Cleaning up the courts

President Václav Klaus, Premier Vladimír Špidla and Justice Minister Pavel Rychetský jumped in this week to help stop the attempted fraud at Union banka, suggesting that justice does at times prevail in the CR. Rychetský has often criticized the judicial system, esp. the commercial courts. If he's able to straighten things out, it'll be partial compensation for having played a role, in various capacities, in formulating the very laws he now criticizes. Bad laws and "independently minded" courts have given protection to many of the CR's most notorious businessmen. For example, ex- CEO Lubomír Soudek of Škoda Plzeň was exonerated of any crime yesterday, although he had given himself a Kč 315m loan that was never repaid. It's a pity the Union banka case didn't come earlier. It shows the Czech court system at its ugliest and should make it more difficult for lawmakers to vote next time against cleaning it up.