Resume
Information from Intelligence Services in Criminal Proceedings in the Czech Republic
doc. JUDr. Ladislav Pokorný, Ph.D., Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague, Faculty of Security and Law, Department of Criminal Police and Intelligence Services
Abstract
The paper addresses the topic of the possibility of using information from intelligence services in the Czech Republic in criminal proceedings, especially its possible use as evidence. Currently, intelligence information serves in criminal proceedings only as operational information. This conclusion is based on a single ruling of the Constitutional Court in a non-representative case, which has become the basis for a blanket and a priori rejection of the evidentiary use of intelligence information in criminal proceedings. However, the ruling itself, inter alia, identifies arguments that justify the actual need for change and the constitutionally compliant way of its solution. A legislative proposal for an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure is currently being drafted, which should, in the case of extremely serious crimes of a terrorist nature and espionage, enable evidentiary use of intelligence information obtained by precisely defined and legal means.
Keywords: intelligence services, intelligence information, criminal proceedings, evidence, Czech Republic.