End of lay judges in district courts – practical aspects of transitional provisions

The June issue of the Advocacy Bulletin featured an article entitled "The End of Lay Judges in District Courts – Practical Aspects of Transitional Provisions," which analyzed the inappropriately worded transitional provisions in Act No. 319/2024 Coll., amending Act No. 6/2002 Coll., on courts, judges, lay judges, and court administration and amending certain other acts (the Act on Courts and Judges), as amended, and other related acts (hereinafter referred to as "ZZoSaS").

With regard to the issue of the length of the term of office of lay judges, the authors of the article leaned towards a logical and teleological interpretation, as a grammatical interpretation based on the available evidence clearly did not represent the meaning of the legal regulation, and would also lead to potentially unsolvable situations where courts would be unable to decide, as it would not be possible to appoint lay judges to pending disputes if necessary.

At the same time, the authors pointed out that district courts and municipalities repeatedly misinterpreted the transitional provisions of the ZZoSaS, with municipal councils and city districts in Prague electing assessors even after January 1, 2025, despite the absence of legal authorization. Such a procedure was clearly without legal authorization and, as a result, created the risk that persons who were only ostensibly lay judges would participate in court decisions, which could lead to the annulment of many court decisions.

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