Law Enforcement in the Czech Republic - Essay Example

Law Enforcement in Czech Republic Law Enforcement Law is the body of rules, regulations and principles that administers the affairs of the community by a legal system. It is made by the country's government and is based on the norms, traditions, cultures and the needs of the people. The enforcement of laws was initiated at the time of cave dwellers, when those inhabitants were required to obey certain rules and commands prevailing in the society. In a particular nation, rulers are the ones who made the laws that are there to prevent the citizens from making mistakes and doing unjust (Wrobleski et al, 2006). Czech Republic On January 1st 1993, Czech Republic came into existence as a separate nation on the face of the earth. The total area of Czech Republic is 78,844 square km and the population is 10.5 million. It is surrounded by Poland, Austria, Slovakia and Germany and also occupies the historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia and a small area of Silesia. The people of Czech Republic are Slavic people who are from central and Eastern Europe but their culture and tradition connects them to the West. Czech Republic is a democratic country and the bicameral Parliament, that includes the House of Representatives and the Senate, acts as the central body in the political system. The head of the state is the President with limited powers and is elected for five years. The President holds some important legal powers such as the appointment of the Prime Minister and members of the government, selection for the members of Czech National Bank Board and the official signing authority (Czech Republic Country Brief, 2007). Enforcement of Judicial System General: In Czech Republic the Justice system consists of 86 District Courts, 8 Regional Courts, 2 High Courts and a Supreme Court. The highest judicial authority in the country is the Constitutional Court which is situated in Brno. Its major activities do not include dealing with criminal cases. Prosecution: The formation of the State Prosecutor's Office entirely follows the courts. Prosecution is brought by the State Prosecutor's Office. The courts completely handle the operations of the office. Police Force The total number of police force in Czech Republic is approximately 47,400 officers and 11,600 civilian staff. They are responsible for the security of its people and investigation of all crimes that took place in the country. In addition to the state police, there is municipal police that controls the traffic and public order in their particular municipalities. The right to investigate and arrest only lies with the state police. Police officers of Czech Republic are allowed to use vehicles. Their vehicles contain a black and white inscription "Policie" on the sides. These vehicles are white in color with horizontal green strips on the sides. Police force of Czech Republic possesses the following rights: 1. Demand for testimony in case of any accident. 2. Demand for personal identification. 3. Taking a person into custody. 4. Supervising the traffic and checking the conditions of the vehicles. Czech Police departments Criminal police: In the police department of Czech Republic, the officers monitor the criminal cases. Moreover, they detect the wrong doers and take them under their custody. The criminal police force is also responsible for the investigation of different cases regarding stolen properties, missing people, road accidents etc. They continuously look after the people and places in order to safeguard the lives of the citizens (Czech Republic, 2007). Traffic police: By law the traffic police officers are there to organize and control the movement of the traffic. In addition to it, they have to be really careful about the investigations made on the roads regarding accidents that happen almost every day. They are further required to check the procedures of collecting fines for illegal acts. When a driver commits an offense then the traffic police officer has the right to stop him from driving and take the car into his custody with some relevant reason (Czech Republic, 2007). Police for the safety of foreigners and country borders: This service of the Czech Police ensures complete security and safeguard at the borders. This department also pays attention to the foreign residents in the country and preservation of their rights. Air Police: The duty of the air police is to supervise the movement of police aircrafts during criminal activities. They are always ready to take remedial actions when there is a need to safeguard the lives of the innocents. Anti drug Force The department of anti-drug force keeps a regular record of the city crimes and the corrective measures taken to overcome the problems. It is a separate unit which also deals with the international collaboration of Czech Republic with different countries related to agreements and treaties. The NPC police force assists the Governmental Committee for Anti-Drug Policies and other main bodies of the state but they are not a part of the anti-drug force department (Czech Republic, 2007). Corruption Office This department consists of the most important and valuable force working for intelligence investigation and processing of various cases related to corruption and economic crimes. They chronologically investigate an issue to get into its depth before taking any decision as they handle the most dangerous crimes of the country. Before reaching a conclusion, they gather the right information, analyze it