“Reinstating the State of Emergency is Unconstitutional,” Says Senate Speaker
In today’s open letter to the government, the Speaker of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil (ODS) says that reinstating a state of emergency in the country against the will of the lower house would be unconstitutional.
According to him, this also applies to the case where the governors request a state of emergency.
After today’s meeting with the government, the regional governors asked the cabinet to declare a new state of emergency for 14 more days. The current state of emergency will end at midnight today.
The governor of the Moravia-Silesia region Ivo Vondrák said the decision had been unanimous. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš added the government will comply with the request.
“If the Chamber of Deputies cancels the state of emergency or vote against its extension, the government may not immediately decide to declare a new state of emergency. In such a case, the government would effectively negate the role of the Chamber of Deputies,” said Vystrčil.
Constitutional lawyers are divided over the matter.
Without the state of emergency, the government cannot impose a curfew, which is currently in effect between 9 pm and 5 am.
Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamáček (CSSD) warned that: “It would bring about the loosening of all regulations, the departure of soldiers from homes for the elderly and the departure of aid from hospitals.” Government officials warn that a collapse of the country’s healthcare system is possible.
Support Prague Morning!
We are proud to provide our readers from around the world with independent, and unbiased news for free.
Our dedicated team supports the local community, foreign residents and visitors of all nationalities through our website, social media and newsletter.
We appreciate that not everyone can afford to pay for our services but if you are able to, we ask you to support Prague Morning by making a contribution – no matter how small 🙂 .