the Ministry of Interior fails to make a decision on their asylum application within four weeks of the date of the application for international protection. During the first four weeks or until a decision is made by the Ministry of Interior, the asylum seeker must stay at the airport’s reception center (for a maximum of 120 days).512 The Ministry of the Interior controls the asylum administration process, and after the application is completed, the alien will be interviewed by an officer at the Ministry.513 During the interview, the applicant has the opportunity to outline the circumstances of his or her situation. In some cases, there may be more than one interview. Before a decision is delivered, the asylum seeker is presented with the country of origin information which will be used for determining his or her application.514 Decisions should be given within ninety days of the filing of an application, but the law allows the Ministry of Interior to extend this period appropriately, if with respect to the nature of the matter, a decision cannot be made within 90 days. The Ministry of Interior must notify the asylum seeker about the extension of the period in writing without undue delay.515 3. Refugee Status Determination Process: The Legal Framework Section 12 of the Asylum Act516 provides asylum status to a foreign national who: a) has been persecuted for exercising his or her political rights and freedoms, or b) has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, sex/gender,517 religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or for holding certain political opinions in the country of which he or she is a citizen or, in case of a stateless person, in the country of his or her last permanent residence. Under Section 14, humanitarian asylum may be given in case the Section 12 criteria are not fulfilled but there are humanitarian reasons to provide protection.518 A separate provision in Section 14a offers subsidiary protection in case of risk of serious harm upon return to the state of origin, in accordance with Article 18 of the Qualification Directive.519 Serious harm includes: the enforcement of capital punishment; torture or other inhumane or degrading treatment; a serious threat to life or dignity in situations of international or internal armed conflict; and where an international obligation would be breached if the alien were forced to leave the country.520 Id. Czech Republic, “Asylum Act,” Chapter III, Section 23. 514 Information provided by Beáta Szakácsová.. 515 Id. 516 Czech Republic, “Asylum Act,” Chapter III, Section 12. 517 Beáta Szakácsová notes that in Czech, the same word is used for ‘sex’ and ‘gender.’ 518 Czech Republic, “Asylum Act,” Chapter III, Section 14. 519 Ibid., Chapter III, Section 14a(1). 520 Ibid., Chapter III, Section 14a(2). 512 513 Survey of Protection at the National Level 105