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Execution of Custody Act

Adopted10^thNovember 1993

The Parliament of theCzechRepublichas passed the following Act:

Chapter I

Basic provisions

Section 1

The purpose of the Act

The purpose of the Act is to govern the conditions of the execution of custody in penal proceedings, in particular to provide for the rights and obligations of persons remanded in custody, the status of the staff and civil members of the Prison Service of the Czech Republic (hereinafter "Prison Service") in securing the execution of custody, and to govern the supervision of this execution.

Section 2

Principles of the execution of custody

No person remanded in custody (hereinafter "the accused") shall be viewed as guilty until his/her guilt has been pronounced in the judgement which has become legally valid. While in custody, the accused shall be subjected only to such restrictions as are necessary for the fulfilment of the purpose of custody with regard to the grounds for custody, and to ensure the defined institutional order. While in custody, the human dignity of the accused must not be humiliated, and the accused must not be subjected to any physical or psychical coercion.

Section 3

The bodies securing the execution of custody

(1) The security of the accused and further tasks ensuing from the execution of custody shall be handled by the Prison Service.

(2) The Prison Service shall be entitled to use only such restrictions and coercive means against the accused as permitted by the law.

Section 4

The place of the execution of custody

The custody shall be carried out in the remand prison or in a special department of the prison (hereinafter "the prison").

Chapter II

Reception, placement and release of the accused

Section 5

Reception of the accused

(1) No person shall be admitted into custody without a valid written commitment order of the court based on the decision of the court to remand the accused in custody. The decision shall be attached to the written order. Receiving into custody shall be conducted continuously.

(2) If admitted into custody, the accused shall be instructed about his rights and obligations under the present Act, the Execution of Custody Code and the institutional order.

Placement of the accused in cells

Section 6

(1) When placing the accused in cells, due account shall be taken of the purpose of custody, in order to prevent endangering the accused morally or otherwise.

(2) If an accused so requests, he/she shall be accommodated in a separate cell, provided the conditions in the prison make it possible.

(3) In justified cases the accused may request a transfer to another cell.

(4) Requests made under paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be settled by the governor of the prison or his/her deputy.

Section 7

(1) Separate accommodation shall be provided for:

(a)malesand females,

(b)theaccused remanded in custody of the grounds of suspicion they would frustrate investigation of facts relevant for their prosecution and other accused,

(c)theaccused prosecuted in joint proceedings, provided that, at the same time, at least one of them is remanded in custody on the grounds of suspicion he/she would frustrate the investigation of facts relevant for the prosecution,

(d)theaccused prosecuted for any of the crimes listed in Section 62 of the Penal Code and other accused,

(e)theaccused prosecuted for crimes committed through negligence and the accused who had not been previously sentenced tononprobationalimprisonment, and other accused,

(f)theaccused and the validly sentenced,

(g)juvenilesand adults,

(h)theaccused suspected of a transmittable disease or mental illness.

(2) When deciding on placement of the accused in cells, the instruction of the court and, in preparatory proceedings, also the instruction of the prosecutor shall be heeded, and possibly also other circumstances and facts, in particular the age of the accused, the degree of their disturbance, their habits and personal traits shall be taken as far as possible into consideration.

(3) If the accused, while being in custody, behaves aggressively or systematically violates the institutional order, he/she shall be accommodated in a special cell separately from the other accused.

Section 8

Execution of custody with a more lenient regime

(1) The accused may be placed in a department with a more lenient regime, if this does not endanger the execution of custody.

(2) In the department with a more lenient regime, there shall be accommodation space with common social and cultural facilities where the accused shall be allowed to move freely at fixed times and to associate with the other accused placed in this department.

(3) No accused who violates the defined order and discipline or who cannot be placed therein for security reasons shall be placed in the department with a more lenient regime. Similarly, no accused whose placement therein had not been recommended by the doctor with respect to his health, and no accused whose placement therein had not been recommended by the psychologist shall be placed in the department with a more lenient regime.

(4) Provisions of Section 7 shall be applied in the department with the more lenient regime analogously.

Section 9

Basic equipment of cells

(1) For each accused, a bed and a locker to keep his/her personal necessities shall be provided in the cell. Furthermore, the cells shall be equipped with a table and an adequate number of chairs, as well as amenities separated from the remaining part of the cell by an opaque screen. Electric lighting and signal installation shall be installed in each cell.

(2) The minimum accommodation space including the amenities for one accused shall be 3.5 square meters. The accommodation of an accused in a cell where he/she shall have less than the allotted space shall only be allowed under conditions provided for in the Execution of Custody Code, and for the necessary period of time; this shall not apply to juveniles and pregnant women.

