1.
Vienna
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Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austrias primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million, and its cultural, economic and it is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin, Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region, along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be The City of Dreams because it was home to the worlds first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The citys roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city and it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the worlds most liveable cities, between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. Monocles 2015 Quality of Life Survey ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world to make a base within, the UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the worlds number-one destination for international congresses and it attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the name or the French Vienne. The etymology of the name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning forest stream, which produced the Old High German Uuenia. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Slovak names of the city, the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different, probably Slavonic origin, and originally referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, evidence has been found of continuous habitation since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north
2.
Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic
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In this respect, it is similar in functionality to the US Supreme Court, but is distinct from the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic. Of all the 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 being a source of law and it was later adopted by many other countries. The development of the Czech constitutional tradition went initially hand in hand with that in Austria-Hungary, the first attempts to establish a system based on constitution were connected with the 1848 Revolution. Following the establishment of Czechoslovakia, the Interim Constitution was passed in November 1918, meanwhile the works on the Czechoslovak constitution were at full pace. The new constitution was further influenced by the Czech humanist tradition as well as the conferences which took place after the first world war. The new constitution was accepted on February 2,1920 as Act No, later, a similar system of judicial review on national level was adopted by Austria which came into force before the Czechoslovak Constitutional Court took up its duties. It later became known as the Austrian System, being taken over by many other countries e. g. Liechtenstein, Greece, Spain. The Constitutional Court of Czechoslovakia itself came into existence in the 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, 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 measures of the Permanent Committee. Although the legal basis for the Court and its jurisdiction remained unchanged, it was vacant, the Chief Justice for the period of 1938-1939 was Jaroslav Krejčí. A new constitution was adopted in May 1948 and 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 rights was extended to cover also social and cultural rights. Formally, the constitution was democratic and influenced by the idea of Peoples 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 role of the communist party, declared Marxism-Leninism as the states leading ideology. This constitution was to a large degree modified in 1968, establishing Czech, the 1968 constitution re-introduced the Constitutional Court, or in fact three of them - one for the Federation and two for the Republics
3.
Moravia
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Moravia is a historical country in the Czech Republic and one of the historical Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. Moravia has an area of over 22,348.87 km2 and about 3 million inhabitants, the statistics from 1921 states, that the whole area of Moravia including the enclaves in Silesia covers 22,623.41 km2. The people are historically named Moravians, a subgroup of Czechs, the land takes its name from the Morava river, which rises in the northern tip of the region and flows southward to the opposite end, being its major stream. Moravias largest city and historical capital is Brno, however before being sacked by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years War, though officially abolished by an administrative reform in 1949, Moravia is still commonly acknowledged as a specific land in the Czech Republic. Moravian people are aware of their Moravian identity and there is some rivalry between them and the Czechs from Bohemia. Moravia occupies most of the part of the Czech Republic. Moravian territory is naturally strongly determined, in fact, as the Morava river basin, with effect of mountains in the west and partly in the east. Moravia occupies a position in Central Europe. All the highlands in the west and east of part of Europe run west-east. Moravia borders Bohemia in the west, Lower Austria in the south, Slovakia in the southeast, Poland very shortly in the north and its natural boundary is formed by the Sudetes mountains in the north, the Carpathians in the east and the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in the west. The Thaya river meanders along the border with Austria and the tripoint of Moravia, Austria and Slovakia is at the confluence of the Thaya, the northeast border with Silesia runs partly along the Moravice, Oder and Ostravice rivers. Between 1782–1850, Moravia also included a portion of the former province of Silesia – the Austrian Silesia. Geologically, Moravia covers an area between the Bohemian Massif and the Carpathians, and between the Danube basin and the North European Plain. Its core geomorphological features are three wide vales, namely the Dyje-Svratka Vale, the Upper Morava Vale and the Lower Morava Vale, the former two form the westernmost part of the Subcarpathia, the latter one is the northernmost part of the Vienna Basin. The vales surround the low range of Central Moravian Carpathians, the highest mountains of Moravia are situated on its northern border in Hrubý Jeseník, the highest peak is Praděd. Second highest are the Moravian-Silesian Beskids at the very east, with Smrk, the White Carpathians along the southeastern border rise up to 970 m at Velká Javořina. The spacious, but moderate Bohemian-Moravian Highlands on the west reach 837 m at Devět skal. The fluvial system of Moravia is very cohesive, as the border is similar to the watershed of the Morava river
4.
