Judicial reform is among the most important topics in the Czech Republic and abroad -
for a very simple reason: An efficient, predictable judiciary is a key guarantor of a successful,
flourishing democratic society. To promote constructive discussion of these issues as a contribution
to the country's reform efforts, I am inviting you to take part in a conference entitled
"Judicial Reform: Toward an Accountable Society," which the U.S. Embassy is organizing
in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic. This conference, which
is also supported with additional funding from the British Embassy and the American Chamber
of Commerce, will take place at the CEELI Institute (at Villa Gröbovka, Prague 2 - map.) on September 16, 2008.
Over my legal and Ambassadorial career, I have had the opportunity to reflect on how business, the public and government can more productively interact. Whether the setting involved politics, law, or business, the answer continues to be the same: Transparency. At its core, transparency means that everyone understands what they can expect from their government, and that government is accountable to its society. Ethical codes of conduct and an independent judiciary, of course, enshrine the ideals of transparency. The U.S. Embassy is arranging this conference to create a forum in which Czech and foreign experts can share ideas, discuss challenges, and promote best practices. Judicial experts, legislators, judges, prosecutors, academics, businesspeople, journalists, NGOs, and others will attend. We plan to gather around 80 conference participants for this one-day conference. Each of the different panels throughout the day will have three to four experts and a moderator. Our aim is to keep the panelist remarks brief in order to facilitate a useful dialogue between the participants and the panelists.
The goal of the conference will be to promote the importance of an independent but accountable
judiciary and the benefits of judicial reform, as well as identify practical ways to
incorporate best practices, as discussed at the conference, within the Czech legal
and legislative framework. Therefore, your participation would be extremely valuable,
and I look forward to having you join us for this important event.