Final Word from Monday, August 7, 2023

Newly appointed Chief Justice Josef Baxa of the Constitutional Court told LN that he and every subsequent head of the Court will have to be less political than Pavel Rychetský and that he definitely will not make such strong statements as his predecessor. He realizes, he said, that being the chief justice means keeping a tighter lip. This should no doubt apply to all justices of the Court, not just to the chief justice, but Baxa demonstrated in mid-July how he sees his new role. He told MFD that the senators who opposed him during his confirmation hearing - his nomination was rejected by the constitutional-legal committee - might not have wanted independent justices and instead wanted judges who would take their phone calls and grant them what they wanted. Instead of keeping a tight lip, Baxa chose to try to discredit the role of the legislative branch in the nomination process. If such comments continue, he can almost be assured of being seen by many as Rychetský's true successor. [ Czech Republic Lidové noviny MF Dnes Senate Parliament separation of powers ]