Brno
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Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic by population and area, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the center of the South Moravian Region in which it forms a separate district. The city is also a significant administrative centre and it is the seat of a number of state authorities, including the Ombudsman, and the Office for the Protection of Competition. Brno is also an important centre of education, with 33 faculties belonging to 13 institutes of higher learning. Brno Exhibition Centre ranks among the largest exhibition centres in Europe, the complex opened in 1928 and established the tradition of large exhibitions and trade fairs held in Brno. Brno hosts motorbike and other races on the Masaryk Circuit, an established in 1930. Another cultural tradition is a fireworks competition, Ignis Brunensis. The other large preserved castle near the city is Veveří Castle by the Brno Dam Lake and this castle is the site of a number of legends, as are many other places in Brno. Another architectural monument of Brno is the functionalist Villa Tugendhat which has been included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, one of the natural sights nearby is the Moravian Karst. The etymology of the name Brno is disputed and it perhaps comes from Old Czech brnie muddy, swampy. Alternative derivations are from a Slavic verb brniti or a Celtic language spoken in the area before it was overrun by Germanic peoples, throughout its history, Brnos locals also referred to the town in other languages, including Brünn in German, ברין in Yiddish and Bruna in Latin. The city was referred to as Brunn in English. The Asteroid 2889 Brno was named after the city, as well as the Bren light machine gun, one of the most famous weapons of World War II. In the early 11th century Brno was established as a castle of a prince from the House of Přemyslid. Brno was first mentioned in Cosmas Chronica Boëmorum dated to year 1091, seats of these rulers and thus capitals of these territories were castles and towns of Brno, Olomouc, and Znojmo. In the late 12th century, Moravia began to reunify, forming the Margraviate of Moravia, since then, until the mid of the 17th century, it was not clear which town should be the capital of Moravia. Political power was therefore divided between Brno and Olomouc, but Znojmo also played an important role. The Moravian Diet, the Moravian Land Tables, and the Moravian Land Court were all seated in both cities at once, however, Brno was the official seat of the Moravian Margraves, and later its geographical position closer to Vienna also became important
5.
Federal Constitutional Court
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The Federal Constitutional Court is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law of Germany. The main task of the court is judicial review, and it may declare legislation unconstitutional, the courts jurisdiction is focused on constitutional issues and the compliance of all governmental institutions with the constitution. Article 20 Section 3 of the Basic Law stipulates that all three branches of the state are bound directly by the constitution, as a result, the court can rule acts of any branches unconstitutional, whether as formal violations or as material conflicts. The powers of the Federal Constitutional Court are defined in article 93 of the Grundgesetz and this constitutional norm is set out in a federal law, the Federal Constitutional Court Act, which also defines how decisions of the court on material conflicts are put into force. Although only a fraction of these are actually successful, several have resulted in major legislation being invalidated. The large majority of the courts procedures fall into category,135,968 such complaints were filed from 1957 to 2002. Abstract regulation control, Several political institutions, including the governments of the Bundesländer, a well-known example of this procedure was the 1975 abortion decision, which invalidated legislation intended to decriminalise abortion. Federal dispute, Federal institutions, including members of the Bundestag, state–federal dispute, The Länder may bring disputes over competences and procedures between the states and federal institutions before the court. Investigation committee control Federal election scrutiny, Violations of election laws may be brought before the court by political institution or any involved voter, prohibition of a political party, Only the Constitutional Court has the power to ban a political party in Germany. This has happened just twice, both times in the 1950s, the Socialist Reich Party, a group, was banned in 1952. Three judges objected to continuing which was sufficient as banning a party requires a two-thirds-majority, the court did not decide on the ban itself. Up to 2009, the Constitutional Court had struck down more than 600 laws as unconstitutional, the court consists of two senates, each of which has eight members, headed by a senate’s chairman. The members of each senate are allocated to three chambers for hearings in constitutional complaint and single regulation control cases, each chamber consists of three judges, so each senate chairman is at the same time a member of two chambers. Decisions by a senate require a majority, in some cases a two-thirds vote is required. Decisions by a chamber need to be unanimous, a chamber is not authorized to overrule a standing precedent of the senate to which it belongs, such issues need to be submitted to the senate as a whole. Similarly, a senate may not overrule a standing precedent of the other senate, unlike all other German courts, the court often publishes the vote count on its decisions and even allows its members to issue a dissenting opinion. This possibility, introduced only in 1971, is a deviation from German judicial tradition. One of the two senate chairmen is also the president of the court, the one being the vice-president
6.
