Vox populi

Czech Department of Justice under the guidance of young minister Jiri Pospisil did something really unexpected. A draft of a new Penal Code was made available for download on the ministry's website and citizens of the Czech republice were asked to comment on it, in whatever way they saw fit. More than 350 remarks were made, and many of them allegedly made it to the final text, although as of this moment it is still unavailable. One of the things people wanted most is altering the sentencing guides in some cases, such as murder in the first degree. At the moment, a murderer can spent at most 25 years in prison (or, in some cases, lifetime, but that is deserved for the worst of the worst), the new maximum should be 30 years. Second frequent request regarded sentencing guides as well, demanding adding up sentences as it is done in the US. In Czech penal law de lege lata the harshest sentence sort of consumes the others. If one steals something, for example, and then breaks someone's leg while running from the police, he or she basically gets sentenced only for the battery and not for the theft (there are some modifications but they are quite irrelevant here). While the first request will almost certainly be implemented in the new Code, the second is quite controversial and in my view it should discarded. In general, however, this step deserves nothing but praise, and praise I do, especially Mr Pospisil whose work can be clearly seen behind this.

Something to cheer you up

Here are some of my favorite lawyer jokes. They all come from this page (worth checking out).

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A junior partner in a firm was sent to a far-away state to represent a long-term client accused of robbery. After days of trial, the case was won, the client acquitted and released. Excited about his success, the attorney telegraphed the firm: "Justice prevailed."
The senior partner replied in haste: "Appeal immediately."

***

Two small boys, not yet old enough to be in school, were overheard talking at the zoo one day:
My name is Billy. What's yours? asked the first boy.
Tommy, replied the second.
My Daddy's an accountant. What does your Daddy do? asked Billy.
Tommy replied, My Daddy's a lawyer.
Honest? asked Billy.
No, just the regular kind, replied Tommy.

***

A lawyer, named Thomas Strange, was shopping for a tombstone. After he had made his selection, the stonecutter asked him what inscription he would like on it.

"Here lies Thomas Strange, an honest man and a lawyer," responded the lawyer.

"Sorry, but I can't do that," replied the stonecutter. "In this state, it's against the law to bury two people in the same grave, and the authorities would be confused. However, I could put 'Here lies an honest lawyer.'"

"But that won't let people know who it is" protested the lawyer.

"Sure they will," replied the stonecutter. "Everyone who reads it will think, 'That's Strange!'

Academic senate

The academic senate is a decision-making body of a faculty that approves internal regulations and annual budget of a faculty and, among other things, selects a dean-elect for the nomination by the rector. So much for the definition. I joined the senate two years ago when there were two candidates for two seats and, as I pointed out during my electoral speech, there is no democracy where there is no competition. I joined the other two guys, made the audience laugh, and won the whole thing before I could even consider whether or not I actually wanted to become a senator. :) The first thing I learned about this work is that the definition from above doesn't fully describe what the senate really does. I mean, it does approve the internal regulations, but the last word has the university senate who sort of approves our approval. Furthermore, our regulations cannot contradict the university regulations. This reduces our legislative authority significantly. Stripped of many powers it once had, the senate of today serves as a forum where student and teacher representatives meet and discuss various issues concerning the faculty and study of law. There are ten teacher senators and ten student ones. This is somewhat unique because equal representation presents a threat to the faculty, but in the conditions already described it doesn't make any difference because we usually take a vote only on insignificant matters. Important things are regularly based on "gentlemen agreements" between students and teachers. If one is skilled negotiatior he or she can do much for his fellow students - much more than forcing his opinion through outvoting his opponents. The last remark goes to the presence of the dean during the senate sessions. This is both positive and negative thing. He is the man that makes things happen so it speeds up things that are acceptable for everyone. But he is also the employer of the teachers and they are less likely to disagree with him. In my opinion the executive power that he represents should not influence the legislative body, even if it's unintentional.

Legal education in Czech republic

This post is aimed at those who would like to learn something about legal education in Czech republic, i.e. what must one do if he or she wants to become a lawyer in our country. First one has to choose a faculty of law. These are four: in Brno, Praha, Plzen and Olomouc. The best one is in Brno, the most famous in Prague. Plzen has terrible reputation among Czech lawyers for being the most corrupted faculty where you can basically buy your degree without actually studying anything. Most of our politicians who have "JUDr." degree graduated from Plzen, sometimes under very suspicious conditions. Not much is known about Olomouc, but from what I've heard, it's quite OK. Second, one has to pass an entrance exam. It is a test (sometimes followed by an interview) that is based either on knowledge of facts (in Prague, Plzen and Olomouc) or general ability to solve problems (in Brno). As to the programmes that an applicant can choose from, the basic one is Master degree programme. It takes five years (ten semesters) to complete and the graduate student is awarded a "Mgr." degree which is roughly equivalent to "J.D." In the first year the students are taught some basic facts about theory of law, philosophy of law, Roman law (being the fundament of nowadays continental private law), and history of law systems. In the next two years the private law is covered in subjects such as "Civil law, Civil procedure, Labour law, Intellectual property law, Commercial Law etc. The final two years consist mainly of public law subjects, such as Administrative law, Penal law, International public law and so on. To be awarded the degree each student has to write a thesis (usually about 65 pages long) and pass final state examination. Once he or she gets a diploma, she can call himself or herself a lawyer and work in various areas connected to the law. For some positions there are further requirements, of course. An attorney-wannabe, for example, must work for three years for another attorney, he must then pass the Bar exam (which is very difficult), and if he or she wants to start his own company, he has to get insured, for which he needs at least 46.000 USD. We don't have solicitors and barristers, only "advocates" (attorneys). Advocates usually have "JUDr." degree (juris doctor), which is a degree awarded to a lawyer who writes a dissertation and passes a "rigorous" exam. It has no other use but increasing one's repututaion because the dissertation is usually just extended thesis from Master degree programme and Czech people prefer "JUDr." over "Mgr" which is a title that is shared by many other professions, including teachers, philosophers and so on. "JUDr." is sometimes called "small doctorate" as opposed to "big doctorate", i.e. PhD. The latter is gained after three years course at the law faculty, whereas the former can be gained at any time as long as one has "Mgr" degree, a dissertation (usually about 120 pages long) and enough money to pay the fee (230 USD). Bachelor degree programmes also exist in our country but with a "Bc." degree one can't enter a legal profession and in order to become an attorney he or she has to undertake the full Master degree course. The bachelor programmes are for people who work with law, such as officials and businessmen, but don't need extensive theoretical background.

Let's see what happens if I do this...

This post serves purely testing purposes and will be deleted soon (and hopefully replaced by something more meaningful).