The paper deals with the temporary refuge (shelter) program which the Czech Republic offered in response to the mass influx of people coming from the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1997. The author analyses the program itself and focuses on both the legal background and the evaluation of this program.
The analysis connects the Czech experience with the possibility of providing temporary protection in general. However, the concept of temporary protection seems to be declining today as it has not been included into the debates regarding the future of the Common European Asylum System, although there are legal grounds for it within the European Union legal framework.