On 7 May, the Czech Constitutional Court struck down a law that had required sterilization or a sex reassignment surgery for legal gender transitions. It is now possible to legally change one's gender without undergoing a medical procedure. The Court ruled that these requirements violated fundamental rights, including bodily integrity, personal autonomy, human dignity, and transgender individuals' rights to self-determination, contravening the European Convention on Human Rights. The case was brought before the Court by a transgender person affected by the law. The court annulled several provisions of the Civil Code but delayed the ruling's enforceability, giving Parliament until mid-2025 to enact appropriate legislative changes. Parliament may set other requirements, such as obtaining expert opinions and allowing a certain period of time before officially recognizing gender transition.

Sources: Constitutional Court of Czech Republic, Aktuálně, Jurist, Reuters

The Senate (upper house of parliament) approved an amendment to the Civil Code to extend rights similar to those of marriage to same-sex partnerships, effective 1 January 2025. When it considered the bill in February, the Chamber of Deputies (lower house) decided not to approve same-sex marriage, but agreed only to recognize same-sex 'partnerships' with extended rights, including inheritance rights, widows' and widowers' pensions, joint property and tenancy, and child adoptions in cases where one partner is a biological parent. President Petr Pavel signed the law on 29 April.

Sources: Parliamentary Press 241 (psp.cz), bne Intellinews, Balkan Insight, Euractiv

After more than a decade of discussion, a law protecting whistleblowers from retaliation, such as dismissal or demotion, came into force on 1 August. It requires companies with 250 employees or more to establish a transparent internal system for reporting illegal practices at work. Later this year it will also apply to companies with 50 employees and above. Protection is only awarded to whistleblowers when it comes to certain crimes, for instance those with a fine of over CZK 100,000 or violations of selected areas of European law such as financial services and public procurement. Additionally, the whistleblower cannot be anonymous and must have worked for the organization, even if in a volunteer or self-employed capacity. The law answers a directive published by the EU in 2019, requesting that all member states ensure adequate whistleblower protection by December 2021. The Czech Republic will have to pay a late fine of CZK 64 million to the European Commission. Civil society groups have raised concerns about weaknesses of the bill, such as the handling of whistleblower reports by the Ministry of Justice instead of an independent agency. 

Sources: Transparency International, Expats, iROZHLAS, Transparency International 

Petr Pavel, a retired army general and former NATO military committee chief has won the Czech presidential election, garnering 58.3 per cent of the vote. His opponent, Andrej Babiš, a billionaire former prime minister, won 41.6 per cent. Outgoing president Miloš Zeman supported Babiš, with who he shares Eurosceptic and anti-migrant views. Pavel, who promotes stronger EU and NATO relations as well as support for Ukraine, and supports adopting the euro and progressive policies such as same-sex marriage, has conveyed a message of unity following the results. Despite having a largely ceremonial role, the president in Czechia appoints the prime minister as well as central bank heads, is a powerful voice in foreign policy and in pushing government policies. Voter turnout was 68.2 per cent, a substantial increase from 2018’s 61.8 per cent.

Sources: CNN, Euronews, Euractiv, International IDEA