The Parliament of the Czech Republic is considering a bill amending Act No. 65/2022 Coll. “On Certain Measures in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of Ukraine Caused by the Invasion of the Russian Federation troops”. The said draft law in the part of § 7x, § 7y, Transitional Provisions does not meet the criteria of legality, European and international human rights standards and represents a sample of poor legal technique, which is confirmed by the following:
The draft law, specifically in sections § 7x, § 7y, Transitional Provisions, does not meet the criteria of legality, European and international human rights standards, and represents an example of poor legal drafting, as confirmed by the following:
- The draft law, which includes provisions on citizenship, amends not the specific Law No. 186/2013 Coll. on the Citizenship of the Czech Republic but Law No. 65/2022 Coll., which regulates entirely different matters, enacted to implement specific European Union regulations, as explicitly stated in the Subject of Regulation of this law, containing a closed and exhaustive list of issues mentioned in the Subject of Regulation:
a) conditions for granting temporary protection to foreigners as mentioned in § 3 in connection with the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of March 4, 2022, which establishes that there is a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC, and which introduces their temporary protection (hereinafter “Council Decision”) and in connection with the Council of the European Union decision on the extension of temporary protection conditions for its prolongation,
b) provision of accommodation and related services to persons granted temporary protection,
c) assisted voluntary return,
d) special rules for providing health services, and
e) registration of vehicles with Ukrainian license plates (hereinafter “registration of Ukrainian vehicles”).
However, EU regulations do not contain provisions concerning Czech citizenship, and citizenship issues are not listed in the subject of regulation of this law.
Citizenship matters in the Czech Republic are regulated by the specific Law on Citizenship No. 186/2013 Coll. and cannot be regulated by any other laws with different subjects of regulation. As stated in the Citizenship Act: This law regulates the methods of acquiring and losing Czech citizenship, proving and determining Czech citizenship, issuing certificates of Czech citizenship (hereinafter “certificates”), maintaining records of individuals who have acquired or lost Czech citizenship, and offenses in the area of citizenship. Since the law being amended regulates entirely different matters, it cannot contradict (let alone take precedence over) the provisions of the Citizenship Act and cannot provide for the retroactive effect of the norms of this specific law regulating citizenship issues, as stipulated in the Transitional Provisions of the draft amendments to Law No. 65/2022 Coll.
- The draft law contains two contradictory paragraphs. Paragraph 7x introduces the possibility of acquiring Czech citizenship in the case of losing Russian citizenship and provides a procedure where the review is suspended with the issuance of a promise of Czech citizenship, based on which the applicant can renounce Russian citizenship and provide the corresponding document. Paragraph 7y provides for the suspension of the review of the application the day after its submission. It is unclear from the draft law whether the application should be assessed for compliance with Articles 13 and 14 of the Citizenship Act No. 186/2013 Coll. directly on the day of submission and whether a promise of citizenship will be issued to the applicant. Alternatively, does the suspension of the review the following day mean that until the “termination of the provisions of Article 2 of this Law,” the applicant will not receive a promise of citizenship and will therefore be unable to renounce Russian citizenship or obtain Czech citizenship? In the latter case, there is no point in accepting and holding applications as no movement on them is envisaged for an essentially indefinite period. This implies a de facto cessation of citizenship acceptance, though the draft does not state this, leading to various possible interpretations. Meanwhile, the law should be clear, specific, possess characteristics of legal certainty and enforceability, which is lacking in this case.
- Paragraph 7y states that “The proceedings suspended under paragraph 1 are resumed the day after the termination of the provisions of Article 2 of this Law,” without reference to any connection between temporary protection and citizenship issues and without a specific timeframe, as the duration of the provisions of Article 2 may be extended multiple times. This again indicates a lack of justification and clarity.
- As mentioned above, the draft law concerns the provision of Czech citizenship, including depriving rights and imposing additional obligations not provided by the Citizenship Act. Furthermore, the draft law provides for the suspension of citizenship provision to one group of persons (or cessation of citizenship acceptance), which means the suspension of the Citizenship Act for this group. As explained in the draft law, these measures are introduced “for the purpose of protecting the security and foreign policy interests of the Czech Republic.” However, Constitutional Law No. 110/1998 Coll. “On the Security of the Czech Republic” exhaustively specifies when rights provided by law may be restricted (without amending the law that grants the rights). Thus, according to Article 2(1) of the Law, If the sovereignty, territorial integrity, democratic foundations of the Czech Republic, or to a significant extent internal order and security, lives and health, property values or the environment are immediately threatened, or it is necessary to fulfill international obligations regarding collective defense, an emergency state, state of emergency, or war state may be declared depending on the intensity, territorial extent, and nature of the situation. Since none of these states have been declared, suspending the law for a group of people, depriving them of rights, and imposing obligations not provided by the specific Citizenship Act is illegal, unjustified, and unacceptable in a democratic country.
- Likewise, the provision in the Transitional Provisions, which extends the draft law’s provisions to those whose applications have already been submitted and are under consideration, is illegal. This contradicts the principle of non-retroactivity of the law, the requirement of legitimate expectation, and legal certainty.