One of SAO’s duties is to inform the public. The Constitutional Court put an end to the battle of two hospitals against press releases published by auditors

Press release – 19 May 2021


The Constitutional Court rejected the complaint lodged by the České Budějovice Hospital and Tábor Hospital against the press release of the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) on audit No 14/16 – Funds earmarked for the development and reconstruction of regional health-care facilities within the Regional Operational Programme – South-East for the period 2007-2013. The two hospitals appealed to the Constitutional Court after having failed at the Municipal Court in Prague, the High Court in Prague, and the Supreme Court.

“The hospitals have sought to prevent the SAO from communicating its results to the public and the media. I am glad that the Constitutional Court has now definitively confirmed that this is also part of our work. Not only Members of Parliament and the Government, but also the public have the right to know what we found during our audits and how public money is being spent. I cannot imagine that we would not be able to give the public this information, as it is a public interest," said President Miloslav Kala, President of the SAO.

The previous Courts have already held that the presentation of the criticisms in the press release related to the audit mentioned above was appropriate, not of a tabloid nature, and did not seek to defame the two hospitals in question. The Courts also confirmed that the information contained in the press release corresponds to the findings in the audit report. Thus, according to the Constitutional Court, as far as the press release is concerned, ‘the courts have clearly justified that the content of the information corresponds to the audit report, the criticism made in the press release is factual’.

Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office

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