The chairman of the Brno regional court is being prosecuted for three criminal offenses

Brno - The chairman of the Brno Regional Court, Jaromír Pořízek, has been charged in connection with the construction of the judicial complex in Brno with three criminal offenses. These include abuse of public office, violation of duties in the administration of foreign property, and violation of binding rules of economic conduct. He disagrees with the charges and has filed a complaint against them. Supervisory state attorney Beáta Ciencialová expects a decision on it could be made next week. She said this to ČTK today.
     The case is being handled by the Regional Public Prosecutor's Office in Ostrava. If the Brno prosecutor's office had the file, it would risk the prosecutors assigned to it being suspected of bias.
     Pořízek informed Minister of Justice Pavel Blažek (ODS) about his criminal prosecution "in advance". Petra Hrubá, a spokesperson for the ministry, said this to ČTK today. She added that the minister will wait until Pořízek’s complaint is resolved, which could lead to the cessation of his criminal prosecution. However, if that does not happen, Blažek may temporarily relieve Pořízek of his duties as a judge until the matter is closed. This would mean that he would stop presiding over the court.
     The chairman of the Brno Regional Court rejects any wrongdoing, considering the accusations absurd and hastily concocted. The judicial complex cost two billion crowns. It includes the building housing the Brno Municipal Court and the Brno-Country District Court. It also comprises a facility where the Brno Municipal Public Prosecutor's Office operates alongside the public prosecutor's office for the Brno-Country district. In 2005, it was anticipated that the construction would cost 805 million crowns, but after a precise calculation of costs, the price rose to 1.674 billion crowns. This investment was also approved by the Ministry of Justice. However, the total costs amounted to 1.938 billion crowns. This amount includes the construction of buildings along with their equipment.
     Pořízek has already pointed out that the change in costs in the project is poorly commented on. According to him, although it rose from the original 800 million to nearly two billion, not all data from the documentation were known when the initial amount was set, for example, connections to transport infrastructure or utilities.
     In the original procurement procedure, it was not anticipated that the Brno-Country District Public Prosecutor's Office would move to the new complex. Pořízek is currently being prosecuted for offenses related to the construction of the building for public prosecutors, according to available information.
     The Financial Directorate of Brno recently decided that there had been a mistake in the entire project and imposed a fine on the Brno Regional Court. It identified errors, though administrative in nature. The regional court should return two billion crowns to the state budget, essentially the amount that was invested in the complex project. The complex is already built and is serving its purposes.