Karlsruhe
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Karlsruhe is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near the French-German border. It has a population of 307,755, the city is the seat of the two highest courts in Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court of Justice. Its most remarkable building is Karlsruhe Palace, which was built in 1715, the city lies at an altitude between 100 m and 322 m. Its geographical coordinates are 49°00′N 8°24′E, the 49th parallel runs through the city centre and its course is marked by a stone and painted line in the Stadtgarten. Almost all of these survived until today. The city centre is the oldest part of town and lies south of the palace in the quadrant defined by nine of the radial streets, the central part of the palace runs east-west, with two wings, each at a 45° angle, directed southeast and southwest. The market square lies on the street running south from the palace to Ettlingen, the area north of the palace is a park and forest. The area west of the palace is now mostly residential, Karlsruhe experiences an oceanic climate and its winter climate is milder, compared to most other German cities. Summers are also hotter than elsewhere in the country and it is one of the sunniest cities in Germany, precipitation is almost evenly spread throughout the year. In 2008, the station in Karlsruhe, which had been operating since 1876, was closed, it was replaced by a weather station in Rheinstetten. A variation of this claims that he built the new palace in order to find peace from his wife. Charles William founded the city on June 17,1715, after a dispute with the citizens of his previous capital, the founding of the city is closely linked to the construction of the palace. Karlsruhe became the capital of Baden-Durlach and in 1771 of the united Baden until 1945, built in 1822, the Ständehaus was the first parliament building in a German State. In the aftermath of the revolution of 1848, a republican government was elected here. Karlsruhe was visited by Thomas Jefferson during his time as the American envoy to France, Jefferson passed to him maps of 12 European towns to consult, one of which was a sketch he had made of Karlsruhe during his visit. In 1860, the international professional convention of chemists, the Karlsruhe Congress, was held in the city. Much of the area, including the palace, was reduced to rubble by Allied bombing during World War II but was rebuilt after the war. Located in the American zone of the post-war Allied occupation, Karlsruhe was home to an American military base, in 1995, the bases closed, and their facilities were turned over to the city of Karlsruhe
7.
First Austrian Republic
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The Republics constitution was enacted in October 1,1920 and amended on December 7,1929. The republican period was marked by violent strife between those with left-wing and right-wing views, leading to the July Revolt of 1927 and the Austrian Civil War of 1934. Despite Austrian protests this treaty also forbade Anschluss, or union of Austria with Germany, the new Republic was created by the will of Allies who did not want the defeated Germany to expand its borders. The new state managed to prevent two land claims from being taken by their neighbours, the first was the south-eastern part of Carinthia, which was inhabited partly by Slovenians. It was prevented from being taken over by the new SHS-state through a Carinthian plebiscite on October 10,1920, the second prevented land-claim was Hungarys claim to Burgenland, which, under the name Western Hungary, had been part of the Hungarian kingdom since 1647. It was inhabited mostly by a German-speaking population, but had also Croat-, through the Treaty of St. Germain it became part of the Austrian Republic in 1921. However, after a plebiscite which was disputed by Austria, the capital city of Sopron remained in Hungary. Many of them felt that with the loss of 60% of the territory of the prewar empire, Austria was no longer economically and politically viable as a separate state without union with Germany. In the country of 6.5 million, Vienna, with its population of almost 2 million, was left as a capital without an empire to feed it. For much of the early 1920s, Austrias survival was very much in doubt and this was partly because Austria had never been a German/Austrian nation state in the true sense of the term. The Federal President