Act on Higher Court Officers

Act No. 425/2002 Coll. on Higher Court Officers and amending and supplementing the Act No. 335/1991 Coll. on Courts and Judges, as amended

The aim of this new act is to facilitate operation of courts through simplifying their procedures, so that courts can concentrate on decision-making process rather than on procedural and formal part of cases. This effect should be achieved through the new institute of higher court officers, who will be authorised to independently perform certain acts of courts, based on authorisation of a judge or law, if the act does not concern the subject-matter of the case. The extent of officer's competencies covers the agenda of present court secretaries and certain new competencies are added.

In civil proceedings, a judge may authorise an officer inter alia to:

1. act in cases concerning:
   • court deposit proceedings,
   • documents redemption proceedings,
   • proceedings on payment orders, on protests against payment orders, and on recall of payment orders,
   • enforcement proceedings on custody of minors, payroll deductions, commandment of receivable and sale of movable assets, if a hearing is not necessary,
2. decide on:
   1. interruption of proceedings due to petition withdrawal before the first hearing,
   2. disciplinary penalties,
   3. fees for testimonies, expert opinions and translations,
   4. return of deposited advances for evidence costs,
   5. court fees, including interruption of proceedings for failure to pay fees,
3. perform court acts other than hearings and deciding in following cases:
   1. commercial registry proceedings,
   2. inheritance proceedings,
   3. court settlement proceedings,
   4. enforcement proceedings requiring a hearing to take place,
   5. execution proceedings,
   6. bankruptcy and composition proceedings.

1. record petitions, except for petitions for which legal education of the petitioner or its counsel, is required by law,
2. call for corrections of incorrect or incomplete petitions,
3. request other domestic courts to perform certain procedural acts,
4. assist petitioners in filing of petitions for legal aid in a foreign country,
5. issue official copies, extracts and confirmations from court records,
6. prepare court hearings,
7. perform acts prior to submitting the case to an appellate court.

The act also stipulates competencies of officers in criminal proceedings.

The officer is required to have a Master's or Bachelor's degree in law. The present court secretaries not meeting this condition are liable to achieve such education by 30 September 2010.

This Act became effective from 1 September 2002.

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