For the prisoner and their family, conditional release is the most important date of the whole sentence. The law allows it after half the sentence, for some first-time offenders after a third, and for the gravest crimes after two thirds. But the court does not release automatically: it must conclude that the prisoner has shown reform and can be expected to lead a law-abiding life.
Conditions
- Time: half the sentence served (several sentences are added together as one); for lesser offences by first-time offenders, a third.
- Reform: the prison's assessment, disciplinary rewards, work, the treatment programme, repayment of damage. A single unexpunged disciplinary punishment can sink the application, as a recent decision of the Constitutional Court shows.
- Prognosis: where they will go, where they will live, who will employ them. The court wants to see a concrete plan, not a promise.
How it works
The application is made by the prisoner, the prison governor or the public prosecutor. The district court for the place where the prison is located decides at a public hearing, where the prisoner has the right to a defence lawyer. After a refusal, a new application can usually be made after a year (sooner for shorter sentences). A well-prepared application with documents on housing and work is the difference between "refused" and "released"; it is prepared before the hearing, not at it.
What this rests on
No advice on this page is an opinion. Each one has a section of the law and a court decision behind it. Click through, the full text is on Europaius.
Statute
- § 88 tr. zákoníkuconditional release: after half (a third, two thirds) of the sentence, proven reform and the expectation of a law-abiding life
- § 89 tr. zákoníkuprobationary period and supervision after conditional release
- § 331 tr. řáduproceedings on conditional release: who files the motion, the court decides at a public hearing
Case law
- III. ÚS 522/25 (Ústavní soud, 12. 6. 2025)half the sentence served, but an unexpunged disciplinary punishment and a criminal record led to refusal; complaint dismissed
- II. ÚS 3245/21 (Ústavní soud, 6. 9. 2022)after amendment no. 333/2020 Sb., the option to apply after half the sentence remains and an option to apply earlier was added
- 3 Tz 78/2022 (Nejvyšší soud, 16. 11. 2022)half the sentence means half the term imposed; several sentences imposed in succession are treated as a single one
- 3 Tz 58/2024 (Nejvyšší soud, 9. 4. 2025)the conditions must be met cumulatively; the regional court refused the application despite half the sentence having been served
Related cases
A different situation?
- You or someone close to you has been detained
- Pre-trial detention is looming, or someone is already in it
- A police summons has arrived
- Criminal complaint: you want to file one, or one has been filed against you
- You have been charged with a criminal offence
- A penal order has arrived
- Alcohol or drugs behind the wheel, driving ban
- Plea agreement, conditional discontinuation
- House search
- You have become the victim of a crime
- European arrest warrant, extradition abroad
- Charged with embezzlement
- Disorderly conduct: a brawl, a pub, the street
- Dangerous threats and stalking
- You drove while banned from driving
- Charged with bodily harm
- Damage to property
- Violation of the inviolability of the home
- Defamation
- Negligent homicide: a fatal accident
- Credit fraud and subsidy fraud