Commission Report (2002): Czech Republic

• Progress since the last Regular Report
• Overall assessment
• Conclusion

Chapter 24: co-operation in the field of justice and home affairs

Progress since the last Regular Report

Since the 2001 Regular Report, the Czech Republic has nearly completed its legal alignment with the acquis under this chapter and has made further notable progress in the institutional and implementing capacity building in all fields. Despite notable efforts, the major gap remains the ineffectiveness of combating ``white collar'' crime and corruption (see Chapter 3 -- Freedom to provide services).

The Czech legislation on data protection has been further supplemented through an amendment to the Act on Classified Data adopted in June 2002. The 1981 Council of Europe Convention in this field entered into force in November 2001, and in April 2002 the Government signed the Additional Protocol on Supervisory Authorities and Trans-border Data Flows. The new Police Act is being implemented through an April 2002 internal instruction regulating the processing of data in the framework of criminal procedures. Protection of customs-related data will be ensured by the amendment to the Customs Act, which entered into force on 1 July 2002. As regards the supervision capacity, the staff of the Office for Personal Data Protection has reached 69 employees, and the seven independent inspectors have all been appointed. The Office registered about 14 000 data administrators in 2001 and issued 304 decisions on transmitting data abroad out of which 14 were fully or partially negative. Since June 2001, 41 on-the-spot inspections have been initiated (including one within the Police) and 57 measures have been taken such as data liquidation, restriction of scope of processed data and improvement of security measures. Within the police, 60 police officers (out of a total of 120) have been recruited so far to deal with this issue. Their training started recently.

The Czech Republic has continued to make good progress in aligning its visa policy with that of the EU. It aligned its visa obligations with the acquis in December 2001, and is currently preparing a standard visa-free agreement with certain countries, in line with EU visa-free travel. The Act on the Residence of Aliens, already amended in 2001, was further amended in May 2002. Thus, a new visa sticker for short-term and long-term stay was developed which corresponds to the EU visa sticker as far as possible and is being gradually introduced. The country has achieved considerable progress in modernising the visa issuing procedure: new general consulates have been opened in Poland and the Russian Federation and an on-line system is currently operating between all 108 Czech diplomatic missions issuing machine-readable visas (except Zimbabwe), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Alien and Border Police Service. The upgraded visa software ensuring higher data transmission speed and improved data security is now installed at the diplomatic missions. So far, about 800 000 visas have been issued under the new visa system.

With regard to border control, a new Act on State Border Protection was approved in April 2002 that further contributes, together with the amendment to the Aliens Law, to the full alignment of the Czech legislation with the Schengen/EU requirements. The new Act will enter into force on 1 January 2003 except for those provisions that will enter into force as of the date of lifting of internal border controls. It introduces the concept of border protection for preventing illegal border crossings in compliance with Schengen standards and ensuring the regularity and continuity of border protection. The enhanced efforts at operational level have led to rather positive effects on control of migration flows and as regards interception of illegal immigrants (especially on the Austrian and German borders), the number of whom declined by 28% in 2001, according to Czech statistics (13 000 less than in 2000). The majority of the problems identified in the 2001 Regular Report have been addressed.

An amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act was also adopted, which addresses Schengen judicial co-operation in criminal matters, in particular liaison magistrates. The Alien and Border Police (ABP) has a new structure as of 1 January 2002, which makes it more independent at the regional level. The ABP now comprises National Headquarters, seven Regional Directorates and the executive departments such as searching and residence checking departments (mobile units). The latter, created in all border regions at the end of 2001, are in charge of the detection and prevention of illegal immigration, cross-border crimes and illegal employment or residence. The technical equipment has also been improved (thermal-vision units, CO2 detectors, optical equipment for reading machine-readable documents). In the first quarter of 2002, extensive training for the top management of the Ministry of the Interior and the Police took place and a new system for training trainers in the area of travel documents was introduced. A new facility with a capacity for 145 third country nationals awaiting expulsion was opened in Velké Pílepy in February 2002.

