The Constitutional Court rejected the complaint of Brno representatives in the dispute over the location of the railway station

Brno - The Constitutional Court (CC) rejected the complaint of Brno representatives from ODS and ČSSD regarding the timing of the referendum on the location of the railway station. The representatives disagreed two years ago with linking the referendum to this year's regional elections. They claimed, for example, that due to the two-year postponement of the vote, they could not address the issue of the station as elected representatives of the citizens. They perceived it as an infringement of their rights, as reported by ČTK from the ruling in the court database.

According to the constitutional judges, it is hardly possible to argue that announcing a referendum violates the constitutional right of citizens to participate in public affairs. On the contrary, a local referendum allows for direct participation in decision-making. It also does not violate the rights of city representatives to exercise their mandate. In fact, the city council decided in 2014 to resolve the situation with a referendum postponed until autumn 2016.

"The petitioners, as representatives, had the opportunity to persuade other representatives that a different approach should be taken and could vote on this issue. If they were outvoted, they cannot seek protection from the court," states the ruling by reporting judge Tomáš Lichovník.

A group of representatives, including former mayor Roman Onderka (ČSSD), initially filed a lawsuit regarding the timing of the referendum, which was rejected by the Regional Court in Brno. They also did not succeed with a cassation complaint to the Supreme Administrative Court. Former deputy mayor Robert Kotzian (ODS), who acted independently, also did not fare well in court. His constitutional complaint was rejected by the court last year due to the evident lack of standing of the petitioner.

"We are glad that the last obstacle has fallen and the justice confirmed that the citizens of Brno have the legal right to decide about the station themselves," stated Jakub Patočka, the representative of the preparatory committee, in response to the CC's ruling. The statement of the lawyer for the opposition representatives is being verified by ČTK.

The opposition considered the city council's decision to link the referendum with the regional elections illegal. The voting should supposedly take place within 90 days of the approval of the proposal to hold the referendum. However, the Supreme Administrative Court has repeatedly ruled in the past that local referendums are suitable to be combined with elections. This usually results in more people participating, thereby better fulfilling the purpose of the plebiscite.

The modernization of the railway station in Brno has been under discussion for almost one hundred years. Currently, there are two main variants - by the river and under Petrov. The railway management is working on a comparative feasibility study. However, it will not be ready before the October referendum. Thus, people will not have as much information available as was anticipated when the referendum was announced.