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The Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that a licence cannot be automatically confiscated from a driver who has failed a breathalyser test. It is required that the administrative authority determine the specific circumstances and specify them in the reasoning of its decision. The Supreme Administrative Court thus changed the previous judicial practice.
Our client was represented before the Court by Mr Štěpán Holub.
This follows from the judgement of the Supreme Administrative Court of 18 April 2018, Ref. No. 10 As 174/2017 – 27, published on the website here.
According to the judgement, the administrative authority must examine what reasonable criteria should be met for invoking such a serious consequence as provisional confiscation of a driver’s license (circumstances of the given act; degree of the driver’s intoxication; the driver’s history of infractions, etc.) and should describe in its decision the degree to which the criteria are met. If the authority fails to do so, its decision cannot stand as the court will be unable to review the exercise of administrative discretion. This is also why the Court quashed the previous judgement of the municipal court, which had adopted the conclusion that there was no room for discretion and the authority always had to decide on confiscating the licence if there was justified suspicion of driving under influence.
In this judgement, the Supreme Administrative Court thus changed its previous legal opinion expressed in case 5 As 74/2010.
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Jasper Brinkman
Jasper Brinkman
"Following a devastating hotel fire in Prague, the law firm Holubová advokáti, led by attorney Klara Dvorakova, successfully represented our extended family as a group of victims. The firm navigated complex international insurance and compensation laws to defend our rights.
I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts the firm had to make to bring our case to a successful compensation under extremely difficult circumstances."
Stewarts
Stewarts
"A visit to her daughter in London turned Eva's life upside down when she says she stepped into a crossing on a green light but was hit by a car. Despite her remarkable bravery, she faced a long treatment due to fractures in her pelvis, and the associated limitations and pain are likely to persist for the rest of her life. Regular headaches and impaired concentration compound her challenges.
Eva contacted us through an organization temporarily helping her manage her difficult living situation. At that time, she was destitute, relying only on subsistence payments. We were able to assist her because we specialize in personal injury and have contacts with proven colleagues abroad.
We worked with Stewarts, a UK law firm, on this case. Attorneys Klára Dvořáková and Rebecca Huxford helped Eva with the documentation in her case, explaining her options and the differences between the Czech and British systems of healthcare and social benefits reimbursement. Within a few months, thanks to the professional cooperation between the two offices, an offer of compensation from the insurance company of approximately CZK seven million was achieved. The client accepted this settlement because she did not want to deal with courts in the United Kingdom.
Subsequently, we assisted the client with related tax issues and contacted Auditone, a tax consultancy firm, which arranged for the filing of a tax return. Compensation for lost income is taxable, unlike most personal injury compensation.
'No one has done as much for me as you,' Eva said.
The fact that we were able to help Eva gives our work meaning and brings us great joy. We are very happy that, thanks to our many years of active involvement in the international professional organization PEOPIL, we can cooperate on such cases."