Since November 2001, the Czech Republic continued to make important progress in the implementation of its Schengen Action Plan. The Government reviews progress every six months. The Police President decided to create one central authority for setting up the National Schengen Information System (N-SIS). Two agreements with Germany on cross-border surveillance and hot pursuit largely based on the Schengen model have been ratified. The Czech Police has prepared draft similar agreements with Slovakia, Poland and Austria.

As regards migration, the new amendment to the Act on the Residence of Aliens will enter into force partially on 1 January 2003 and fully by the date of lifting of internal border controls. This amendment defines the conditions for residence and the rights and duties of EU citizens on the Czech territory after accession, and incorporates an amendment to the Act on Travel Documents to enable EU citizens to enter with their ID card. The amendment also regulates the issue of refusing entry into the territory for reasons of public order. The effective readmission of illegal immigrants, using escorts organised by the police, has improved since the last Report. The Czech Republic is still negotiating the conclusion of new readmission agreements with the Benelux countries and Slovakia, and has initiated negotiations with Belarus, China, FYROM, India, Iran, Iraq, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Vietnam and Yugoslavia. It signed a readmission agreement with Slovakia in July 2002.

Another positive development was the adoption in November 2001 of the amendment to the Act on Asylum, which entered into force on 1 February 2002. The amendments provide for appeal against administrative decisions in asylum cases, define the concept of manifestly unfounded application and restrict access to employment by applicants for asylum. An application for asylum is now initially dealt with by the Department for Asylum and Migration Policies of the Ministry of the Interior. Currently, an applicant can appeal against a refusal to the Administrative Division of the High Court in Prague; a further appeal on matters of law by way of cassation may be submitted to the Supreme Administrative Court. From January 2003, the Prague Regional Court will hear appeals instead of the High Court. The Ministry of the Interior increased the capacity of 12 reception centres to reach a total capacity of 2 368 places (or 3 116 places in emergency situations).

The amendment to the Act on Asylum should be seen in the light of the very considerable increase in asylum applications in 2001 (18 082 against 8 788 in 2000). The Czech Republic received about 4 500 new asylum seekers in the first half of 2002. The majority of the cases in 2001, as over the previous years, came from Ukraine, Moldova, Romania (which number has dropped in 2002), Vietnam, India, Georgia, Armenia, the Russian Federation, Belarus and Afghanistan. On the other hand, far fewer applicants were granted asylum in 2001 (75) than in 2000 (133), and it seems that this trend will also be reinforced as a consequence of the amended Act.

In the fields of police co-operation and the fight against organised crime, the draft Act on the Service Status of the Members of the Security Forces was rejected by the Parliament in March 2002. On the other hand, the police ethics code, which was included in the above draft, was adopted. The Czech Republic made encouraging progress on the implementation of the main legal and institutional reforms decided last year. The act on witness protection and the amendment to the Police Act were implemented and a new unit on witness protection was created. Following the 2001 amendment to the Code of Criminal Proceedings, the Police Presidium started in January 2002 an in-depth reorganisation of its services, based on the principle of the abolition of the corps of investigators. The reform focused on the creation of the Criminal Police and Investigation Service (CPIS), which co-ordinates the activities of the main specialised departments. The Czech Republic made also important progress as regards international co-operation. It signed the agreement with EUROPOL on 5 March 2002, which entered into force in August 2002, and concluded co-operation agreements with Austria, France, Germany and Italy, while continuing to negotiate with Belgium, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Finally, a new liaison officer is being trained to be posted to Ukraine by 2003.

In the fight against terrorism, the Czech Republic adopted in April 2002 a National Action Plan in response to the events of 11 September 2001 in the Unites States, and started preparing the harmonisation of its criminal code with a view to the ratification of the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. It also passed new anti-terrorism legislation including measures against the financing of terrorism. The staff of the department for combating organised crime was increased and a new department was set up to be the counterpart of EUROPOL and of the anti-terrorist forces of the Member States and candidate countries in this area.

