Final Word from Monday, October 20, 2003
As recently as last month it looked as though judges were going to succeed in pushing through a bankruptcy law that would assure them continued control over the bankruptcy process. It would have been easy for Premier Vladimír Špidla and Justice Minister Karel Čermák to adopt the common attitude that a flawed new law is better than no new law, but they didn't. Instead, they stepped in last week and sacked the law's drafting committee and ordered a delay in the introduction of the government's proposal. A new draft must be submitted by the end of March. A few changes will be made now to bring the existing bankruptcy law into line with European legislation, but the key questions of who will name and oversee the receivers will be revisited. If all goes as planned, the judges who have been profiting from bankruptcy will lose a source of income. EU Union