Presidential Decree 5/1945

Presidential Decree 12/1945

Law 143/1947 "Lex Schwarzenberg"

Law 143
July 10th, 1947

On the transfer of ownership of the property of the Hluboka branch
Of the Schwarzenberg family to the county of Bohemia

The constituent national assembly of the Czechoslovak Republik has passed the following law:

§1

(1) The ownership of the property of the so-called primogeniture branch of the Schwarzenberg family in Hluboka nad Vltavou – as fr as it situated in the Czechoslovak Republik – is transferred by law to the county of Bohemia to the extent as is regulated in (2).

(2) Property“ according to (1) means the immobile property in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industries, business and trade which is registered in the names of Josef Adolf Fürst zu Schwarzenberg, Jan (Johann) Fürst zu Schwarzenberg, and Dr. Adolph Schwarzenberg, including buildings and castles with their inventory, further live and dead inventury including stocks and finally all working capital.

(3) To judge which parts of the property are to be transferred to the county of Bohemia according to paragraphs (1) and (2) the state of things on May 9th, 1945 is decisive, properties which were bought by third parties according to the law of April 16th, 1919, No. 215, regarding the confiscation of big estates and according to the altering and supplementary regulations are not object of this transfer. The
confiscation of objects subject to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this law is cancelled, in so far as they have not been transferred to a third party yet.

(4) Changes in the property or in parts thereof that occurred after May 9th 1945 are null and void, if the National Committee protests against these changes within six months of the day this law becomes valid.

§2

(1) The property mentioned in §1 will be managed as one unit according to the rules of the National Committee in Prague.

(2) Within three months of the day this law becomes valid the ministry of agriculture and the National Committee in Prague will decide together which parts of the agricultural property, which are not needed in the economic unit, and to which degree those parts should be assigned to entitled applicants according to the principals of the decree of the president of the Republic of June, 21st, 1945, No. 12 regarding the confiscation and accellerated restribution of of agricultural property of Germans, Hungarians, as well as traitors and enemies of the Czech and Slovak peoples and according to the decree of the president of the Rebublic of July 20th, 1945, No. 28, regarding the repopulation of agricultural property of Germans, Hungarians and other enemies of the state by Czech, Slovak and other Slavonic farmers. Forest areas are to be dealt with according to these decrees if they are separate units of a size less than a hundred hectares. The government will decide controversial cases.

(3) The county of Bohemia is obliged to preserve historical buildings, the property of which it gains by virtue of this law.

§3

(1) For those employed on the properties mentioned in §1 their contracts of service and employment with all their entitlements, which they gained according to the hitherto valid rules of employment, remain valid.

(2) All institutions for the benefits of the the employees, like foundations, Funds, etc. will be taken over by the county of Bohemia, and will be run, distributed and funded in the hitherto manner for the benefit of the employees taken over, as well as for the benefit of those persons, which receive old age, ill health, orphan s or other pensions.

(3) The duty to fund old age, ill health, orphan s or other pensions fraom means gained by the running of the property mentioned in §1 will be transferred to the county of Bohemia on the day this law becomes valid.

(4) Real patronages, if they are connected with the property, as well as Voluntarycontributions will not be altered in their content or size.

§4

The annexation of the property rights as well as all other rights according to §1 in favor of the county of Bohemia will be dealt with by the courts and offices, which keep public records of immobile property or other rights, and that following an application by the National Committee in Prague.

§5

(1) The property is transferred into the ownership of the county of Bohemia without compensation for the former owners.

(2) The former owners, named in §1 and §2 will be granted a pension of a sum to be determined by the government.

§6

(1) The property is a separate unit from a legal, economic and accounting point of view, and will be managed by a board.

(2) The board will consist of 16 members, a quarter will be named by the ministries of the interior, agriculture and industry, two quarters will be named by the National Committee in Prague and the remaining quarter will be elected by the employees of the transferred estates and enterprises. For each member an alternate will be named or elected.
The members will be named or elected for a period of three years.

(3) The board will be chaired by the departmental chief of agriculture of the National Committee in Prague. The board will elect two of its members as alternates for periods of three years. One of the alternates will always be one of the employees. The board constitutes e quotum if at least half its members are present, and it makes decisions on the bases of simple majorities.

(4) Rules regarding legal authorities and responsibilities of the different bodies will be determined by the National Committee in Prague.

§7

All actions and deeds for the execution of this law are exempt from Taxes, duties and rates.