Section 10

Release of the accused

The accused shall be released from custody on the written order of the court only and without unnecessary delay. A special law may stipulate in which cases the prosecutor should be entitled to release the accused.

Chapter III.

Rights and obligations of the accused

Section 11

Catering

Food in conditions and of value corresponding to the principles of good nutrition and his/her health shall be provided to the accused three times a day.

Section 12

Clothing

(1) If the accused so requests, he/she shall have the right to wear his own clothes, underwear and shoes, provided these meet hygienic and aesthetic requirements and he/she has arranged to have them changed at his/her own expense.

 (2) If the conditions outlined in paragraph 1 are not met, the accused shall wear prison clothes, underwear and shoes. In such case the clothes, underwear and shoes belonging to the accused shall be placed in safe custody.

Section 13

Correspondence

(1) The accused may receive and send letters (hereinafter "correspondence") athis ownexpense without restriction.

(2) The correspondence shall be subject to inspection which includes familiarization with the contents of the letters. If thegrounds for custody wasthe suspicion that the accused would frustrate the investigation of facts relevant to his prosecution, the correspondence shall be censored by the body conducting the proceedings. In other cases, the correspondence shall be censored by the staff of the Prison Service. The Prison Service has the duty to withhold the correspondence and to hand it over to thebodiesactive in penal proceedings if the contents of the correspondence establish a suspicion that a crime was committed and if the delivery of correspondence might have an adverse effect on the purpose of custody. The withheld correspondence shall be filed, and the addressee shall be informed of the unobjectionable part thereof.

(3) Inspection of correspondence between the accused and his council for the defence and between the accused and the authorities of theCzech Republicshall be unacceptable. Such correspondence shall be sent to the addressees immediately and shall be delivered to the accused without unnecessary delay.

(4) The Prison Service shall make sure that letters addressed to an accused who does not know how or is unable to read or write are read out to him/her, or shall assist him/her in the writing of requests, applications and complaints to bodies of state administration and with the correspondence with his/her defence counsel.

Section 14

Visits

(1) The accused shall be given the opportunity of being visited in the prison by a maximum of four persons at a time once in every three weeks for the period of 30 minutes. In justified cases, the prison governor shall have the right to allow the reception of a visit within a period of time shorter than three weeks, or ofa durationin excess of 30 minutes. If the custody is based on the suspicion that the accused would frustrate the investigation of facts relevant to the prosecution, a prior written permission of the court, and that of the prosecutor in preparatory proceedings, shall be required for the reception of a visit.

(2) The visits shall take place in the presence of the staff of the Prison Service in rooms designated for this purpose.

If a prior written permission is necessary for the reception of the visit, a representative of the body active in penal proceedings shall be entitled to be present. During the visit, the accused shall be allowed to receive a package, the contents whereof are provided for in Section 16, paragraph 2. The provision of Section 16, paragraph 3 shall be applied mutatis mutandis.

(3) The accused shall have the right to be visited by his/her counsel of defence in the prison without restrictions. The restrictions under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to visits by the defence counsel.

Section 15

Spiritual and social services

The accused has the right to provision of spiritual and social services to the extent implied by special regulations. Provision of these services in prison shall not be regarded as visits within the meaning of Section 14.

Section 16

Purchase of food and personal necessities and receipt of packages and money

(1) The accused may buy food and other personal necessities at least once a week in the assortment defined by a special regulation.

(2) The accused may receive once in every two weeks a package containing food, books and personal necessities up to the weight of 5 kilograms. The restrictions shall not apply to packages containing change of clothes.

(3) Packages shall be subject to inspection by staff of the Prison Service. Objects which may have an adverse effect on the purpose of custody, or the possession whereof in cells is not permitted under the Execution of Custody Code, in particular objects which could endanger the life and health of the accused in question or the life and health of other persons shall not be handed over to the accused. Such objects shall be sent back to the sender at his expense.

(4) The accused may receive money sent to him to the prison without restriction. The prison shall make sure the money is placed in safe custody, and enable the accused to dispose of this money at his/her expense. A special regulation stipulates in what cases the accused shall be obliged to place money in safe custody.

Section 17

Satisfaction of cultural needs

The accused may order books, subscribe to daily newspapers and magazines, including the

internationalones, in so far as they are distributed within the country. He may borrow and play games, as well as borrow fiction and specialized publications including legal regulations, from the prison library.

Section 18

Health care

(1) The accused shall be guaranteed eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.

(2) The accused shall be guaranteed at least one uninterrupted hour a day of walking exercise in the assigned prison area. The walking exercise may be limited or cancelled for an important reason by the prisongovernor´sdecision. The sick accused and accused pregnant women shall take walking exercise with the consent of their physician and as recommended by him/her.

