Communication No. 1452/2006 Submitted by: Mr. Renatus J. Chytil (not represented) Alleged victim: The author State party: The Czech Republic Declared inadmissible: 24 July 2007 with 18.4 metric tons of the Czech gold labelled as ‘monetary restitution gold’, and shipped by the United States Government to the regime in Prague in February 1982. The author did not receive compensation from the United States Government; Subject matter: Discrimination on the basis of citizenship with respect to restitution of property Procedural issues: Abuse of right of submission Substantive issues: Equality before the law; equal protection of the law Article of the Covenant: 26 • The Chytil family villa in 1983, while the author’s mother and sister were visiting him in California. Both subsequently obtained political asylum in the United States; • The LITAS construction businesses, nationalized and confiscated in 1948; and • Other land, buildings and investments. Article of the Optional Protocol: 3 1. The author of the communication is Mr. Renatus J. Chytil, born in 1925 in the former Czechoslovakia. He claims to be a victim of violations by the Czech Republic of his rights under article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.1 He is not represented by counsel. 2.2 In 1990, pursuant to Act 119/1990, the author’s doctorate and professional certificate of magister juris were returned to him. He made a statement on 19 January 1994 before the constitutional committee of the Czech parliament. He also sought restitution of the family’s former property and gold by lodging a complaint before the Czech Constitutional Court for violation of human rights and other matters on 10 June 1994. On 26 November 1995, and according to the author, the Czech Constitutional Court denied him standing on the ground that he was not an entitled person under law, as required by article 3 of the Act No. 87/1991, since he did not meet the continuous nationality criterion. He claims that this decision is final and no appeal is allowed. He tried to pursue his case, which was denied on 4 March 1996 by an assistant judge of the Czech Constitutional Court. The facts as presented by the author 2.1 On 13 June 1948, the author escaped from Czechoslovakia. He was recognized as a political refugee in Germany, before emigrating to the United States of America, where he acquired United States citizenship in 1957, thereby losing his Czech citizenship pursuant to a bilateral treaty, the 1928 Naturalization Treaty. 2 In 1948, the Czechoslovak authorities confiscated his law certificates and professional degree allowing him to practise law. According to the author, the following property was confiscated over time by the Czechoslovak authorities: • • The Vonmiller textile mill at Zamberk, East Bohemia, confiscated in 1945, which was subsequently privatized in 1995; The complaint 3. The author invokes the Committee’s jurisprudence against the Czech Republic (communication No. 516/1992, Simunek et al. v. Czech Republic, Views adopted on 19 July 1995)3 and recalls that it has found violations of the Covenant in situations similar to his. He claims that the Czech Government’s failure to restitute his property to him violates article 26 of the Covenant. About 1,500 kg of gold coins and bars. The author claims that the gold which was confiscated by the Nazis during World War II was recovered in Germany, and taken and stored in the United States. The author further claims that his family gold was commingled 1 The Covenant was ratified by Czechoslovakia in December 1975 and the Optional Protocol in March 1991. The Czech and Slovak Federal Republic ceased to exist on 31 December 1992. On 22 February 1993, the Czech Republic notified its succession to the Covenant and Optional Protocol. 2 Treaty of Naturalization, concluded between Czechoslovakia and the United States of America on 16 July 1928 (date of entry into force: 14 November 1929). 3 The author indicates that he was the first to bring the Simunek decision of the Committee to the attention of the United States Government in 1996. The author also includes the text of a submission dated 19 March 1999, addressed to the Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which refers to Simunek. 47