Czech High Court Rejects Challenge To Compensating Religious Groups For Nationalized Property

Last November, the Czech Parliament approved a plan to provide restitution to churches whose property was nationalized after the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948. (See prior posting.) Now AP reports that he Czech Republic's Constitutional Court (the country's highest court) yesterday rejected a constitutional challenge to the plan that was brought by the government's left-wing opposition.  Under the controversial plan, 16 religious groups will be paid 59 billion Kč ($3 billion) in compensation over the next 30 years and will also receive 56% of their former property now held by the state - worth 75 billion Kč  ($3.8 billion). As part of the arrangement the government will gradually stop covering church expenses over the next 17 years.