“There is no direct sanction for violating a crisis measure, such as closing pubs for a legal entity, in the crisis law. So paradoxically, I can’t get a fine for opening a pub, but for not taking a veil, “he told Novinky.
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The gap in the law is now to be addressed by the government’s amendment to the crisis law, which was approved by deputies on Wednesday in a state of legislative emergency. In the case of legal entities, it should be up to three million crowns. The proposal will now be considered by the Senate.
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The Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) has previously stated that he considers the given setting to be meaningless. “Sometimes the owner can be a natural person, namely a self-employed person, and sometimes a legal entity,” he told Novinky.
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As for the case of the aforementioned Rio’s restaurant, according to the Trade Register, it is operated by Midi, so it is a legal entity.
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“If the minister closed, the fine would fall”
According to Dostál, a possible exception could be a situation where restaurants would be closed on the basis of the Public Health Protection Act, which already contains a sanction for legal entities in the amount of three million crowns.
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It could not then be a matter of area measures, but only local closures.
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“If he had imposed it on the Minister of Health to the extent that the law allows, there would of course be a fine. But the restaurants were closed on the basis of the crisis law, so it is not possible to store here, “Dostál emphasizes.
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The government decided to ban the presence of the public in establishments of catering services such as restaurants, pubs and bars on the basis of the crisis law with effect from 14 October. The measures were relaxed, despite the original plans, on Thursday, December 3, when the Czechia began to follow the measures in force under the third stage of the anti-epidemic PES system.
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“Fine is in the law, but for other things”
He added that the fine is included in the crisis law, but it applies to other cases. He referred to a specific part of the law, which mentions sanctions for failure to provide the material resources needed to resolve the crisis situation at the request of the authorized body. “This means that they would destroy your car or truck, for example,” he said.
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And while other measures already concern the obligation to refrain from activities prohibited by crisis measures, they apply only to financial matters such as the transfer of money abroad, not the closure of restaurants.
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At the same time, he noted that the effectiveness of the law cannot be imposed retrospectively, so a fine cannot be imposed retroactively.
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Ten for disobeying
Police officers can currently monitor compliance with the announced measures on the basis of the Offenses Act. “Undoubtedly, not only customers but also the pub can be called upon to comply with the measures. The fact that there is no fine for this does not mean that it is legal, “said Dostál.
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Subsequently, he added that if the restaurant does not heed the call for closure, it is another type of offense, for which the restaurant may receive a fine of 10 thousand crowns.
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The municipality refers to the inside, Hamáček disagrees
The news also turned to the Prague City Hall, which has already initiated administrative proceedings with several restaurants, including the aforementioned Rio’s restaurant. “We are continuing the proceedings. In my opinion, there is no possibility that due to a loophole in the law, it will not be possible to punish companies in the end, “said Vít Hofman, head of the communication department.
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He referred to the opinion received by the Office from the Ministry of the Interior. “He stated that it is not possible to punish in general for violations of crisis measures in general, but for violations of crisis measures, which are exhaustively defined by the crisis law, yes,” he claims.
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The Hamas Act, as amended, allows the imposition of sanctions for restaurants, but Jan Hamáček (CSSD), the head of the Ministry of the Interior, does not agree with Dostál. “If administrative proceedings were initiated against a legal entity, it must have been due to a breach of a measure issued on the basis of the Public Health Protection Act. It is not possible to initiate administrative proceedings for violation of the crisis law, “Dostál’s words confirmed.
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“I doubt that the City Hall would initiate administrative proceedings under non-existent authorization,” he told Novinky.
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