The Chamber approved the law on the expropriation of land with compensation

PRAGUE - The state will likely have a tool to expedite the construction of roads, highways, and railways. In the so-called public interest, it may resort to expropriation. However, landowners should receive appropriate compensation. The proposal was approved by the House today. It still needs to be discussed by the Senate and signed by the president.
The deputies proposed that the proposal take effect on January 1, 2007. However, the question is how its discussion will turn out in the right-wing Senate. The proposal succeeded today thanks to the votes of left-wing deputies. A total of 103 deputies, primarily from the ČSSD and KSČM, but also some individuals from the KDU-ČSL and US-DEU, raised their hands in favor of the proposal. The opposition came from the Civic Democrats and some members of the People's Party.
Minister for Regional Development Radko Martínek already stated in the debate during previous readings that expropriation is understood as an extreme intervention into property rights, and the proposed law sets particularly strict conditions for it. According to him, the law therefore brings guarantees in favor of the expropriated. "Compensation may also be provided in the form of alternative land or buildings. When limiting property rights or establishing a servitude, compensation will be provided in the amount of the price of the right corresponding to the servitude," said the minister.
However, the Civic Democratic deputies view the accepted proposal critically. Pavel Hrnčíř noted that expropriation of private property is a significant and dramatic intervention into private law. For the ODS, according to Hrnčíř, expropriation is an extreme remedy for addressing some public interest. "This procedure should truly be used sparingly," he said.
Today, the House also voted on a proposal by ČSSD deputy Miloslav Kala, who submitted an amendment to the proposal, according to which strategic industrial zones could also be included in the strategic interest. However, only 12 deputies raised their hands in favor of the proposal.
The House has already voted on expropriation once this year. A similar proposal was submitted by left-wing deputies. However, it was not approved by the House in mid-May. The Senate previously vetoed the proposal, stating that some parts of the law were contrary to the constitutional order.