Final Word from Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Too much democracy for elected lawmakers is one thing, but too much independence for "impartial" judges is quite another. According to MFD, Vice Chair Pavel Kučera of the Supreme Court was one of the "lobbyists" working the corridors of the Castle during the presidential election. He and ex-Justice Minister Pavel Němec were allegedly there to help Václav Klaus get elected. They also made the press recently for taking a joyride to Ostrava NOT to talk about the Jiří Čunek affair. Ombudsman Otakar Motejl also recalled their role in the Qatar prince extradition and told LN that Kučera is a disgrace to the justice system. Kučera's understanding of judicial independence is perhaps the best argument for passing new measures for disciplining or removing loose-cannon judges. Unfortunately, the measures would more likely be used to remove judges who condemn such inappropriate behavior.[Czech Republic Lidové noviny MF Dnes elections]
Glossary of difficult words
impartial - fair and just, unbiased;
joyride - a fast and dangerous ride taken for fun and thrills;
Čunek affair - soon after their joyride, the Čunek case was dropped, although they denied being involved;
loose cannon - an unpredictable or uncontrolled person who is likely to cause unintentional damage;
condemn - to express strong disapproval of something; the new disciplinary measures were apparently inspired by the behavior of Chief Justice Iva Brožová, who has condemned the behavior of both Němec and ex-Justice Jaroslav Bureš of the Supreme Court.