Restrictions on public officials in participating in competition for public funds as a legitimate measure against conflict of interests
Abstract
The paper considers the legitimacy of restricting public office holders from participating in the competition for public funds as one of the tools to prevent excessive concentration of various power components (economic, political, media) in society. After a more general introduction mapping Czech legal regulation in the area of so-called false incompatibility, the paper offers a polemic on whether it is the task of the state to regulate conflicts of interest at all, both generally and specifically in the environment of the Czech Republic.
The normative framework for this polemic consists of the requirements arising from the constitutional order of the Czech Republic in the light of the subsequent jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court. Finally, the author comes to the conclusion that the restriction of the holders of public functions in the participation in the competition for public funds is in principle legitimate and reflects on some shortcomings of the Czech legislation from the point of view of the goal set by the legislator, while formulating some considerations de lege ferenda.