Former President Milos Zeman transferred the agenda of granting pardons to the Justice Ministry in 2013. Credit: Freepik.
Prague, Sept 18 (CTK) – President Petr Pavel will decide on applications for pardon from 1 January at the latest, by agreement between the Presidential Office and the Justice Ministry, Justice Minister Pavel Blazek (ODS) said yesterday.
Blazek welcomed the decision of the head of state, noting that granting pardons is a power granted to the president by the constitution.
According to Blazek, the ministry is now negotiating with the head of the Presidential Office, Jana Vohralikova, to manage the transfer from January.
“The president wants to decide on these things himself, from 1 January next year at the latest,” Blazek said. In response to a question by the presenter, Blazek ruled out the possibility of an amnesty.
Former President Milos Zeman transferred the agenda of granting pardons to the Justice Ministry by a regulation in 2013. “If that regulation does not exist and the Presidential Office or the president will decide on pardons that is the best solution,” the minister added.
The positions of the staff in charge of the agenda will also be transferred from the ministry to the Presidential Office.
Blazek said it was up to the president to decide whether specific staff would also transfer to the Presidential Office, but that the head of state would choose his people because he would need staff “with a broader scope.”
President Pavel has previously said that he is also planning to revise the criteria for granting pardons, possibly to include social reasons, for example.
Under President Zeman, the Justice Ministry could only submit applications for convicts suffering from a serious illness or terminal illness that is immediately life-threatening.
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