The case of the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history is now resonating in the media. Several hundred postal workers there have been wrongly convicted of embezzlement, theft and accounting fraud. Many of them ended up in prison, others “merely” lost their jobs, their money and their clean criminal records. In the end, it turned out that the mismatched finances were not due to the actions of the employees, but to a glitch in the software the Postal Service was using for its computer and accounting system. The British government is now offering all wrongly convicted postal employees compensation of £600,000, which translates to approximately seventeen million Czech crowns.
What about the amount of compensation awarded for unlawful prosecution in our country?
A person who is criminally prosecuted and is subsequently not convicted has the right to compensation for the non-pecuniary damage caused. This principle is one of the fundamental aspects of the rule of law – the State is responsible for interfering negatively in the lives of individuals in such a significant way if it does not bear the burden of proof that a crime has been committed and there is no conviction. However, the amount of compensation awarded for unlawful prosecutions and the manner in which this is done is a good example of how legal principles ‘on paper’ and in practice are often two somewhat separate worlds.
According to the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, the compensation awarded for unlawful criminal prosecution should correspond as closely as possible to the harm caused and reflect all the negative effects, particularly those affecting the personal integrity of the particular victim. While in the British postal case the State considers the amount of CZK 17 million to be adequate compensation, domestic practice is somewhat different in cases of unlawful prosecution for similar property or economic crimes. Recently, for example, the following cases have been dealt with:
Criminal offence of tax evasion
- Length of prosecution: 6 years and 8 months
- 30 days in custody
- Compensation awarded: 140.000,- CZK
Criminal offence of fraud
- Length of prosecution: 14 months
- Psychological problems and relationship problems have been shown to arise because of criminal prosecution
- Compensation awarded: 25.000,- CZK
Breach of duty in the management of someone else’s property
- Length of prosecution: 6 years and 6 months
- The prosecution resulted in loss of employment, damage to reputation and the breakdown of a long-standing relationship
- Compensation awarded: 250.000,- CZK
For unlawful detention, which constitutes the most serious interference with the personal sphere, Czech courts award compensation of CZK 500 to CZK 1,500 for each day of detention, in accordance with the case law of the Supreme Court. It is not only the financial sums that make a big difference, but also the overall approach taken by the state towards unlawfully prosecuted persons. While in the UK the Prime Minister has personally apologised to all the victims and the government itself offers to pay the compensation outright, in the Czech Republic, as a rule, the state “on its own” does not award anything and it is still necessary to take lengthy legal action for this compensation. The difference in the approach taken by the state to its own citizens whose rights have been illegally infringed is abysmal in this country and in the UK, as can be seen in the current postal case.
We hope that such well-publicised comparisons can help to gradually improve the situation in our country.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or guidance for any particular case.
If you would like more information in this regard, please do not hesitate to contact us.