The Czech Constitutional Court on Monday ruled that churches and religious
societies can pursue their property restitution demands at courts without
having to wait for specific legislation to be passed by Parliament. Former
church property, confiscated by the communist regime, was in 1991
addressed
by an act which said all demands would be dealt with in special
legislation. Reviewing a complaint by a Roman Catholic parish in Nový
Bydžov, in eastern Bohemia, however, the court said on Monday that since
no such law had been passed to date, churches can take the state to court
over individual demands.
The lower house of Parliament is later this week scheduled to vote on a
controversial bill that would return the Roman Catholic Church and other
groups some 135 billion crowns worth of property, partly in financial
compensation. Some lawyers believe that Monday’s ruling by the
Constitutional Court would pave the way for church property restitution
even if the bill is rejected.