Vliv předsudků na rozhodování českých soudů

• Title in English: The Impact of Bias on Judicial Decision-Making in the Czech Republic
• Authors: BUKOVIČ Martin
• Year of publication: 2025
• Type: Peer-reviewed scientific article
• Magazine / Source: Jurisprudence
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Law
• web: Web nakladatele
• Keywords: impartiality; bias; objection of bias; judicial decision
• Description: The article examines the influence of bias on the decision-making processes of Czech courts, focusing on the application of the subjective and objective tests of judicial impartiality. Although the legal framework is designed to ensure the highest possible level of impartiality in judicial decision-making, the process may still be affected by a judge’s personal biases. When assessing impartiality, not only the judge’s internal attitude toward the case is relevant, but also external circumstances, particularly the appearance of impartiality in the eyes of third parties. By analyzing Czech court case law, the article illustrates how biases can affect judicial decisions and how these influences are reflected in specific rulings. The findings show that the application of the subjective test of impartiality is rather exceptional, as bias cannot be sufficiently proven without prior circumstances arising from the judge’s own conduct. The key factor in assessing judicial impartiality is the objective test. For the purpose of applying the objective test, the analyzed cases were divided into three categories: alleged bias due to the judge’s membership in a particular social group; alleged bias due to a party’s membership in such a group; and alleged bias stemming from so-called "other prejudice" (specifically, former membership in the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia). The analysis shows that a mere assertion of a judge’s lack of impartiality from an objective standpoint is not sufficient, there must be clear circumstances giving rise to reasonable doubts about the judge’s impartiality.