Czech Bar Association Criticizes Babiš Over Attacks on the Judiciary

The Czech Bar Association, together with the Union of Judges, has criticized Prime Minister Andrej Babiš for making inappropriate remarks about the country's judicial system. The statement was released in an official announcement from the association on Tuesday.

According to association spokesman Roman Chrenčík, trust in the independence of the judiciary is a fundamental condition for the functioning of a democratic society and a guarantee that every citizen's rights will be protected regardless of their political status. In the association's view, criticism of the judicial system is only acceptable when it is constructive and based on verifiable facts.

What Babiš Said

The statement was prompted by remarks made by the prime minister last week at a meeting with residents of Havířov in connection with the "Stork's Nest" case. Babiš spoke of a "mafia that jails people to order," of "judges handing down rulings without evidence," and claimed that "judges are making decisions the way prosecutors did under the previous regime."

These remarks were already criticized by the Czech Union of Judges at the end of last week, and now the Czech Bar Association has also called them inappropriate.

Undermining the Rule of Law

Bar Association chairwoman Monika Novotná noted that the executive branch — the government and the president — should not interfere in judicial decisions or publicly discredit them. "A breach of this order by one of the highest constitutional officials leads to a systemic erosion of the institutional foundations on which the rule of law rests," she stressed.

Earlier, in response to the Union of Judges' criticism, Babiš invited its representatives to meet at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, announcing this in a video posted on his social media page. Union chairman Libor Vávra said judges would be happy to accept the invitation as soon as they receive official notice with a specific meeting date. So far, no such invitation has been sent.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz