Bražačová: In Favor of Scrapping the Statute of Limitations for Murder — Even in the Most Serious Cases

Czech Supreme Public Prosecutor Lenka Bražačová said on Sunday's discussion programme Poledne s Moravcem that she is leaning towards abolishing the statute of limitations for murder — the only open question, she said, is whether this should apply to all forms of the crime or just the most serious cases.

She said she would support either approach: scrapping the statute of limitations entirely for all murders, or applying the change only to the gravest offences. A group of coalition MPs from ANO, SPD and the Motorists party has already put forward an amendment that would abolish the current 30-year limitation period for murder.

Values Matter More Than Statistics

Bražačová stressed that the decision to abolish the statute of limitations should not be based on statistics — societal values matter more. "Murder is a crime with fatal consequences, the supreme moral imperative that exists within criminal law," the prosecutor said. By scrapping the limitation period, she argued, the Czech Republic would be declaring that human life is protected absolutely. She added that in countries that have already abolished the statute of limitations for murder, this has not led to a rise in such crimes.

New Facilities for Juvenile Offenders

Bražačová also commented on a possible lowering of the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13, an idea being considered by Justice Minister Jeroným Tejc (ANO) — though only for the most serious and violent crimes.

According to the prosecutor, existing correctional facilities are already unable to guarantee safety — either for society or for the children themselves, who are placed there alongside other offenders. "Regardless of whether the age limit changes, we need new educational and therapeutic facilities for these children," she said, noting that such institutions are common practice in countries like Poland and Hungary. These secure facilities would also serve as an additional level of punishment for repeat offences — currently, a child under protective care faces virtually no consequences for committing new, dangerous acts.

Bražačová, like Minister Tejc, favours setting the threshold at 13 rather than 14, which is the norm in most European countries, pointing to statistics showing that serious violent crimes are committed by 13- and 14-year-olds in roughly equal measure.

The Case of Billionaire Pelc

Last week, Bražačová filed an extraordinary appeal (dovolání) in the case of billionaire Zdeněk Pelc, whose car crash resulted in a fatality. Courts had previously discontinued the case due to the defendant's poor health, and Minister Tejc subsequently provided the prosecutor with new evidence in the matter.

Bražačová said she would have filed the appeal even without the new evidence, since this legal remedy does not take new evidence into account. She explained that the appeal rested on two grounds: the court had commissioned an expert opinion outside of a court hearing, denying the prosecutor the chance to respond, and the opinion itself pointed to the complexity of the diagnosis and the need for a follow-up examination within a few months. In addition, the court failed to consider the possibility of the defendant participating in proceedings via video link. "We are not disputing the illness itself or its severity, but rather its connection to the defendant's ability to take part in court proceedings," the prosecutor said, adding that courts need to take a more critical approach to expert opinions. She noted a growing trend of defendants seeking exclusion from proceedings on health grounds — the criminal code allows prosecution to be halted if a defendant's poor health persists for more than a year.

Espionage for China

Bražačová also addressed the case of a Chinese national who has been in custody since the beginning of the year on charges of spying for a Chinese intelligence service. A court ordered his release in late July, but the High Court kept him in custody last week.

"The dispute concerns how to interpret the elements of the offence — whether it constitutes a crime of endangerment or must involve an actual breach. In other words, is it enough to simply gather information with the intent to harm the state, or must actual harm occur?" the prosecutor explained, noting that the prosecution considers the act a crime of endangerment, for which the mere fact of gathering information is sufficient. "Since the defendant remains in custody, I believe the court agreed with this interpretation as well," she added.

The discussion also touched on the law itself concerning illegal activity in favour of a foreign power, which the government had initially wanted to scrap altogether before ultimately deciding merely to clarify its wording. At the suggestion of Bražačová's team, the law should more precisely define which actions qualify as illegal. The prosecutor expects the minister to present the clarified wording this autumn.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz