The Supreme Court will expand with an extension for 130 million by 2018

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Brno - The area of the Supreme Court (NS) in Brno is set to expand with an extension for 130 million crowns by the beginning of 2018. It will be built on the site of a dilapidated apartment building adjacent to the court building on Burešova Street. The building is awaiting demolition. Construction could begin in February 2016. The plan was presented today by Minister of Justice Robert Pelikán and Chief Justice Pavel Šámal. However, according to him, the extension is only a temporary solution and the plan to build a completely new headquarters for the Supreme Court in Brno still stands.
    There are currently 64 judges and 233 employees working at the Supreme Court. Due to long-standing issues with the court's small capacity, some have offices in the basement of the building. They also reside in six rented buildings in the city, which causes difficulties.
    "The current capacity of the Supreme Court buildings is truly absolutely insufficient. With the increasing number of cases, it is clear that a solution needed to be found as quickly as possible," Šámal told reporters. He emphasized that the extension is a temporary solution that must be followed by the construction of a new Supreme Court building. Its current premises, along with the extension, would then be used by the appellate financial directorate, which according to Šámal also finds the current layout of the buildings satisfactory, including the extension.
    "We need a completely new headquarters; however, under the current conditions, it has already become impossible to work. The extension is a temporary solution for a few coming years," Šámal stated.
    Pelikán emphasized that the current state is inefficient and the extension should have been operational years ago. The dilapidated apartment building next to the NS was purchased by the state in 2002 for 17 million crowns. Building permits for the extension were already issued in 2005. The project was postponed due to a lack of funds.
    The Supreme Court operated in Brno during the First Republic. It subsequently moved to Prague. This institution returned to Brno in 1993, when it had 25 judges and 53 employees. Since then, the number of its employees has quadrupled. One of the options in the future is to build a completely new headquarters for the NS, which would also host the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, currently based in Brno.
    "It needs a completely new building that would not only meet the NS's representative space requirements but would also be sufficiently advanced technically," Šámal emphasized.
    All supreme judicial institutions of the state are based in Brno. The Constitutional Court is located in the former Moravian Land Assembly, the Supreme Administrative Court has a new headquarters on Moravské náměstí. Nearby, on Údolní Street, is the office of the ombudswoman, which has also been modernized. The new judicial complex on Polní Street houses the City Court of Brno along with the District Court of Brno-Country and public prosecutor's offices.