(3) The accused shall have the right to health care to the extent and under conditions stipulated by a special regulation with regard to limitations ensuing from the purpose of custody.

(4) The accused shall submit to an initial, periodical and leaving (as well as extraordinary, where relevant) medical examination to the extent deemed necessary by the physician, including necessary diagnostic and laboratory tests and inoculation, and to preventive measures prescribed by bodies charged with the protection of public health.

(5) If the health condition of the accused requires the kind of medical care which cannot be provided in the prison, it shall be provided in a health care facility outside the prison. In such case, thesecurity of the accused shall be ensured by the nearest prison.

(6) If the accused has wilfully inflicted injury to his/her own health, he/she shall bear the costs of the treatment, security and transportation to the hospital facility.

Section 19

Work

(1) While in custody, the accused may work in the prison, if he/she so requests, within the scope of work opportunities of the prison. The provision of Section 7 shall be applied analogously.

(2) Employment, remuneration, health and social insurance of the accused shall be governed by special regulations.

Section 20

Protection of the rights of the accused

(1) The accused are entitled to make requests and complaints to the bodies of state administration of theCzechRepublic, and the prison shall forward them to the addressees immediately.

(2) If the accused so requests, he shall be granted, without unnecessary delay, an interview with the prison governor or his/her deputy.

Section 21

Obligations of the accused

(1) The accused shall observe the Execution of Custody Code and maintain the institutional order, as well as orders and instructions of the Prison Service, handle the property of the prison and of the other accused with care, and treat all persons he/she deals with courtesy.

(2) No accused shall be allowed to established illicit contacts with other accused or with persons at large, to manufacture, possess and consume alcoholic beverages and other drugs, to manufacture and possess objects which could be used to endanger the safety of persons or property or for escape, or which could, because of their quantity and nature, disturb the order or damage health.

(3) The accused shall be searched while being received in custody, transferred to places outside the prison or if there is suspicion that he/she is carrying a thing the possession whereof is forbidden in custody. Such thing shall be seized and placed in safe custody.

(4) As far as it is necessary to ensure institutional order and security in the prison, the staff of the Prison Service shall be entitled to use coercive means against the accused refusing to fulfil his duties, as stated in a special law.

Chapter IV.

Forms of punishment

Section 22

Disciplinary infractions, disciplinary punishments and protective measures of seizure

(1) If the breach of obligations under Section 21 constitutes a disciplinary infraction, the accused may be punished by a disciplinary punishment. A lesser infraction may be settled by reprimand or transfer of the accused from the department with a more lenient regime to the department with a regular regime. The obligation of the accused to compensate for the damage caused shall not be affected by the disciplinary infraction.

(2) The disciplinary punishments are as follows:

     (a) fine in an amount ranging up to 1000 crowns

     (b)lossof the right to receive a package and prohibition of purchase of food and personal necessities (except hygienic necessities) for a period of up to one month,

     (c)forfeitureof an object,

     (d)solitaryconfinement for a period of up to ten days.

(3) The imposed punishment shall be proportional to the gravity of the disciplinary infraction. Unless stated otherwise, only one punishment may be imposed for the given disciplinary infraction.

(4) When determining the fine, the personal situation of the accused shall also be taken into consideration. The prison shall be entitled to enforce the payment of the fine by withdrawing the sum from the means of the accused kept in safe custody. The sum shall become the property of the state. The means of the accused placed in safe custody may not drop below CZK 500.

(5) The forfeiture of an object may be imposed as a separate punishment or in combination with another disciplinary punishment. The forfeiture of an object may only be ordered if the object belongs to the accused and

       (a)theobject was used to commit the disciplinary infraction,

       (b)theobject was designed to be used for committing a disciplinary infraction, or

       (c)theaccused acquired the object through the disciplinary infraction.

(6) The forfeiture of an object shall not be ordered, if the value of the object is strikingly disproportionate to the disciplinary infraction committed. The forfeited object shall become the property of the state.

(7) Solitary confinement shall be deemed to mean the placement of the accused in a special cell in the department of solitary confinement. While placed in solitary confinement, the accused shall not be allowed to receive visits (except by his/her defence counsel), to use his/her own clothing, underwear and shoes, to receive packages, to buy food and personal necessities (except hygienic necessities), and he/she shall not be permitted to read magazines and books (except legal regulations) and to play games. The period the accused had spent in solitary confinement shall not be included in the period for receiving a visit or package.

(8) The disciplinary punishment of solitary confinement shall not be imposed on a pregnant woman or on an accused whose health would be endangered by such punishment.

(9) If the imposition of the disciplinary punishment of forfeiture of an object is impossible because of the fact that the accused may not be prosecuted for a disciplinary infraction or the object does not belong to the perpetrator of the infraction, the object may be seized if the safety of persons or property or similar other public interest so requires. The seized object shall become the property of the state.

