Decreto 28 maggio 2002, n.232

Decree no. 232/2002 Coll. of the Ministry of Culture to implement the Act No. 3/2002 Coll. on the freedom of religious expression and the position of churches and amendments to some acts (Act on Churches), 28 maggio 2002.

Section 1
(Division of Registers)

1. The Registers shall consist of a public part and a confidential part.
2. The Register of Registered Churches and the Register of Church Legal Entities shall, in the parts under subsection (1), be divided into sections according to the churches; the Register of Church Legal Entities shall be further divided according to the respective legal entities. The Register of Associations of Churches shall, in the parts under subsection (1), consist of sections according to the associations of churches.

SECTION 2
(Contents of the Register of Registered Churches)

1. The following details and their modifications shall be entered into Part A (public) of the Register of Registered Churches:
a) the name and the seat in the Czech Republic of a registered church,
b) the number and the date of the decision to register the church and the effective date of such decision,
c) the name and the seat in the Czech Republic of the authority of the registered church,
d) first names and surnames of members of the authority of the registered church,
e) the identification number of the registered church,
f) the number and the date of the decision to grant a permission to exercise special powers and the effective date of such decision,
g) the number and the date of the decision to revoke registration of the church, to enter into liquidation, to dismiss a bankruptcy motion on grounds of insufficient property, to start composition proceedings, and effective dates of such decisions,
h) the liquidator’s first name and surname and his address or, where applicable, his business name and seat,
i) the trustee’s in bankruptcy first name and surname and his address or, where applicable, his business name and seat,
j) the date of termination of the registered church,
k) the legal successor to the church, if the church terminates and its legal successor has been determined,
l) modifications in details that are not subject to registration of modifications,
The following documents and their modifications shall be filed in Part B (public):
a) the application for registration of the church, including the first names and surnames of the preparatory committee members, the name of the representative of the preparatory committee, and authenticated signatures of all preparatory committee members,
b) the basic characteristics which are part of the application for registration, the teachings and the mission of the church,
c) evidence of establishment in the Czech Republic of the church,
d) the formal application of the church, excluding personal data of the members of the church organ or other entities who are authorized to act and undertake on behalf of the church,
e) the application for the granting of special powers and a declaration that the activity of the church applying for such powers does not violate law and order and that the church meets its obligations in relation to the state and any third party,
f) annual reports and final accounts under the Act,
g) a document showing that the obligation of confidentiality to be observed by the clergy in relation to the seal of confession or a right equivalent to the seal of confession has been a traditional part of the teaching of the church for at least 50 years, if the church applies for the special right of confidentiality in relation to the seal of confession or an equivalent right,
h) a notice by the Ministry that the application for registration, the application for special powers or that for registration of modifications should be completed,
i) the decision by the Ministry to register the church, to confer upon it a permission to exercise special powers, to register modifications, to revoke registration of the church, and to withdraw the permission to exercise special rights,
j) deeds and decisions in matters of liquidation of the church, bankruptcy and composition, and termination of the church after its registration has been revoked,
k) information concerning judicial decisions to review decisions by the Ministry and in matters under letter (j), including the court’s name, its verdict, the file reference, and the date of the decision,
l) deeds concerning the passage of rights and obligations of the church and its recorded church legal entities to another registered church that has undertaken in writing to take over the rights and obligations.
2. The confidential part of the Register of registered churches shall include the following documents and their modifications:
a) personal data of the preparatory committee members,
b) sheets bearing signatures of the Czech Republic citizens or foreign citizens with permanent residence in the Czech Republic who declare themselves adherents of the church, including their personal data which are part of the application for registration,
c) sheets bearing signatures of the Czech Republic citizens or foreign citizens with permanent residence in the Czech Republic who declare themselves adherents of the church, including their personal data which are part of the application for special powers,
d) duplicates of applications for the putting on files of the details and their modifications under subsection (1) and the documents under subsection (2), including personal data of natural persons,
e) duplicates of judicial decisions under subsection (2)(k).

