The Waiver of Right to Appeal Against Penalty Order by a Detained Accused in the Czech Constitutional Court Case Law
Abstract
In her contribution, the author summarizes and analyses the Czech Constitutional Court case law, which states it is a judicatory case of necessary defence when the arrested accused is served the penalty order during a detention session and then asked to state whether he waives the right to appeal against it. The inappropriate practice of forcing the so-called materially vulnerable accused (incapable of qualified judgment due to lack of knowledge of the Czech language, a night spent in pre-trial detention, shock, stress, or the influence of addictive substances) to waiver the right to appeal against penalty order is illustrated by the examples of several foreigners.
The author analyses the institute of the penalty order in light of the rules of evidence and points out some procedural deficiencies accompanying its issuance in practice. The article continues by analysing the meaning of waiving the right to appeal against a penalty order and considering possible solutions to the existing inappropriate practice, which may be brought about by the Code of Criminal Procedure Bill or as an alternative inspired by the Austrian legislation.