Photo: KPR ČR
Dear Mr President, Honourable Senators, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am appearing before you for the fourth time this year, and very probably for the last time, to ask you to give your consent to the appointment of two more judges of the Constitutional Court. So far, I have appointed five judges of the Constitutional Court on the basis of your approval - two judges of the ordinary courts, an administrative judge with experience in criminal law, an academic in private law and an academic with a background in legal theory and constitutional law. Particularly valuable, from my perspective, are the diverse careers of the new judges, which prevent the risk of professional and professional blindness and being closed into a single world of thought.
At this moment there are two vacancies on the Constitutional Court and I am asking you today to give your consent to the candidates who should fill these two vacancies. Both of them received part of their education abroad, both of them studied postgraduate doctoral studies, and both of them have a clear overlap beyond their narrowly defined field of specialisation. I have tried to choose carefully, neither is associated with any publicly discussed issue.
Lucie Dolanská Bányaiová is a practicing attorney at law with a focus on private international law and competition law. This means that she also has a strong competence in an important part of European law. An interesting part of her practice has been restitution disputes with international overlap. She has experience in advocacy both large and medium, foreign and domestic. She is involved in the administration of the affairs of her professional status. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Czech Bar Association with responsibility for the continuing education of attorneys. However, she also works for UNICEF, for example. She is an arbitrator of legal disputes at the Chamber of Commerce and Agrarian Chamber. This demonstrates her ability to rise above the position of one of the parties to a dispute and seek a fair decision. That is what we expect from judges. During our personal meeting, we discussed many professional and social topics. I came to the conclusion that she sees the law as both a particular people's stories and a systemic context. And, as far as I can tell, he has a sense of humor.
Zdeněk Kühn is undoubtedly one of the most prominent Czech legal scholars of the present day with extensive and internationally cited publications. He laid the foundations of the theory of judicial decision-making in this country at a time when its modern principles were far from self-evident. Twenty years ago he was heavily involved in the key debate on the Euronovel of the Constitution. He is exceedingly active in professional debates, and regularly speaks at conferences abroad. In addition, however, he has also been a highly respected judge of the Supreme Administrative Court for many years. It is certainly worth your attention that he received his legal education both at Charles University and at a prestigious university in the United States. He started as a law clerk and subsequently passed the bar exam. He then worked as a legal advisor for several American law firms. But he was also a parliamentary assistant, an assistant at the Constitutional Court, and later a member of the Legislative Council of the Government. All of this makes him a very well-educated, experienced candidate with an extremely broad professional background. But also a prudent candidate, aware of the limits of what judges can and should no longer do. When I began to compile a list of possible personalities for the Constitutional Court, Professor Kühn's name came to me very often from various quarters. From our personal conversation, I got the impression that he was capable of discussing almost every professional and social topic in an informed manner. If anyone should be described as a legal universalist, it is he.
Dear Senators, I am very pleased that during our recent meeting with the Senate representation we were able to talk openly about the progress of the Constitutional Court's replenishment so far and to assure each other of our best intentions. If you give your consent to both candidates today, we will already be halfway through our joint journey towards a new Constitutional Court.
As you know, I have already submitted another nomination, that of the lawyer and academic Milan Hulmák, which you will decide on in January. My colleagues and I are looking for other suitable candidates for the remaining vacancies in 2024 and 2025, including the much sought-after conservative candidate, to fulfil the announced vision of a diverse and highly competent Constitutional Court that will protect the constitutionality and human rights of our country.
Finally, without any reference to today's deliberations and votes, let me wish you a peaceful and pleasant holiday season.
Petr Pavel, President of the Republic, Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, 14 December 2023
Office of the President of the Czech Republic/RoZ
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