Constitutional Court lacks two judges, delays threaten

Brno,June 6 (CTK) - The Czech Constitutional Court (US) will be short of two judges as from Thursday when the ten-year mandate of Frantisek Duchon expires, which can affect the average length of decision-making.

The court will have 13 instead of 15 judges, which is a number embedded in the constitution.

Earlier this year, the mandate of deputy chairwoman Eliska Wagnerova also expired and no new judge has been elected.

Duchon who turns 66 next week said he is going to retire. "I would not accept further candidacy. I hold the opinion 'once and enough,'" Duchon told CTK.

The absence of two judges can have a negative impact on the US's activity, US spokesman Tomas Langasek told CTK.

"The influx of new constitutional complaints is unceasing, but on the contrary, it continues to grow compared with the previous years. This will undoubtedly be reflected in an extension of the average time of proceedings before the Constitutional Court," Langasek said.

President Vaclav Klaus proposed to the Senate, the upper house of parliament, two candidates for Wagnerova's successor this year.¨They were Jan Svacek, Municipal Court in Prague chairman, and Zdenek Koudelka, former Social Democrat (CSSD) deputy and current Judicial Academy deputy head. Senators rejected both of them.

The term of another eight US judges expires next year.

Langasek said unless the outgoing judges are replaced with new ones within a reasonable time, the US activity may be paralysed.

When the number of judges dropped to 11 in 2004, the court was only deciding on "plenary issues," that is proposals for changes and abolition of laws or decrees. The proceedings were only resumed after the 12th judge was appointed.

The US experienced a total paralysis in 1931-38 when politicians were unable to agree on the names of new judges for a whole seven years.