The names Viktor Kožený, Radovan Krejčíř, Tomáš Puta and Maroš Šulej are well known in the Czech Republic. All are fugitives, but not one remains on Czech soil and, despite extradition proceedings, it is unlikely that any one of these major crime suspects will stand trial in Prague any time soon.

In the cases of Kožený and Krejčíř, the problem is related to the interpretation of extradition treaties; for reputed Berdych gang members Půta and Šulej, who are living freely in Ireland, the problem is that the situation was potentially avoidable.

The Czech Republic has issued international arrest warrants for both Půta and Šulej, which the Irish government refuses to recognize, because there is "no provision in Irish law for the execution of an international arrest warrant," said Paul Harper, a spokesman for the Irish Department of Justice.

As a member of the European Union, Harper said, Ireland can only consider surrender requests on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW), the agreement between member states enacted July 1, 2004, that was intended to replace classic extradition with a simpler, faster surrender procedure.

The Czech Republic, however, has ruled that the EAW applies only for crimes committed after Nov 1, 2004. The only other extradition option for fugitives from Czech soil suspected of crimes committed before that date is the international arrest warrant, which not all countries honor.

It remains to be seen whether other EU countries where Czech crime suspects have been located will react the same way Ireland has. If so, the Czech Republic will have to deal with the extradition process for each one individually.

Eva Dundáčková of the Civic Democrats (ODS), a member of the chamber's constitutional legal committee, said, "The ODS did not support the motion [to make the date retroactive] in the chamber as we felt that it offered insufficient protection to Czech citizens. On one hand, the government said it wanted to fight organized crime this way and that's something we are very much in favor of, but the conditions were not set up well enough to protect our citizens against possible abuse of the law and that is why we couldn't offer our support."

Dundáčková failed to provide examples of whose rights would be endangered by making the EAW retroactive.

Petr Dimun, spokesman for the Justice Ministry, declined to comment on the extradition of Puta and Šulej, citing the seriousness of the cases.

The European Commission criticized the Czech Republic for choosing the late effective date in a February 2005 provisional evaluation of the EAW and surrender procedures between member states, warning that "extradition requests which [the Czech Republic] continues to present therefore risk being rejected by the other member states."

Both the Justice and Foreign Affairs ministries declined to comment on any possible changes to the Czech position on the application of the EAW.

In the cases of Kožený and Krejčíř, the country's two most infamous financial fugitives, the country has tried different tacks involving extradition — but with no more success. For both men the Justice Ministry has tried to invoke a 1925 treaty between Czechoslovakia and the United Kingdom that included British colonies to take back Kožený from his posh home in the Bahamas and Krejčíř from his beachfront Seychelles digs.

Neither island nation has yet announced a decision on the validity of the Czech Republic's claims.

Kožený, known as the Pirate of Prague and accused of stealing 11.5 billion Kč ($45.7 million) from his Harvard Investment Funds and another fund between 1995 and 1997, was finally arrested and jailed in the Bahamas in October — but on a U.S. warrant for the bribery of Azerbaijani officials and fraud.

Kožený remains jailed, awaiting a Bahaman court's decision on extradition to the United States to stand trial in New York. A decision is expected sometime in early December.

"In the case of Viktor Kožený we are urging the Bahamas to react to the extradition claim filed in April," Dimun said.

Repeated attempts to contact officials in the Bahaman Justice and Foreign Affairs ministries were unsuccessful.

"If there is some question from the Bahamas on the disputed extradition treaty, the government will probably favor the United States," said Douglas McNabb, a defense attorney with McNabb Associates, P.C., a Washington, D.C.–based international law firm that specializes in criminal defense.

McNabb also said the United States would not likely extradite Kožený to the Czech Republic "until they have their pound of flesh."

Krejčíř, who escaped from police in Prague this summer and fled to the Seychelles, is suspected of financial fraud and of conspiracy to murder a Czech customs officer.

"We wish to cooperate with the Czech Republic if the case warrants it," said William Bell, a technical adviser at the Seychelles Foreign Affairs Ministry. "Extradition could happen."

Bell said Seychelles is cooperating with Czech officials and that they have provided information requested by the Czech government. He could not comment on the specifics of the request, however, calling it confidential.

The Czech government is also trying to negotiate a new extradition treaty with the Seychelles and is waiting on a response, according to Dimun.

While the Czech government has been proactive in its attempt to negotiate the extradition of Kožený and Krejčíř, it may have to revisit its decision on the date of the application of the EAW. If prosecutors choose not to address this problem, wanted criminals who committed crimes on Czech soil before autumn 2004 may be enjoying the good life in the rest of Europe for some time to come.