Final Word from Thursday, January 30, 2003
Justice Minister Pavel Rychetský is happy being the CR's top legal eagle and is beating away offers to run for president. He's planning a major bankruptcy reform and will have a draft on his desk within days. He told the American Chamber of Commerce on Tues. that there are two big areas of certain dispute. First, he wants the receiver to be named by a judge other than the one overseeing the bankruptcy case. Second, he wants to create a new professional chamber and require receivers to join. Opposition from judges on the one hand and lawyers on the other will be fierce. Bankruptcy judges would lose control over billion-crown deals; lawyers would have to choose between being an attorney and being a receiver. Rychetský is critical of the current bankruptcy situation but is also realistic about what can be done. He's willing to compromise to get the bill passed.