The court in Semily rejected Karel Walderode's claim to the confiscated property

Semily – The District Court in Semily today dismissed the claim of Karel des Fours Walderode in a restitution case concerning property worth approximately three billion crowns. His family has been seeking its return for 29 years; the property was confiscated by the state after World War II based on the Beneš decrees. Judge Michal Polák stated today that he is bound by a previous decision of the Supreme Court, which found that Walderode is not an eligible person regarding the restitution claim. According to the judge, only the Constitutional Court has the power to change this decision. Today's ruling is not final.

The Walderode family has been pursuing the return of the property since 1992, with the claim currently being made by the widow of Karel des Fours Walderode, Johanna Kammerlander. She was not present at today's hearing. The dispute involves the Hrubý Rohozec castle in Turnov and the surrounding land. The heir's lawyer, Roman Heyduk, told reporters after the hearing that they would file an appeal.

Walderode lost his estate in parts of Semilsko, Jablonecko, and Liberecko as a German after World War II due to the Beneš decrees. In 1947, authorities returned his Czechoslovak citizenship. However, he did not regain the confiscated property because he emigrated after the communist coup in February 1948 and lost his citizenship again. In 1992, the Ministry of Interior restored Walderode's Czechoslovak citizenship, and the nobleman applied for the return of his family's former property. Shortly thereafter, testimonies emerged indicating that he collaborated with the Nazis during the war. Justice is also examining whether he committed any offense against the Czechoslovak state during World War II in this restitution dispute.

The court in Semily recognized Walderode as an eligible person regarding the restitution claim through an interim ruling issued in 2017. This procedure was confirmed as correct by the Regional Court in Hradec Králové. However, the Supreme Court (NS) annulled this interim ruling this spring and returned the case for a new consideration with a binding legal opinion.

"The Supreme Court found that the decision of the Ministry of Interior regarding the retention of Dr. Walderode's Czechoslovak citizenship in 1947 did not meet the requirements set by the legal state at that time, the regulations in force at that time. Therefore, Mr. Dr. Walderode did not fulfill one of the conditions stipulated by the law under paragraph 2 of law number 243/1992 Coll. He could not therefore be an eligible person and could not request the return of the confiscated property," Polák told reporters after the court session.

Heyduk expected such a decision. "The district court could not decide otherwise,” he said, referring to the ruling of the Supreme Court. "There is one decision from the Constitutional Court in favor of des Fours Walderode and one decision from the Supreme Court in favor of des Fours Walderode. The Supreme Court annulled it, stating that it does not respect these previous decisions and wants to initiate a so-called constitutional legal discussion. This must be initiated with the Constitutional Court,” Heyduk said. He noted that while they have already submitted a constitutional complaint, the court has not addressed it. Therefore, they will appeal today's district court verdict. "The Constitutional Court said, we'll deal with this once it is finally resolved, not now. So it has to go through that cycle for the Constitutional Court to be able to address it,” added Heyduk.