U.S. Embassy Prague Organizes the Conference "Judicial Reform: Toward an Accountable Society"

Ambassador Graber and Minister of Justice Jiří Pospíšil

September 19, 2008

Judicial reform is among the most important topics in the Czech Republic and abroad - for a very simple reason: An efficient, predictable judiciary is a key guarantor of a successful, flourishing democratic society. To promote constructive discussion of these issues as a contribution to the country's reform efforts, the American Embassy in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic organized a conference entitled "Judicial Reform: Toward an Accountable Society". The conference which was also supported with additional funding from the British Embassy and the American Chamber of Commerce, took place at the CEELI Institute on September 16, 2008. The goal of the conference was to promote the importance of an independent but accountable judiciary and the benefits of judicial reform, as well as identify practical ways to incorporate best practices, as discussed at the conference, within the Czech legal and legislative framework

The conference brought together 80 leaders of the Czech Republic’s government, legal, academic, media and business sectors as well as the diplomatic community who engaged in a lively discussion on various aspects of independence of the judiciary and the need for a separation between the executive and judicial branches as well as on the key role public trust plays in the credibility and viability of the judiciary. The conference clearly indicated how much interest exists in the judiciary to become a fair and transparent pillar of Czech democracy.

More information about the conference you can find at www.aic.cz/prague_judicial_reform