D.H. and Others v. Czech Republic: a major set-back for the development of non-discrimination norms in Europe

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morag Goodwin

On 7 February 2006, a chamber of the European Court of Human Rights gave judgment in the much awaited ‘Ostrava case’, which challenged the placing of disproportionate numbers of Romani children in ‘special schools’ for the learning impaired in the Czech Republic. This practice, widespread across Central and Eastern Europe, amounts in effect to racial segregation and denies Romani children access to a standard of education comparable to their non-Romani peers. The Ostrava case, taking eight months to assemble and seven years to reach judgment day in Strasbourg, represented the centre-piece of the litigation strategy of the Romani rights movement. The decision of the Strasbourg Court to ignore the evidence of indirect racial discrimination by a 6-1 majority represents not only a setback for those working for the improvement of the situation of the Roma – widely acknowledged as the most disadvantaged, discriminated and marginalised group in Europe – but also for the crystallisation of non-discrimination norms in Europe.

2002 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
R. I. Mawby ◽  
I. Brabcová ◽  
E. Koubová

Police structures and everyday practices in Central and Eastern Europe have changed dramatically in recent years, but changes have varied both in terms of the countries involved and in terms of the particular feature of the police system under review. This paper focuses on one city, Prague, and considers the ways in which the police deal with crime victims, specifically victims of burglary. The findings are compared with an earlier study in Poland, Hungary, Germany and England. The police are the main agency with which burglary victims are involved, and the service they provide is important, not least because clear-up rates are low. It was, therefore, reassuring to find that victims were generally positive about the way the police dealt with their cases. This is very different from the situation in Poland, where victims were far more critical. However, those victims who were most affected or worried about crime were least positive, suggesting that there is a link between perceptions of police work and perceptions of the crime situation. A comparison between the Czech Republic and Poland also suggests that relatively minor changes to police practices may improve victims' experiences and thereby their evaluation of police work.


Author(s):  
Sebastian Kubala ◽  
Marcin Stanuch

One of the key markets of the European Union is the poultry meat market. The situation on this market is of significant importance to both producers and consumers. The main aim of the article is to study the level of self-sufficiency of selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe in the production of poultry meat. Eleven countries were selected as the research area: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. In the conducted research, simplified indices of self-sufficiency were used: the balance of foreign trade in terms of volume and value, average annual consumption per capita and production volume in relation to consumption. The study was conducted for the years 2009-2018. The statistical sources used come from FAOSTAT and International Trade Centre databases. Research has shown that the analyzed countries are characterized by a significant diversification of the self-sufficiency level of poultry meat production. Only 6 analyzed countries can meet the domestic consumption demand from their own production, the remaining countries supplement the deficit from imported goods. The highest level of self-sufficiency of poultry meat production was observed in Poland, Slovenia, Lithuania and Hungary. On the other hand, the lowest level is found in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia and Latvia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-198
Author(s):  
Vít Alexander Schorm

Abstract In this practice note, the Government Agent of the Czech Republic before the European Court of Human Rights and other international bodies for the protection of human rights reflects on national implementation, with the help of selected examples.


2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1231-1260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Fyrnys

The institutional design of the Strasbourg system that has evolved over the last decades is an expression of contemporary debates surrounding the system's very nature and purpose. The current debate primarily bears on the range of choices that the Council of Europe faces in adapting to the changes in Europe, which largely have been caused by its expansion to cover nearly all post-Communist States of Central and Eastern Europe since the 1990s. This expansion, and with it the extension of the scope of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) to now more than 800 million people in forty seven countries, has confronted the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) with a far broader range of human rights problems than had previously existed. By 2010, the number of pending cases had risen to 139,650 but the Court's adjudicative capacity remains limited.


2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 66-83
Author(s):  
Tomasz Grabia

The article discusses key problems of fiscal policy in four selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia) in years 2001—2014. The analysis covers, among others, indicators of public debt and its determinants, as well as indicators of budget revenues and expenditures. The article points out that public debt increased in all the studied countries in the analysed period. Both structural and cyclical deficits were responsible for its build-up. The country with the best state of public finances was the Czech Republic. Although the situation improved from 2011 Hungary had the highest level of debt in relation to GDP. That country was also characterized by a degree of fiscalism, measured by both budget revenues and expenditures in relations to GDP, much higher than those for other countries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
František Ochrana ◽  
Michal Plaček ◽  
Milan Křápek

AbstractThe article examines the section of officials in the central administration who belong to the ministerial staff of the Czech Republic. It examines those persons engaged in the creation of analyses, strategies, and management activities. The study is based on original research conducted by the ministries of the Czech Republic in 2013 (N = 1351). The article seeks to discover what the make-up of this group is in terms of gender, age, and education levels at the chosen ministries, as well as to report on the types of experiences the group has had. The analysis shows that ministerial officials are in fact a gender-balanced group of employees, predominately university-educated. The overall median age of employees in all ministries is 42 years. On the other hand, there are certain inter-ministerial differences, as explained in detail in this paper. Based on results of the empirical research, conclusions have been drawn that may also serve as an inspiration for similar investigations in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe that address similar issues as found in the Czech Republic.


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