was elected for a four year tearm in a session of both houses, while Chancellor was elected by the Nationalrat. After 1920, Austrias government was dominated by the anti-Anschluss Christian Social Party which retained close ties to the Roman Catholic Church, the partys first Chancellor Ignaz Seipel came to power in May 1922 and attempted to forge a political alliance between wealthy industrialists and the Roman Catholic Church. After the legislative elections of October 17,1920 Social Democrats lost parliamentary majority and remained in the opposition until 1934, Christian Socials won 85, Social Democrats 69, Greater Germany Party 20 and Peasants Union 8 seats. Michael Hainisch was elected Federal President, after October 1923 elections Ignaz Seipel stayed in power and resigned in November 1924 when he was succeeded by Rudolf Ramek. After the 1930 legislative elections Social Democrats emerged as the largest party with 72 seats, country was dividen between conservative population of country side and Social Democrat controlled Red Vienna. In 1927, during a clash in Schattendorf, an old man. On July 14,1927 the shooters were acquitted and left-wing supporters began a massive protest during which the Ministry of Justice building was burned, to restore order police and army shot and killed 89 people and injured 600. The huge protest is known as the July Revolt of 1927, Social Democrats called for a general strike which lasted four days
8.
Czechoslovakia
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From 1939 to 1945, following its forced division and partial incorporation into Nazi Germany, the state did not de facto exist but its government-in-exile continued to operate. From 1948 to 1990, Czechoslovakia was part of the Soviet bloc with a command economy and its economic status was formalized in membership of Comecon from 1949, and its defense status in the Warsaw Pact of May 1955. A period of liberalization in 1968, known as the Prague Spring, was forcibly ended when the Soviet Union, assisted by several other Warsaw Pact countries. In 1993, Czechoslovakia split into the two states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Form of state 1918–1938, A democratic republic, 1938–1939, After annexation of Sudetenland by Nazi Germany in 1938, the region gradually turned into a state with loosened connections among the Czech, Slovak, and Ruthenian parts. A large strip of southern Slovakia and Carpatho-Ukraine was annexed by Hungary, 1939–1945, The region was split into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovak Republic. A government-in-exile continued to exist in London, supported by the United Kingdom, United States and its Allies, after the German invasion of Russia, Czechoslovakia adhered to the Declaration by United Nations and was a founding member of the United Nations. 1946–1948, The country was governed by a government with communist ministers, including the prime minister. Carpathian Ruthenia was ceded to the Soviet Union, 1948–1989, The country became a socialist state under Soviet domination with a centrally planned economy. In 1960, the country became a socialist republic, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It was a state of the Soviet Union. 1989–1990, The federal republic consisted of the Czech Socialist Republic, 1990–1992, Following the Velvet Revolution, the state was renamed the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, consisting of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Neighbours Austria 1918–1938, 1945–1992 Germany Hungary Poland Romania 1918–1938 Soviet Union 1945–1991 Ukraine 1991–1992 Topography The country was of irregular terrain. The western area was part of the north-central European uplands, the eastern region was composed of the northern reaches of the Carpathian Mountains and lands of the Danube River basin. Climate The weather is mild winters and mild summers, influenced by the Atlantic Ocean from the west, Baltic Sea from the north, and Mediterranean Sea from the south. The area was long a part of the Austro Hungarian Empire until the Empire collapsed at the end of World War I, the new state was founded by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who served as its first president from 14 November 1918 to 14 December 1935. He was succeeded by his ally, Edvard Beneš. The roots of Czech nationalism go back to the 19th century, nationalism became a mass movement in the last half of the 19th century
9.
