Prosecutor General of the Czech Republic

Pavel Zeman

Dear President of the European Court of Human Rights,
Dear Speakers of both Chambers of the Parliament of the Czech Republic,
Dear Presidents of the Constitutional, Supreme and Supreme Administrative Courts (supreme judicial institutions),
Dear Madam Minister (of Finance),
Your Eminence, Cardinal Duka,
Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to welcome you and many other esteemed guests – representatives of justice, public administration, academia, and the media to this conference organized jointly by the European Court of Human Rights and the Prosecutor General’s Office on the theme: “Fair Trial and the Media”.

The Czech and Slovak Federative Republic acceded to the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms on 21 February,1991, and the document came into effect on 18 March,1992. However, I would like to go several years back. Although it was not announced earlier, this conference is held to also mark the 30th anniversary of the November 1989 events. Frankly speaking, if it were not for the November 1989 events, we would have no freedom of speech, no public prosecution, and probably we would not be the signatories of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and we would see the European Court of Human Rights as something exotic and out of reach.

Let’s imagine going back 30 years from now:

On 28 November we would have been just one day after the general strike which has fundamentally changed the post-November 1989 developments.

30 years ago, Vladimír Hanzel, President Havel’s secretary, wrote about that day in the “Revolution Daily”:

„After a successful general strike, the situation has rapidly changed. The Communist Party has ended up in defensive and Ladislav Adamec has been getting away from his mother party. He listened patiently to Havel’s demands for which Havel would have been sentenced to several years in prison just a month ago:

Constitutional abolishment of the leading role of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the Marxism-Leninism as a state ideology; resignation of the Speaker of the Federal Assembly Alois Indra and other high state figures, including President Gustáv Husák; removing the mandates of incriminated members of the Federal Assembly, and calling by-elections to fill the vacated seats; resignation of the government; releasing of political prisoners who actually never existed officially. Moreover, Adamec promised that he would pass on what he could not fulfill as the premier. Simply, he has accomplished all tasks he was charged with. With the exception of the resignation which he planned to replace by a radical reconstruction of his cabinet“.

And finally, on 29 November, that would have actually been tomorrow, we witnessed a completely fundamental, crucial event. I began my address speaking about freedom of speech. Looking back to television reporting of that time we can see how Czech TV has been progressing in informing the public to achieve the standards we can see today It is undoubtedly right that both the media and the public prosecution have become self-confident players in our democratic development. But if we want to maintain and cultivate democracy, we regained 30 years ago, and if we want to maintain and develop the rule of law, we must realize that every game has its rules. It is essential that all stake holders should observe the rules, and if these rules are broken, we should become aware of it and sanction this violation, but first and foremost we should avoid these and similar misconducts in the future. This borderline between the public right to information and informing the public, and between the right to protect the privacy and the fair implementation of criminal proceedings will be the topic of this conference. When preparing this conference, I did not have the ambition to resolve this conflict once and for all, and to set clear and lasting rules for media information and the activity of the public prosecution. My ambition was to invite speakers who would make a competent contribution to this professional discussion, and thus enhance and enrich our perception of the issue.

Finally, let me thank all speakers and especially those who have come the long way from Strasburg, all those who have come to deliver welcome addresses, and especially you – participants in the conference. I believe we will hear many fresh ideas and get new stimulus and incentives. My particular gratitude goes to abbot Janáček, director of the library Father Šidlovský, and the whole Premonstratensian Order for making it possible for this conference to be held in this spiritually inspiring environment.