and then take the necessary actions acceptable by the Czech Law. All sorts of primary and secondary data which they collect and process, related to criminal activities and crimes are then used further for future decision making processes. The record helps in controlling and preventing economic crimes, securing incomes gained from properties of the criminal and their activities. Czech Republic's Army The citizens of the Czech Republic entered the army as professionals, to become soldiers in the future, after the formation of a complete specialized army in January 2005. They fulfilled certain requirements before completely joining the force that are related to oath taking, fitness and health, education and training, not being a part of any political party etc. Like other countries the army of the Czech Republic is a vital fraction for the country. The Ministry of defense controls and manages the army it consists of the Military Office of the President and the Castle Guard. The Ministry holds the responsibility to draft and prepare the movements of the army for the state territory. Furthermore, it directs different policies and procedures to follow for the military defense. It also make relevant advises and recommendations to the government of the Czech Republic that are essential and beneficial for the country and its safety. Czech Republic is a part of international treaty obligations along with its neighboring countries for military defense of the country. In this treaty every nation is subject to receive and provide defense when it is needed and required by the neighboring country. This role of the Czech army is fundamental and essentially important. The effective and updated system of NATO has given assistance to the Czech Republic by providing defense and nuclear consultations, managing and planning crisis situations of the country and taking part in joint ventures and functions. Today the Czech army is very efficient in its working systems and procedures. It is very vital in its collaboration with the allied troops. Moreover, its using advanced technology machines and equipments with best communications network (Czech Republic, 2007). Women Rights Women and men in Czech Republic are treated equally under the law and women have fair right to property and inheritance. Almost half of the labor force comprised of women and by law they enjoy equal pay scale as of men. Women over there are employed excessively in professions with lower average salary with a difference of approximately 25 percent. The Council for Equal Opportunities for Men and Women is working for the safeguard of women rights. Even the Czech government is also functioning and taking care of gender related issues, so that women would not face any biasness and will enjoy equal rights and status. Different companies and organizations practice unlawful acts of treating women unequal when hiring and recruiting people for jobs. By law, gender discrimination in any field of work and compensation is prohibited and a person who is guilty has to pay fine of approximately $36,300. It is allowed in the country to offer and advertise jobs considering sex, age and personality depending on that specific job description and specification. For example for the job of security guard, a strong man is required to serve the purpose. In Czech Republic the unemployment rate for women in 2004 is 11.2 percent as compared to men which is 8.7 percent and is this field the inequality still exists. It is commonly noticed that companies prefer men for their senior posts and positions rather women. In Czech Republic the Interior Ministry has given a figure of 25000 people working in the sex industry. Prostitution is allowed by the Czech law, still there are internal agencies that are controlling and putting restrictions on this business. In the areas near the borders connecting Czech to Germany and Austria where the movement of traffic is really heavy, prostitution and sex shops are common. Women living in the regions of northern Moravia and Bohemia, where the unemployment rate is very high are mostly involved in prostitution. In addition, the Romani women are also drawn into this profession. Children The government of Czech Republic is making consistent efforts for the health care of children. It has funded various programs to spread awareness regarding diet and basic nutrition for children. Education is compulsory in the country for all regardless of gender and sex issues, but Romani children are facing inequality and are sent to special schools of the country which are for children with disability and mental disorder. There is a serious problem of women and children trafficking, as government is taking keen measures to prevent it, still in different parts of the country complaints have been made regarding this matter. Copyright Law The Czech Copyright Act of 2000 is still observed and practiced in the country. The film and music industries are really worried and concerned about some issues and they demand required alterations. On the whole they insist on taking the following points into consideration: Exemption of royalties for hotel rooms and health institutions. Offences related to private copying and problems that arise from technical protection of the films and music. Activities of the collecting societies related to over regulation (Czech Republic, 2006). Piracy With the growing number of investigations for piracy control, the cases for piracy problems are also increasing day by day in the country. The industry has reported that the