As regards the fight against fraud and corruption (see Section B.1.1 -- Democracy and the rule of law), no further progress in terms of legislative harmonisation can be reported on remaining issues. The further amendments to the Criminal Code concerning the criminal liability of legal persons and redefinition of corruption in the private sector remain awaited. Moreover, in April 2002 the Government approved a report on corruption which underlines that the situation is not improving. Data on bribery and crimes committed by public officials as well as data from public opinion research studies have shown that the number of corruption-related criminal offences detected has increased. It confirmed that latent corruption is still widespread, including in administrative police departments. On the other hand, the number of investigated and prosecuted bribery cases has also risen (especially in the areas of active corruption and credit fraud). Some positive developments can however be reported: the Czech Republic acceded in February 2002 to the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and the Supreme State Prosecutors` Office in Brno signed a co-operation arrangement with OLAF in January 2002. The specialised units of the former in Prague, Olomouc and Brno have confirmed the encouraging results obtained in terms of prosecution and conviction already mentioned in the previous Regular Report.

The Czech Republic has made progress in implementing its National Drug Policy Strategy 2001 -- 2004 through all involved institutions at all levels and adopted in June 2002 a long-term action plan to implement the EU Action Plan for 2000 -- 2004. Since the reorganisation of the Police Presidium in January 2002, the National anti-Drug Headquarters have been part of the CPIS but continue to co-ordinate the regional units and investigate narcotics cases at national and international levels. In June 2002 the Government established the Czech National Contact Point, which is to become fully operational as of January 2003.

In the field of the fight against money laundering (see also Chapter 4 -- Free movement of capital), the Czech Republic has implemented the 2001 amendment to the Code of Criminal Proceedings, while amendments to the Criminal Code extending and clarifying criminal sanctions (up to five years) entered into force in July 2002. In 2001, there was an increase in the number of persons prosecuted for money laundering (40 against 15 in 2000 and 16 in 1999), while there was a decrease in the number of convicted persons (3 against 6 in 2000 and 5 in 1999). The Financial Analytical Unit (28 staff) under the Ministry of Finance filed 376 suspicious transactions and lodged 26 complaints in the first half of 2002 (against 101 for the whole of 2001).

In the field of customs co-operation, an amendment to the Customs Act which aims to simplify existing procedures entered into force in July 2002. As regards the 1995 Convention on the use of information technology, the Customs Service has a platform of Customs Information Systems, which consists of the anti-Fraud Information System, with its Early Warning System, and about 6 500 personal computers. The training is focusing on information systems for customs purposes. Moreover, the Programme at the national level on Memoranda of Understanding has been approved and implemented.

With regard to judicial co-operation in both civil and criminal matters, the Czech Republic has almost finalised the legal approximation with the acquis. The amendments to the Criminal Code in the fields of Schengen judicial co-operation, the definition of criminal organisation, trafficking in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children entered into force in July 2002. In June 2002, bilateral agreements with Germany on the European Conventions on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and on Extradition entered into force. The Czech Supreme State Prosecutors` Office in Brno also represents the Czech Republic in its co-operation with EUROJUST.

Overall assessment

As regards data protection, the Czech legal framework is now fully aligned with the acquis in this chapter. The Police is fulfilling requirements in this area following the adoption of specific instructions, specialised police staff recruitment, training and regular co-ordination meetings between the Office for Personal Data Protection (OPDP) and the different law enforcement authorities. The OPDP is now operational and has reached a reasonable staffing level, although additional staff remains necessary. The police needs to recruit 60 other specialised officers and provide information to the public. In principle, police-related data can only be used by authorised officers and be kept for a necessary period of time, and if such data has not been processed or updated within two years, the record is automatically deleted. The main gap remains the lack of preparation of the Customs administration in this area. Close attention should be paid to this by the Czech Republic in order to accede to the Customs Information System and the Naples II Conventions upon accession.