Section 3
(Contents of the Register of Church Legal Entities)

1. The following data and their modifications shall be entered into Part A (public) of the Register of Church Legal Entities:
a) the name of the church legal entity in the Czech Republic,
b) the number and the date of recordation of the church legal entity,
c) the seat in the Czech Republic of the church legal entity,
d) the name of the statutory authority of the church legal entity,
e) first names and surnames of the members of the authorized authority of the church legal entity,
f) the identification number of the church legal entity,
g) the founder of the church legal entity,
h) the number and the date at which the church’s recordation was revoked following a proposal from the registered church,
i) the number and the date of the decision to revoke recordation of the church legal entity, to enter into liquidation, to declare bankruptcy, to dismiss a motion to declare bankruptcy on grounds of insufficient property and to open the relevant proceedings, and the effective dates of such decisions,
j) the liquidator’s first name and surname and his address or, where applicable, his business name and seat,
k) the trustee’s in bankruptcy first name and surname and address or, where applicable, his business name and seat,
l) the legal successor to the church legal entity, if it terminates and its legal successor has been determined,
m) the date of termination of the church legal entity.
The following documents and their modifications shall be included in Part B (public):
a) the application for recordation of the church legal entity, including the first names and surnames of the members of its statutory authority,
b) notices by the Ministry that the application for recordation of the church legal entity should be completed,
c) evidence in writing issued by the Ministry that the church legal entity has been recorded,
d) a decision by the Ministry to stop proceedings relative to an application for recordation of the church legal entity,
e) deeds and decisions in matters of liquidation of the church legal entity, its bankruptcy and composition, and the termination of the church legal entity once its documentation has been revoked;
f) information on judicial decisions as to the decisions made by the Ministry and in matters under letter (e), including the court’s name, its verdict, the file reference and the date of the decision.
2. The confidential part of the Register of Church Legal Entities shall include the following documents and their modifications:
a) duplicates of applications for the putting on files of the data and their modifications under subsection (1) and of documents under subsection (2), including personal data of natural persons,
b) personal data of the members of the statutory authority of the church legal entity,
c) duplicates of judicial decisions in matters referred to in subsection (2)(f).

Section 4
(Contents of the Register of Associations of Churches)

1. The following data and their modifications shall be entered into Part A (public) of the Register of association of churches:
a) the name and the seat in the Czech Republic of an association of churches,
b) the number and date of the decision to register the association of churches and the effective date of such decision,
c) the names of the members of the association of churches and their respective seats,
d) the name and the seat of the statutory authority of the association of churches,
e) first names and surnames of the members of the statutory authority of the association of churches,
f) the identification number of the association of churches,
g) the number and the date of the decision to revoke registration of the association of churches, to enter into liquidation, to dismiss a motion to declare bankruptcy on grounds of insufficient property and to open composition proceedings, including the dates and the numbers of the decisions in these matters and their effective dates,
h) the liquidator’s first name and surname and his address or, where applicable, his business name and seat,
i) the trustee’s in bankruptcy first name and surname and his address or, where applicable, his business name and seat,
j) the date of termination of the association of churches,
k) the legal successor to the association of churches, if it terminates and its legal successor has been determined,
l) proposals made by the associations of churches to modify the data that are not subject to registration of modifications,
The following documents and their modifications shall be included in Part B (public):
a) the memorandum of association in writing,
b) the statutes of the association,
c) notices by the Ministry that the application for registration of the association of churches should be completed,
d) decisions by the Ministry to register the association of churches, to register modifications, to revoke registration of the association of churches,
e) deeds and decisions in matters of liquidation of the association of churches, its bankruptcy and composition, and termination of the association of churches after its registration has been revoked,
f) information concerning judicial decisions as to the decisions made by the Ministry and in matters under letter (e), including the court’s name, its verdict, the file reference and the date of the decision.
2. The confidential part of the Register of the associations of churches shall include the following documents and their modifications:
a) duplicates of applications for the putting on files of the data and their modifications under subsection (1) and the documents under subsection (2), including personal data of natural persons,
b) duplicates of judicial decisions in matters referred to in subsection (2)(f).

Section 5
(Looking at the Registers)

1. The Ministry shall adjust all proposals and documents kept in the public part of the Registers in such a way as to make sure that only the first names and the surnames of natural persons can be read.
2. The Ministry shall make it possible to look at the public part of the Registers and to make copies of entries or duplicates during the office hours and always in presence of an employee of the Ministry. The Ministry shall allow a person authorized by the church, the church legal entity or the association of churches to look at the entry made in the confidential part of the Registers in respect of this church, church legal person or association of churches; the Ministry may allow that other entities look at the Registers if they can justify their legitimate interest in doing so, unless this is prohibited under the relevant legislation.
3. An application for the looking at the Registers shall be made in writing. The applicant shall specify which parts of the Registers he wishes to consult.
4. If there are more applicants, the consultation shall be made possible in the chronological order of arrival of such applications. The Ministry shall keep file of every consultation of the Registers, specifying the parts of the Registers which were looked at or whose copy was made.
5. The Ministry shall have the right to ask for reimbursement not exceeding the expenses of the search for the information, of the making of the copy, of the acquisition of technical data carriers and the dispatch of the information to the applicant.