government is unable to tackle the situation and has not yet decided and planned for the necessary measures needs to be taken for its prevention. Complaints are regularly made for the inefficient investigative apparatus that are really slow and are unable to identify the crime in music cases. More reports related to the entertainment industry have disclosed that each year a lot of counterfeit products are being detained by the officials. The number of such items in Czech Republic has increased drastically in 2005. There were 13 seizure actions in 2004 and an around 44,000 goods seized. In 2005, 26 such actions were taken and approximately 78000 fake products were taken into custody. Basically these products were mainly the components for cartridge-based goods, imported in the country by Vietnamese from Asia. On the contrary, the courts of Czech Republic are continuously giving tough time to wrong doers and criminals in software piracy cases. In 2005 the business software industry enjoyed quality assistance and cooperation with Czech officials and government also supported and monitored the use and sharing of only legal copies of software (Czech Republic, 2006). Environmental Policy On 1st February 2005, European Agreement was enforced between the Czech Republic and the European Union which is related to the environmental protection. The agreement talks about the current measures that are being observed in the country and the new requirements and standards that are important to be followed and implemented. These actions also include the relevant functions required for the overall protection of the environment. The Czech Republic is a part of a lot of international agreements and unions of European Union that are committed to the cause of environmental protection and safeguard. The Environment Minister of the country, which is not a permanent member of the Association Committee of the government, is in charge of all the activities that are taking place by the working teams for the environmental issues and leads all the discussions related to them. For environmental control, the Ministry of the Czech Republic is the main body which administers all procedures and makes decisions. The ministry controls and supervises the environmental protection system through its specialized units, territorial divisions, environmental departments and through scientific and research institutes. The Office for Legislation and Public Administration of the country is accountable and responsible for managing the environmental processes. Particular responsibilities have been assigned to individual ministries that will balance and match the norms and regulations of the Czech Republic with that of EU (Kosikova, 2007). The State administration including the State Environmental Inspectorate has the duty to implement and enforce laws related to environmental concerns. The ministries also collect the relevant material for forecasting and comparing previous figures for evaluation and estimation. Taxes and NGOs In Czech Republic, under the Income Tax Law, NGOs are free from paying taxes on incomes generated from constitutional affairs and activities. NGOs like PBCs, foundations, funds and other organizations that are working for the interest of people and are running on donations are exempted from paying taxes. Similarly, organizations which are on foreign donations and are for public benefit are also free from paying tax. Non governmental organizations whose donations are registered with the authority do not have to pay taxes. The companies that are working for boosting the economy of the country are also exempted from paying taxes. Property Tax issues It is the policy of Czech Republic, not to impose tax on buildings which are being used for the social welfare. For example there is no tax on schools, museums, hospitals and public libraries. Even the bodies which are working for the environmental protection are not liable to pay tax. Plots, which are under construction, are also not liable to pay tax if they have stated their purpose and are being built for the public interests. Fighting Terrorism Czech Republic condemns terrorism. They have a separate body that is responsible for fighting against terrorism. They have the right to arrest suspected people. The body also works against kidnapping and other dangerous cases. The specialized team uses its expertise and investigates for the crimes, searches for the vehicles used in it and the people involved. In case of any terrorist attack, this team examines the case in depth with their specialized equipment and knowledge. Moreover, they efficiently complete different tasks that are related to anti- terrorism activities for the protection of citizens and the nation as awhole. References "Czech Republic". 2006. International Intellectual Property Alliance http://www.iipa.com/rbc/2006/2006SPEC301CZECHREPUBLIC.pdf "Czech Republic". 2007. Czech Republic The Official Website Of The Czech republic http://www.czech.cz/en/basic-facts/security/security-forces/ "Czech Republic Country Brief". 2007. Australian Government Department of foreign Affairs and Trade. http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/czech_republic/czech_brief.html#po Kosikova, Pavla. 2007. "Czech Republic". Regional Environmental Center. http://www.czech.cz/en/basic-facts/security/security-forces/ Wrobleski, Henry M. & Hess, Karen M. 2006. Introduction to Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. http://books.google.com/booksid=eGtAWwkjDkQC&dq=history+of+law+enforcement&psp=1 Read More