Extension of compensation for the forcibly sterilized: Opposition proposes amendment, Govt wants a paragraph in the Labor Code
The Czech Government will probably take a neutral stance on a bill by opposition lawmaker Helena Válková (Association of Dissatisfied Citizens - ANO) to extend by two years the deadline to file requests for compensation for illegal sterilizations through a stand-alone amendment, as the compensation law expires at the end of this year. The governing coalition wants to adopt such a two-year extension through modifications to an already-discussed amendment to the Labor Code, which should be adopted faster than the opposition legislator's bill.
The online submission report on the Government’s bill has conveyed that information. The cabinet will review Válková’s bill next week.
The Health Ministry, Interior Ministry, Labor and Social Affairs Ministry and Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková have all recommended taking a neutral stance on the opposition amendment. They claim the adjustment drafted by Pavel Blažek and Eva Decroix, lawmakers from the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), which leads the governing coalition, should be added to the amendment to the Labor Code which has already been discussed by the lower house.
Blažek, who is also Justice Minister, anticipates the coalition’s bill could be adopted in February. That would mean there would be no point in voting on the ANO bill.
Válková said she wants the Chamber of Deputies to adopt her bill after a first reading. The adoption of her amendment has been supported by the Ministry for Regional Development and the Finance Ministry, which conditioned its agreement on the Health Ministry being given enough money for the process.
The Finance Ministry also pointed out that Válková’s bill does not include projected budgetary impacts and how to cover them. It also rejected as vague her claim that “the impact on the budget is negligible”.
Those who were illegally sterilized between 1 July 1966 and 31 March 2012 without freely choosing the surgery and without being informed as to its repercussions are eligible to receive a one-time payment of CZK 300,000 [EUR 12,000]. Válková, like Blažek and Decroix, points out in her bill that the conditions for proving such a claim have changed over the last three years.
All victims of such forced, illegal sterilizations, according to the lawmakers, must enjoy an opportunity to make their claims under the same rules of procedure. In their view, that equal position would be created by the opportunity for previously rejected applicants to re-file after the deadline is extended.
In early December, the Health Ministry had 2,008 compensation requests on record, even though those who wrote the compensation law estimated approximately 400 people would file claims. The ministry has issued more than 700 positive decisions so far, rejecting some requests or failing to decide them within the two-month deadline prescribed by the law.
The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty, has contacted Czech constitutional officials with a request that the life of the law providing one-time compensation to persons sterilized without their informed consent be extended. In his view, all victims should have the opportunity to effectively enjoy their right to compensation.
The European Roma Rights Centre came forward in 2004 with its suspicions that the forced sterilizations of Romani women were persisting in the Czech Republic. Dozens of Romani women then reported their cases to the ombudsman and some also sued in court.
Victims have been able to apply for compensation since 2022, but that opportunity will officially end on 2 January 2025.