The Czech Republic has almost completed the approximation of its visa regime. The outstanding task remains the alignment with the EU visa-free travel list. The new amendment of 2002 to the Act on the Residence of Aliens is indeed another positive development as regards the issuing of visa stickers with high security features. Regarding its administrative capacity, and despite the fact that the Czech Republic has continued to make notable progress, it is still necessary for regional and district authorities to pay attention to migration risks.

The Czech Republic has continued to strengthen its overall strategy and systems of border control. The controls at official border crossing points are performed in a satisfactory manner and all have an on-line connection to their headquarters. On the other hand, there are still gaps to be addressed as concerns the control of green borders with Slovakia. The Czech-Slovak border management agreement remains to be revised. The fact that Regional Directorates have direct command over these units can be regarded as very positive. Nonetheless, the national Headquarters still need to be reinforced. Encouraging improvements have been achieved in the supply of modern equipment, the setting up of a new training system and the opening of new detention facilities.

The Czech Republic continued to implement all legal, institutional and operational commitments included in its 2001 Schengen action plan, according to the time schedule for the year 2002. The further implementation of the action plan will notably depend on the conclusion of remaining bilateral co-operation and readmission agreements.

As regards migration, the new amendment of April 2002 to the Act on the Residence of Aliens fully aligns the Czech legislation with the acquis. The authorities should continue these encouraging efforts and now focus on the effective conclusion of new readmission agreements with Belarus, China, FYROM, India, Iran, Iraq, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Vietnam and Yugoslavia.

As far as asylum is concerned the amendment to the Act on Asylum constitutes a further step towards full approximation of the Czech legislation. As far as implementation capacity is concerned, the Czech authorities should increase the number of judges available to conduct review hearings and expand judicial education in this field. As regards the reception centres, the Czech Republic provides fairly good integration opportunities for recognised refugees. On the other hand, it should address the overcrowded police detention centres where asylum applicants who entered the country illegally are awaiting a decision.

In the fields of police co-operation and the fight against organised crime, authorities admit that combating corruption, economic and financial crime and drug trafficking is still very problematic. Confiscation of the proceeds of crime also remains problematic. The security risks concerning organised crime are still concentrated in trafficking in human beings (prostitution, illegal immigration), drugs, stolen cars and money laundering. The new unit on witness protection is fully operational, although its strategy should be further elaborated in close co-operation with the judiciary and the prison system.

The Police started from 1 January this year an in-depth reorganisation of its criminal and investigation services following the reform of the Code of Criminal Proceedings launched in 2001 with a view to setting up a system comparable to those of the EU Member States. Without prejudging the real impact of this reform at this early stage, it seems that it has allowed the different criminal and investigation services involved to address more efficiently classic, simple criminal cases, prosecution of which has been simplified and accelerated. The impact on the performance of State Prosecutors and Judges needs to be addressed rapidly by the Ministry of Justice, notably through concrete measures with a view to improving their training. So far, the reform has been positively perceived by the different law enforcement authorities. Efforts should now focus on enhancing quality management to make them more service-oriented, reducing the rather lengthy procedures at the court level and strengthening prosecutors` offices since their tasks have been enhanced. Statistical instruments for measuring crime rate should be improved, while new methods of technical crime investigation, including development of forensic investigation should be further developed.

The Czech Republic has signed but not yet ratified the 2000 UN Convention against transnational organised crime (Palermo Convention). Also, the three protocols to this Convention have not yet been signed.

In the fight against terrorism, the National Action Plan adopted by the Czech Republic contains an analysis of the methods and means used by terrorists (including funding), the description of the current situation and the measures for combating terrorism in the country. It also includes a list of international obligations and their impact upon legislation.

Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the fight against fraud and corruption has not sufficiently improved. Further qualified staff to support the work of police investigators and prosecutors and adequate training continue to be urgently needed.

