Court chairman: Amnesty was amateurish

Prague, Jan 10 (CTK) - The preparation of Czech President Vaclav Klaus's New Year amnesty was amateurish, chairman of the Constitutional Court (US) Pavel Rychetsky said in an interview with the financial paper Hospodarske noviny (HN) Thursday.

Prime Minister Petr Necas (Civic Democratic Party, ODS) ought to have found out the impact of the amnesty, Rychetsky said.

The president himself cannot take such a serious step, he added.

"We are witnesses to an incredible amateurish approach. Since 1920, all amnesties were prepared by the government, primarily by the justice minister, not by the Presidential Office," Rychetsky told the paper.

The prime minister's duty to countersign the amnesty is embedded in the constitution because the government should not only prepare the amnesty, but also evaluate its impact, Rychetsky said.

Klaus declared an extensive amnesty on the 20th anniversary of the Czech Republic in his New Year's speech. About 6300 people have been released from prison as yet.

The amnesty pardons some prisoners as well as people given suspended sentences and halts criminal prosecution that continued for at least eight years and the punishment does not carry more than ten years.

The scope of the amnesty has caused a public ouctry.

Critics say it will also cover some corruption and fraud cases.

"It is within the power of neither the president nor the prime minster to evaluate this. This must be done by an army of Justice Ministry officials," he added.

The government ought to have at first found out who will be pardoned by the amnesty, Rychetsky said.

Necas said on Wednesday the granting of an amnesty is a sovereign right of the president and the prime minister only confirms with his signature in consistence with constitutional habits that it is not at variance with the legal order.

In an emotional speech on Tuesday, Klaus said the criticism of the amnesty was an attack against him and the ideas he advocated.