At its session on 8 January, the Government considered the private members’ Bill on Civil Service that was put forward by deputies of the Czech Social Democratic Party. The Social Democratic Party proposed the amendments to the current Act on Civil Service with regard to requirements that the President Miloš Zeman announced concerning expectant ministers. The Bill amended those existing provisions that tackle with educational and expert requirements for civil servants. Besides that, the Bill also stated that a person cannot be employed as a civil servant if he/she studied at a party political university before 1989 (it transposes some principles of the so-called lustration law). Further, the Bill also enables that a civil servant may be punished in case of any financial damage for which the servant is responsible (the servant should reimburse the financial damage that the state should bear). The Government refused the Bill as being unconstitutional. The Government criticized proportions of financial rewarding of servants as breaching the constitutional principle of proportionality. Further, the Government objected to a rather strict provision under which a servant in case of his/her 9-month detention because of criminal offense should be dismissed. 

The Bill is heading to the Chamber of Deputies. For further information, click here (Governmental database).