With regard to protection against fraud, the Czech Republic will be ready upon accession to ensure effective co-operation between law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and OLAF by acceding to the second protocol to the Convention on the Protection of the Financial Interests of the European Communities. Although the Supreme State Prosecutors` Office has started to involve all relevant authorities in this area, further support from all Government agencies is necessary to ensure an efficient anti-fraud strategy. The main task of the Police now consists in further clarifying the concrete division of labour, especially in the area of ``white collar'' crime, between the specialised central Police departments. The Czech Republic should pay more attention to the fact that prevention through transparency and accountability standards is as important as repressive tools.

As regards money laundering, the Czech Republic has aligned its legal framework with the acquis thanks to an amendment to the Criminal Code which includes new provisions to penalise money laundering and enable prosecution of money laundering on a wider scale. However, only a few prosecutions and convictions in comparison with the number of cases of financial or tax fraud investigated or suspected can be reported. Although each institution can be considered as fully operational (Financial Analytical Unit, specialised police and Prosecutors` Office departments), further promotion of an multi-agency approach is still necessary, especially in terms of exchange of information, feedback on activities and specialised training.

The Czech Republic continues to be mainly a transit country for drug traffickers but is increasingly also becoming a consumption country. On the other hand, the country has been successfully combating this phenomenon. The National Strategic Plan for 2001 -- 2004 is being implemented. At strategic level, the inter-Ministerial National Drug Commission co-ordinates very well the different Governmental agencies and other institutions. The Czech Republic is well advanced as regards co-operation with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs Addition: however, in this context, the National Information Centre remains to be established.

The Czech Republic has aligned itself with the acquis in the field of customs co-operation since the amendment to the Customs Code entered into force. The Customs Service is now connected to OLAF although adequate software has still to be installed to ensure the effectiveness of this indispensable co-operation. The issue of data protection, mentioned above, needs to be urgently tackled by the Customs administration. Moreover, the latter needs to further improve its co-operation with other law enforcement agencies on combating illegal immigration, corruption and drug trafficking.

As far as judicial co-operation is concerned, the Czech Republic will be able to apply all acquis-related conventions upon accession. The Czech Republic is ready to co-operate with the newly created EUROJUST network, and the Schengen liaison network of magistrates is being smoothly completed. The Czech Republic should continue its efforts to complete its judicial reform as scheduled. Further improvements in the practical implementation of judicial co-operation are needed, especially the continuous reduction of lengthy court procedures and bureaucratic obstacles, and ensuring sufficient manpower. The Czech Republic should take further measures to ensure implementation of the Community instruments in the area of judicial co-operation in civil matters, notably as regards mutual recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions. Direct contacts between competent judicial authorities should be made possible.

The Czech Republic is party to the human rights legal instruments under the justice and home affairs acquis.

Conclusion

In its 1997 Opinion, the Commission concluded that the Czech Republic was well placed to meet the requirements of the justice and home affairs acquis, provided due attention was paid to developing the expertise of the police and judiciary, and to the fight against drugs and organised crime. The Commission added that an important priority was improving border management and bringing migration flows under control.

Since the Opinion, the Czech Republic has made notable progress in developing consistent multidisciplinary strategies, reforming the different law enforcement agencies and improving their functioning. The only notable exception to this success, despite recent improvements, remains its capacity to address the phenomenon of corruption and ``white collar'' crime. At present, the Czech Republic has nearly completed its legal alignment with the acquis.

Negotiations on the chapter have been provisionally closed. The Czech Republic has not requested any transitional arrangements. The Czech Republic is generally meeting the commitments it has made in the accession negotiations in this field.

In order to complete preparations for membership, the Czech Republic`s efforts now need to focus on further improving its implementing and management capacities, as well as the human and material resources of its law enforcement agencies and judiciary, and on meeting the practical requirements of Schengen. In particular, efforts should focus on ensuring the implementation of its reform of the judicial system and of its Schengen Action Plan according to the announced time schedule and on strengthening the fight against fraud, corruption and organised crime.

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