Supreme Court of the United States
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The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest federal court of the United States. In the legal system of the United States, the Supreme Court is the interpreter of federal constitutional law. The Court normally consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight justices who are nominated by the President. Once appointed, justices have life tenure unless they resign, retire, in modern discourse, the justices are often categorized as having conservative, moderate, or liberal philosophies of law and of judicial interpretation. Each justice has one vote, and while many cases are decided unanimously, the Court meets in the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D. C. The Supreme Court is sometimes referred to as SCOTUS, in analogy to other acronyms such as POTUS. The ratification of the United States Constitution established the Supreme Court in 1789 and its powers are detailed in Article Three of the Constitution. The Supreme Court is the court specifically established by the Constitution. The Court first convened on February 2,1790, by which five of its six initial positions had been filled. According to historian Fergus Bordewich, in its first session, he Supreme Court convened for the first time at the Royal Exchange Building on Broad Street and they had no cases to consider. After a week of inactivity, they adjourned until September, the sixth member was not confirmed until May 12,1790. Because the full Court had only six members, every decision that it made by a majority was made by two-thirds. However, Congress has always allowed less than the Courts full membership to make decisions, under Chief Justices Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth, the Court heard few cases, its first decision was West v. Barnes, a case involving a procedural issue. The Courts power and prestige grew substantially during the Marshall Court, the Marshall Court also ended the practice of each justice issuing his opinion seriatim, a remnant of British tradition, and instead issuing a single majority opinion. Also during Marshalls tenure, although beyond the Courts control, the impeachment, the Taney Court made several important rulings, such as Sheldon v. Nevertheless, it is primarily remembered for its ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which helped precipitate the Civil War. In the Reconstruction era, the Chase, Waite, and Fuller Courts interpreted the new Civil War amendments to the Constitution, during World War II, the Court continued to favor government power, upholding the internment of Japanese citizens and the mandatory pledge of allegiance. Nevertheless, Gobitis was soon repudiated, and the Steel Seizure Case restricted the pro-government trend, the Warren Court dramatically expanded the force of Constitutional civil liberties. It held that segregation in public schools violates equal protection and that traditional legislative district boundaries violated the right to vote
10.
Marbury v. Madison
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The landmark decision helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches of the American form of government. Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to force the new Secretary of State, James Madison, the Court, with John Marshall as Chief Justice, found firstly that Madisons refusal to deliver the commission was both illegal and correctible. In the presidential election of 1800, Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson defeated Federalist John Adams, although the election was decided on February 17,1801, Jefferson did not take office until March 4,1801. Until that time, outgoing president Adams and the Federalist-controlled 6th Congress were still in power, during this lame-duck session, Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801. The act also reduced the number of Supreme Court justices from six to five, effective upon the vacancy in the Court. These appointees, the infamous Midnight Judges, included William Marbury, an ardent Federalist, Marbury was active in Maryland politics and a vigorous supporter of the Adams presidency. He had been appointed to the position of justice of the peace in the District of Columbia, the term for a justice of the peace was five years, and they were authorized to hold courts and cognizance of personal demands of the value of 20 dollars. On the following day, the appointments were approved en masse by the Senate, however, to go into effect, the commissions had to be delivered to those appointed. This task fell to John Marshall, who, even though recently appointed Chief Justice of the United States, while a majority of the commissions were delivered, it proved impossible for all of them to be delivered before Adamss term as president expired. On March 4,1801, Thomas Jefferson was sworn in as President, without the commissions, the appointees were unable to assume the offices and duties to which they had been appointed. In Jeffersons opinion, the commissions, not having been delivered on time, were void. In addition, it replaced the Courts two annual sessions with one session to begin on the first Monday in February, and canceled the Supreme Court term scheduled for June of that year. Seeking to delay a ruling on the constitutionality of the act until months after the new judicial system was in operation. Although the power of review is sometimes said to have originated with Marbury, the concept of judicial review has older roots in the United States. The idea is attributed to the English jurist Edward Coke. Rep. 107a, although this attribution has been called one of the most enduring myths of American constitutional law and theory, bonhams Case was not mentioned in Marbury v. The actual and practical security for English liberty against legislative tyranny was the power of a public opinion represented by the commons. Cokes meaning has been disputed over the years, for example by scholars who contend that Coke only meant to construe a statute without challenging Parliamentary sovereignty and his remarks that seem suggestive of judicial review are sometimes considered obiter dicta, rather than part of the rationale of the case
