He knew what he was talking about. The questionable behavior of some members of the Czech judiciary has reached scandalous proportions, as the following case indicates.

After the collapse of Russia's research institutions, Vladimir Maksimov, a nuclear scientist, was forced to look for new work. In March 1999, he leased the Elwa Spa in Karlovy Vary, took over its 25 employees and reconstructed the building. Maksimov's investment was worthwhile, he said, because he had signed an 11-year lease.

However, after the property had been remodeled, the Elwa's owners, a local company called Elwa Spa, thought differently. The company told Maksimov that he had in fact signed a lease not for 11 years, but for 10 months.

Maksimov protested and demanded compensation for the unexpected, premature termination of the contract. In response, Elwa Spa accused Maksimov and his colleague, Svetlana Voitkova, of forgery, claiming the pair had changed the original 10-month contract. The Karlovy Vary Police and judiciary launched criminal proceedings against Maksimov and Voitkova.

The prosecutor argued that the 10-month lease had been officially verified by a local notary in Kladno. However, the defence council showed by concrete examples that this particular notary's office would gladly turn any unverified papers into "legal documents." The defense also discovered a number of serious inconsistencies regarding dates, copies and signatures, indicating that various Czech legal authorities had committed or at the least condoned forgery.

When the case came before the Karlovy Vary District Court, the judge sided with the subjective, unsubstantiated and contradictory testimonies of the witnesses for the prosecution, although they were all individuals connected with the interests of the Elva Spa company.

Only a few days ago the court reluctantly found Maksimov and Voitkova innocent. Nevertheless, the judge said in her concluding speech that she was "75 percent convinced the accused were guilty."

For Maksimov there is no question of compensation for the unexpectedly terminated contract, and for the money he put into the Spa before it was yanked away from him.

It is extremely worrying that the judiciary in Karlovy Vary will evidently ignore evidence and persecute an obvious victim of a local conspiracy.

Cases like that of Maksimov and Voitkova may become more frequent. The Czech Parliament is planning to introduce a "Crown witness" system into Czech criminal proceedings. A Crown witness law would allow the discontinuation of an individual's prosecution if he or she discloses information that could contribute significantly to the detection of a serious crime.

Surely reliance on testimony by witnesses who can --- and will --- be pressured, rather than on incontrovertible documentary evidence, will lead to many more miscarriages of justice. The planned introduction of Crown witnesses seems an ominous throwback to Stalinism. During Stalin's show-trials people were found guilty on the basis of testimonies made by personal witnesses and "confessions" --- objective evidence wasn't used.

Originally published in Czech Business Weekly HERE