: Roma and Schools for the Mentally Handicapped in the Czech Republic, Report by the European Roma Rights Centre, June 1999.
14 get details from Alena.
15 These conditions obtain in Mirov Prison, where prisoners serving life sentences are incarcerated.
16 Reasoning presented by Director of Prison Services in the Hearing of the Petition Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament to the Parliamentary Press 518/00, April 27, 2000.
17 Both the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and the United Nation Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination have noted the severity of the problem: see Council of Europe, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, "Second Report on the Czech Republic," ECRI (2000) 4, March 21, 2000; United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, "Concluding Observations on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Czech Republic," A/55/18, August 14, 2000.
18 For accounts of some of the incidents of racially-motivated violence, including homicides, see, inter alia, Roma Rights, No.1, 1999, pp.13-14; Roma Rights, No. 4, 2000, pp. 12-13, Roma Rights, No. 1, 2001, pp.17-18.
19 Miroslav Antl, Gaunery nemam rad! (I Hate Hoodlums), Prague, 2001, pp. 93.
20 Ibid., p.90.
21 date of statement
22 The Legal Observers Project (OPH) has been monitoring developments since the demonstrations; see www.oph.cz.
23 See Initial Report of the Czech Republic on the Implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for the period 1993-1999, paragraphs 261-265.
24 See Comments to the Report of the Czech Republic on Performance of the Obligations Arising from the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, submitted by the CCC/HCR, April 2001.
25 Punishment See Proposal for Amendment of Certain Provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, submitted by the CCC/CHR.
26 See Initial Report of the Czech Republic, para. 243.
27 Figures for 2000 indicate that Punishment Orders are used in some 60% of criminal cases.
28 Recommendation 8(PF) 18, September 17, 1987.
29 See David Strupek, "No system, no concept, insufficient mechanisms: legal aid and Roma in the Czech Republic," Roma Rights, No. 1, 2000, pp. 97-102.
30 See Barbora Bukovská, "Romani men in black suits: racism in the criminal justice system in the Czech Republic," Roma Rights, No. 1, 2001, pp. 50-62.
31 See Comments on the Draft Amendment of the Law on Pretrial Detention, submitted by CCC/CHR, April 2000
32 See On the Margins, p. 171.
33 Letter from the Data Protection Office to the CCC/CHR, May 3, 2001.
34 European Union Directive 2000/43/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin.