CYIL vol. 8 (2017)

CYIL 8 ȍ2017Ȏ THE INTERNATIONAL LAW ASPECTS OF THE NEW CZECH ACT … the belief of the author of this article – an objective that foreign service should be exercised primarily by career diplomats. While entry of political appointees into the Czech foreign service is allowed by § 41(2) of the Act on Foreign Service and in case of heads of missions ( i.e. , the ambassadors) even by Article 63(1)(e) of the Czech Constitution, according to this principle, it should be an exception to the rule ( e.g. , in case of a politically sensitive post where a close working relation with the Prime Minister and President is needed). The principle of indivisibility of foreign service may sound a bit strange here, nevertheless, its inclusion into the Act on Foreign Service is justified by recent developments. Traditionally, most foreign services have been composed of “universal” diplomats fully competent to deal with any political, consular, economic or cultural task. This has been true particularly for smaller States that could not afford numerous personnel at every diplomatic mission (or consular post). The growth of State structures led, however, to a situation where other ministries were no longer interested in pursuing their activities abroad through the diplomatic missions (or consular posts) and instead created their own specialized agencies. Although this step may have some advantages, as there might be activities that the diplomats must not or cannot do – either due to their status, such as commercial activities, or due to the lack of capacity. Nevertheless, over the years, the representation of the Czech Republic abroad became too rampant and fragmented. The Foreign Ministry runs an organization named “Czech Centers”, whose mission is to promote the Czech culture abroad, and the “Czech Development Agency”, which is basically the Czech version of USAID or CIDA. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is equipped with two agencies with their offices abroad, the first one is called “CzechTrade” and provides support services to the Czech exporters, while the second one is called “CzechInvest” and attracts foreign investment to the Czech Republic. Finally, the Ministry for Local Development has an organization branded as “CzechTourism” that promotes the Czech Republic as a tourist destination. One day, a question will have to be finally asked whether a country of the parameters of the Czech Republic can afford the “luxury” of having this number of these agencies; nevertheless, this question is not a legal one. In a situation when establishment of yet another foreign presence of other State bodies is being discussed, there has been a need for a restatement of the fact that the Czech Republic as a State is being represented abroad by its foreign service only. In addition, in order to bring these organizations “under one roof ”, the Act on Foreign Service provides in its § 13 for conditions under which they can incorporate their employees into the foreign service. The principle of compliance with international law may look superfluous at first sight, since the Constitution of the Czech Republic stipulates in its Article 1(2) that “The Czech Republic complies with the obligations that arise for her from international law”. Nevertheless, in the Czech legal practice, the Constitution is sometimes seen as an abstract document that cannot be applied directly, unless there is a specific act implementing it. Furthermore, § 77(1)(c) of the Act on State Service imposes on all State employees, including diplomats, a duty “when exercising the service to comply with legal regulations related to its exercise”. It is not clear, however, whether the expression “legal regulations” (in Czech: “právní předpisy”) aims at domestic law only, or at international law too. Because of these doubts and taking into account that most persons participating in the exercise of foreign service are not lawyers, it made sense to incorporate into the Act on Foreign Service this principle that would be binding on them.

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