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The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic ( cz, Ústavní soud České republiky) is a specialized type of
court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...
which primarily works to protect the people in the Czech Republic against violations of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
by either the
legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
,
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
or by any other subject that violates people's constitutional rights and freedoms. In this respect, it is similar in functionality to the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...
, but is distinct from the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic. Of all the various levels of the Czech Judiciary it is the one created with the greatest specificity in the constitution. The decisions of the Court are final, cannot be overturned and are considered a source of law, similar to
precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great v ...
s in a common law system. Although the Court itself was established only in 1993, its Czechoslovak predecessor was already provided for in the Constitution of 1920, making Czechoslovakia the first country in the world with a system of
judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...
by a specialized court (although the court itself first convened after the Austrian one). It was later adopted by many other countries.


History and predecessors


1848–1918

The development of the Czech constitutional tradition went initially hand in hand with that in
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, to which the Czech Crown lands belonged between 1806–1918. The first attempts to establish a system based on constitution were connected with the
1848 Revolution The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...
. A number of constitutions were enacted during the Austrian period (April 1848, March 1849, February 1861 all enacted by the king, December 1867 enacted by the Parliament), however these were far from being democratic and did not include the possibility of judicial review of the acts of the Parliament nor the Habsburg sovereigns. Although the attempt to democratize the Habsburg monarchy failed at the time, it marked the beginning of Czech political activization which ultimately brought about personalities such as
Karel Kramář Karel Kramář (27 December 1860 – 26 May 1937) was a Czech politician. He was a representative of the major Czech political party, the Young Czechs, in the Austrian Imperial Council from 1891 to 1915 (where he was also known as Karl Kramarsc ...
or
Tomáš Masaryk Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 185014 September 1937) was a Czechoslovak politician, statesman, sociologist, and philosopher. Until 1914, he advocated restructuring the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a federal state. With the help of ...
, who later took part in the establishment of the
First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, První československá republika, sk, Prvá česko-slovenská republika), often colloquially referred to as the First Republic ( cs, První republika, Slovak: ''Prvá republika''), was the first Czechoslo ...
and its constitutional tradition.


1918–1948

Following the establishment of Czechoslovakia, the Interim Constitution was passed in November 1918 (Act No. 37/1918 Coll.), which did not yet establish the Constitutional court. Meanwhile, the works on the Czechoslovak constitution were at full pace. The new constitution was influenced by the following models: * 1867 Austrian constitution in the sphere of civil rights, * 1787 constitution of the USA in the sphere of judiciary and checks and balances, * 1875 French constitution in the sphere of the powers of the president and the parliament, * the Swiss constitution in the sphere of the powers of the government. The new constitution was further influenced by the Czech humanist tradition (
Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the insp ...
, Petr Chelčický,
Jan Amos Komenský John Amos Comenius (; cs, Jan Amos Komenský; pl, Jan Amos Komeński; german: Johann Amos Comenius; Latinized: ''Ioannes Amos Comenius''; 28 March 1592 – 15 November 1670) was a Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian who is considere ...
, František Palacký, František Rieger, Tomáš Masaryk) as well as the peace conferences which took place after the first world war. The new constitution was accepted on 2 February 1920 as Act No. 121/1920 Coll. With this constitution Czechoslovakia became the first country in the world to adopt a system where a review of acts of the national parliament's constitutionality was possible by a special court - the Constitutional Court (while in USA and Australia this power was vested in the hands of their Supreme Courts already before and the Austrian Constitutional Court already had the power to examine laws of the
States of Austria Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states (German: ''Länder''). Since ''Land'' is also the German word for "country", the term ''Bundesländer'' (literally ''federal states'') is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constituti ...
in 1919). Later, a similar system of judicial review on national level was adopted by
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
(1920) which came into force before the Czechoslovak Constitutional Court took up its duties. It later became generally known as the '' Austrian System'', being taken over by many other countries e.g.
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...
(1925),
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
(1927),
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
(1931),
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
(1937) etc. The Constitutional Court of Czechoslovakia itself came into existence in the assembly hall of the presidium of the Council of Ministers at Prague Castle on 17 November 1921. The Constitutional Court had the jurisdiction to decide about constitutionality of the enactments of the Republic, of Assembly of the
Carpathian Ruthenia Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...
(this was only theoretical, as the presumption of its autonomy was not reached until 1938) and of legal measures of Permanent Committee (which consisted of 16 members of the Chamber of the Deputies and 8 Senators and took action in urgent cases when the Parliament was not in session). The motions for review of enactments could be brought by the Supreme Court, Supreme Administrative Court, Chamber of Deputies, Senate and the Assembly of the Carpathian Ruthenia, while the legal measures of the Permanent Committee were subject to automatic review immediately after being passed. Unlike today, the Court did not have the jurisdiction to hear citizens' individual petitions. The Court was active in the period of 1921–1931, when it reviewed a number of legal measures of the Permanent Committee, however no motions for review of enactments were ever brought before it. Although the legal basis for the Court and its jurisdiction remained unchanged, it was vacant and inactive between 1932–1937. The Chief Justice for the period of 1938-1939 was Jaroslav Krejčí. Although the Constitution remained in force during the German Nazi occupation and after the war, the rights it was providing for became only theoretical and the Constitutional Court had not convened during and after the second world war.