Section 23

Disciplinary process

(1) The prison governor or the officer of the Prison Service so authorized by the governor shall be entitled to impose disciplinary punishment and to decide on seizure of an object.

(2) A disciplinary punishment may only be imposed if the circumstances of the disciplinary infraction have been properly clarified and the guilt of the accused has been proved. Before the disciplinary punishment is being imposed, the accused and the person claiming ownership of the object which may be seized shall be given the opportunity to express their opinion regarding the case.

(3) The decision on imposition of a disciplinary punishment shall be made and announced to the accused within 15 days of the day when the body authorized to impose the punishment has learned of the infraction; however, within one month of the breach of the order and discipline at the latest.

(4) The decision on the seizure of an object shall be announced without delay to the accused who is supposed to have committed the disciplinary infraction, and to the proprietor of the objectsofar as he is known.

(5) The decision on imposition of fine, forfeiture of an object or concerning the seizure of an object shall be drawn up without unnecessary delay and served on the accused and the person as mentioned in paragraph 4.

(6) The accused and the person as mentioned in paragraph 4 have the right to file a complaint against the imposition of disciplinary punishment or against the seizure of an object within three days of the day the decision was announced, or, if the decision was served, of the day of the service. The complaint shall have dilatory effect. The complaint shall have no dilatory effect, if the punishment of solitary confinement has been imposed and the maintenance of the order and discipline in the prison makes the immediate execution of solitary confinement necessary.

(7) The complaint contesting the imposition of the disciplinary punishment of fine or forfeiture of an object or contesting the seizure of an object shall be settled under a special law by the district court in whose district the prison is situated. The complaint contesting the decision on the imposition of another disciplinary punishment shall be settled bythe prisongovernor, and if the decision made by him is contested, by the general director of the Prison Service or an authorized officer of the general directorate of the Prison Service. The complaint which has no dilatory effect shall be settled without unnecessary delay.

Section 24

The legal regulations concerning administrative procedure shall not apply to the process under Chapter IV.

Chapter IV.

Execution of custody of juveniles

Section 25

General provision

To the execution of custody of an accusedwhohas not attained the age of eighteen (hereinafter "juvenile") other provisions of the present Act shall be applied unless this Chapter provides otherwise.

Section 26

Special provisions

(1) Juveniles shall be kept in cells separately from other adults. The joint placement of a juvenile and an adult accused in a cell shall be possible only in exceptional cases, if there are grounds to believe that such step is more favourable for the juvenile from the points of view mentioned in Section 6, paragraph 1.

(2) The juvenile shall have the right to receive a visit once a week.

(3) The disciplinary punishment of loss of the right to receive a package and the prohibition of purchase of food and personal necessities imposed to the juvenile shall not exceed the period of one week.

(4) The disciplinary punishment of solitary confinement imposed to the juvenile shall not exceed the period of five days.

(5) When the disciplinary punishment of solitary confinement has been imposed, the juvenile shall be allowed to receive and send correspondence and to read daily newspapers and books.

Chapter VI.

Execution of custody of adult foreigners

Section 27

General provision

Unless this Chapter provides otherwise, other provisions of the present Act shall beappliedto the execution of custody of the accused who are not nationals of theCzechRepublic(hereinafter "foreign national").

Section 28

Special provisions

(1) The foreign national shall be immediately instructed after having been received in custody about his right to approach the diplomatic mission or the consulate of the state whose national he is. Refugees and stateless persons shall be instructed about their right to approach the diplomatic mission of the state authorized to serve the interests of such persons or to international authorities whose mission is to protect these interests. The duty of the body active in penal proceedings to notify, in accordance with the respective international agreement of the remand in custody, the representative authority of the state whose national the accused is shall not be affected through this.

(2) The foreign national shall be instructed about his right to receive visits by the representatives of the authorities as mentioned in paragraph 1. The consular visit shall be realized under conditions stipulated by special regulations. This visit shall not be included in visits under the provision of Section 14, paragraph 1 of the present Act.

(3) The foreign national shall be instructed in his mother tongue or in the tongue he understands.

Chapter VII.

Section 29

Supervision and control

Supervision of the observance of legal regulations concerning the execution of custody and control over the execution of custody shall be carried out by the Minister of Justice.

Chapter VIII.

Interim and final provisions

Section 30

Insofar in other legal regulations the terms "remand institution" or "penalinstitutions" are used, these terms shall be deemed to mean prison.

Section 31

The Minister of Justice shall issue the Execution of Custody Code.

Section 32

The present Act shall enter into effect onthe 1st of January, 1994.