Section 6
(Making of copies of entries and certificate of registration or recordation)

1. Depending on the nature of the application, the Ministry shall issue:
a) a copy of entry in the public parts of the Registers which shows the data valid at the date of the making of the copy;
b) a comprehensive statement from the public parts of the Registers which includes all data and their modifications;
c) a copy as a text, which is an exact copy of a part or the whole of a document filed in the public parts of the Registers;
d) a certificate whereby the Ministry confirms that a certain entry has been or has not been made in the Registers;
e) the first copy of the copy of entry under letter (a) at the date of entering the legal entity in the Registers and at the date of entering modifications in data under section 20(1) of the Act in the copy of entry under letter (a).
2. The documents under subsection (1) shall bear the date on which the document was issued, number of pages, a duty stamp showing that the corresponding administrative fee has been paid or an exemption clause, the Ministry’s seal with the national coat of arms, and the first name, the surname and the signature of the employee who produced the document. The documents shall be produced in conformity with the entry in the relevant Register as at the day on which the document was issued.
3. The document under subsection (1)(c) and (d) shall identify the applicant.
4. The documents under subsection (1) shall only be issued in the Czech language. The specimens of documents under subsection (1)(a) and (b) are given in annexes 1, 2, and 3. If there is nothing to fill in on some lines of the documents under subsection (1)(a) and (b), a statement to the effect shall be made on the corresponding line.
5. The documents under subsection (1)(a) to (d) may be issued following an application to which a duty stamp equal to the amount set forth in the relevant legislation has been attached; the application must include:
a) the first name(s) and the surname of the applicant and his address in the Czech Republic, if the applicant is a natural person, or his business name, seat and identification number;
b) the purpose of the application, including specification of the required document.
6. The fees to be charged for the documents under subsection (1)(a) to (d) shall be set forth by the relevant legislation.
7. The Ministry may issue the documents under subsection (1)(c) to (d) and include personal data contained in the confidential parts of the Registers, only if this is possible under the relevant legislation and if the applicant justifies his legal interest in doing so.

Section 7
(The Registers in electronic version)

The Registers in electronic version are kept by the Ministry which acts as the administrator of such Registers and allows access to the public data contained in the Registers pursuant to the relevant legislation.

Section 8
(Common provisions)
1. The Ministry shall store as part of the Registers:
a) details and documents relative to the legal entities whose registration or documentation has been revoked;
b) applications for registration of churches or associations of churches and those for recordation of church legal entities which have not become legal entities pursuant to the Act;
c) recordation of legal entities before the commencement of the Act which was carried out under the previous legislation.
2. Sections 2 to 6 shall apply to the keeping of the details and facts under subsection (1)(a) to (c) and to the public access to such details and facts.

Section 9
(Transitional provisions)

1. The existing records kept by the Ministry which were established as of 1 January 1994 by the order of the minister for culture of 19 November 1993 No. 8/1993 to set up a register of legal entities under the Act No. 308/1991 Coll. on the freedom of religious expression and the position of churches, shall be considered provisional under section 28 of the Act in relation to those entities who have not furnished all details required by the Act for the making of copies of entries in the Registers. Certificates under the existing regulations with the expiry date no later than 7 January 2003 shall be issued to these entities. Only those legal entities that are church legal entities under section 6(2) of the Act may be transferred from the existing records to the Register of Church Legal Entities.
2. In case of churches listed in an annex to the previous legislation, the Ministry shall state “1 September 1991” as the effective registration date and “308/1991 and the serial number under which the church was listed in the annex to the previous legislation” as the registration number.
3. A registered church listed in an annex to the Act shall, under section 28 of the Act, submit to the Ministry an application for registration of modifications in the formal application of the church, including all details under section 10(3) except for the details set forth in section 10(3)(e) in the order of indents of section 10(3).
4. On grounds of conclusive documents submitted by the registered church relative to the exercise of some special powers under section 7(1) of the Act and having examined whether the condition under section 28(1) of the Act is met, the Ministry shall enter into the Register of Churches the permission to exercise special powers under section 7(1) of the Act. 7 January 2002 (commencement of the Act) shall be the date of registration of the permission to exercise special powers and 3/2002 and the serial number under which the church is listed in the annex to the Act shall be the registration number.
5. If the details on legal entities as required by the Act for the making of copies of entries in the Registers are not furnished by 7 January 2003 at the latest, the Ministry shall enter them into the Registers indicating “Details Under The Act Not Supplies So Far”; the Ministry shall then proceed pursuant to section 28(4) and (5) of the Act.
6. No account shall be taken of the existing records under subsection (1) after 7 January 2003.

Section 10
(Commencement)

This regulation comes into force on the day of promulgation.