1948–1989

Due to extermination of a large number of Czechoslovakian elites by the Nazi Germans, disillusion with the Western countries following the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
and high influence of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, which liberated almost whole of the country, the post-war era may be characterized by the growing influence of the communists, which culminated in February 1948 Communist coup. A new constitution was adopted in May 1948. It was essentially a 1920 constitution modified by socialist ideas in order to serve the ideology of the communist party. For example, the list of fundamental rights was extended to cover also social and cultural rights, but on the other hand the right of a
private ownership Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property and personal property, which is owned by a state entity, and from collective or ...
was limited. Formally, the constitution was democratic and influenced by the idea of " People's Democracy". In reality, however, democracy was curbed with the communist party controlling the state and the fundamental rights not being observed by the authorities. The 1948 constitution did not adopt the Constitutional Court. Another constitution was adopted in 1960, being influenced mostly by the Soviet constitution of 1936. It legally established the "leading role" of the communist party, declared Marxism-Leninism as the state's leading ideology, removed the division of power. This constitution was to a large degree modified in 1968, establishing Czech and Slovak Socialist Republics within the Czechoslovakia as a federative socialist state. The 1968 constitution re-introduced the Constitutional Court, or in fact three of them - one for the Federation and two for the Republics. The Federal Constitutional Court was to have a jurisdiction over constitutionality of federal enactments and disputes over competencies between the Federation and the Republics. The Constitution anticipated adoption of an enactment dealing in detail with Constitutional Court, but that did not happen until 1991, precluding the factual establishment of the Court. Officially the need for the Court had not arisen as the presumed disputes over competencies between the Federation and the Republics never took place.


1989–1992

The first changes to the Constitution took place already during the
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
. On 30 November 1989, the leading role of the communist party was abolished as well as mentioning of the Marxism-Leninism. A number of other novelizations led to democratization of the constitution. In 1991 the Charter of Fundamental Rights was adopted as a part of the Constitutional order, which was followed by an implementing enactment dealing with the Constitutional Court, as presumed by the 1968 constitution. The Constitutional Court of Czechoslovakia was thus re-established, although only for a brief period of time in 1992 before the
dissolution of Czechoslovakia The dissolution of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Rozdělení Československa, sk, Rozdelenie Česko-Slovenska) took effect on December 31, 1992, and was the self-determined split of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries ...
. The dissolution itself was actually carried out by a constitutional act (No. 542/1992 Coll.).


Since 1992

On 16 December 1992 a new Constitution (Act No. 1/1993 Coll.) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms (Act No. 2/1993 Coll.) were adopted. Article 83-89 of the Constitution established the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, the processes of which are further elaborated i
Act No. 182/1993 Coll.


Jurisdiction

The major part of the court's workload consists of individual petitions of citizen's alleged violations of their constitutional rights after all other remedies were exhausted (including appeals to the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
or the Supreme Administrative Court). According to Article 87 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court shall rule on: * repeal of laws or individual provisions thereof should they contravene the constitutional order, * repeal of other legal regulations or individual provisions thereof should they contravene the constitutional order or the law, * constitutional complaints filed by territorial self-government bodies against illegal interventions by the State, * constitutional complaints filed against final decisions and other interventions by agencies of public authority, violating constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights and freedoms, * appeals against decisions in matters of confirmation of the election of a Deputy or Senator, * reservations on loss of eligibility and on incompatibility of holding the office of Deputy or Senator according to Article 25, * impeachment by the Senate of the President of the Republic under Article 65, par. 2, * the Presidential proposal to repeal a decision of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate according to Article 66 (decision on execution of selected presidential duties being handed over to the Prime Minister in case of President's inability to execute them himself for a serious reason), * measures essential for the implementation of a ruling by an international court, which is binding for the Czech Republic, unless it can be implemented in a different manner, * whether a decision on the dissolution of a political party, or another decision regarding the activity of a political party, conforms to constitutional or other laws, * disputes regarding the scope of the jurisdiction of state agencies and territorial self-government agencies, unless such disputes are under the jurisdiction of a different body, * on the remedy against a decision adopted by the President of the Republic not to announce a referendum concerning the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union, on whether the procedure of the referendum concerning the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union is in accordance with the Constitutional Act on Referendum concerning the Accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union and the implementing regulation related thereto. Also, in cases when an already abolished law contrary to the constitutional order should be applied by a general court, it shall submit the issue to the Constitutional Court (Art. 95 par. 2).


Composition

The Court is composed of 15 justices who are named for a renewable period of 10 years by the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
subject to the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
's approval. The justices enjoy criminal immunity and may be prosecuted only subject to the approval of the Senate. The plenum of the court is quorate when at least 10 justices are present. A majority of at least 9 justices must be reached in order to repeal a law, to impeach the President or to adopt a legal opinion differentiating from one previously held. Other matters are decided by senates consisting of three justices.


See also

*
Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
*
Rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannic ...
* Rule according to higher law


References

{{Authority control 1993 establishments in the Czech Republic Government of the Czech Republic Law of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
Judiciary of the Czech Republic