1.
Czech Republic
–
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Czech Republic
–
Přemysl Ottokar II,
King of Bohemia (1253–1278) and
Duke of Austria (1251–1278)
Czech Republic
–
Flag
Czech Republic
–
The
Crown of Saint Wenceslas is the 4th oldest in Europe
Czech Republic
–
The
Defenestration of Prague sparked the
Thirty Years' War
2.
Constitution of the Czech Republic
–
The current Constitution of the Czech Republic was adopted by the Czech National Council on 16 December 1992. It entered into force on 1 January 1993, replacing the 1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia, 143/1968 Col. when Czechoslovakia gave way to the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic in a peaceful dissolution. The Constitution is an act, and together with other constitutional acts constitutes the so-called constitutional order of the Czech Republic. The Constitution is divided into a preamble and 8 chapters, as of April 2013, the Constitution has been amended 8 times. The most important amendments are Act No, providing the legal framework for the accession to the EU in 2004, and Act No. 71/2011 Coll. which came into force on 1 October 2012, the bill was enacted the same day as Constitutional Act No. On its entry into force on 1 January 1969, it created the Czech Socialist Republic, the Act stipulated in article 142, paragraph 2, that both republics would in due course enact their own constitutions, and also envisaged the creation of three constitutional courts. The plan, however, was not followed due to the onset of normalization. De facto, Czechoslovakia only functioned as a federation until the enactment of Constitutional Act No and its explanatory notes clearly and openly articulate the need for strengthening of the structural role of the central government of the federation. This act introduced 37 direct changes and additions, which undid the original plan for federation, thus in 1970 Czechoslovakia became essentially a centrally governed country, with only prima facie attributes of a federation. The need for a new constitution was first announced officially at the 17th Congress of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in spring 1986. A working group fronted by Marián Čalfa was set up in 1987 to draft this, and in November 1988, a 153-strong committee of the Communist Party, the constitution was expected to be enacted after the 18th Congress of the Communist Party, during the course of 1990. 123/1989 Coll. the resolution of the Slovak National Council as Act No and this constitutional act was intended as a prerequisite for the enactment of a single three-in-one constitution, serving the federation and both republics. Through the consent of both councils, both republics waived their entitlement to their own constitutions. But very soon, the events of the Velvet Revolution in 1989 changed everything, in its next session on 6 December 1989, the Slovak National Council has withdrawn its consent of 31 October 1989 in Resolution No. The Czech National Council enacted a similar provision as Resolution No, 166/1989 Coll. on 19 December 1989. Subsequently, several acts were enacted, which were supposed to pave the way towards the creation. Both republics have passed constitutional acts on their symbols, and have had a number of powers devolved to them, however, neither the Constitution of the federation, neither the constitutions of either of the republics had been enacted prior to election of 1992
Constitution of the Czech Republic
–
Page one of the Constitution
3.
Constitutional act of the Czech Republic
–
Passage of such an act can only be accomplished through the agreement of 3/5 of all Deputies and Senators present at the time the proposed act is laid before each house of Parliament. It is the type of legislation which does not require the signature of the President to become law. Furthermore, it is the type of legislation which the President cannot veto. A number of acts were required for the Czech government to function in its first year of existence. However, those had no lasting impact upon the constitution itself, for instance, the Provisional Senate of 1992 was constituted in a manner defined by a Constitutional Act, but that act is not binding upon the Senate today. As of 2008, only six constitutional acts have passed which have truly changed the nature of the constitution. They have mostly been the result of implications in the wording of the constitution that Parliament should pass constitutional acts on various subjects. Article 100 of the constitution provided that higher self-governing regions may be created or dissolved only by a constitutional act, Parliament thus moved on 3 December 1997 to create 14 such regions. This required the act to rewrite Article 99 and repeal Article 103 of the constitution, given the administrative burden of complying with the act, however, it did not come into effect until 1 January 2000. On 22 April 1998, Parliament opted to pass an act that was not directly implied or obliged by language in the constitution. The Constitutional Act on the Security of the Czech Republic defined the ways in which the Republic would respond to imminent threat and it defined the obligations the constituent parts of the Republic, and even its citizenry, had towards national defense. It also set up a State Security Council, headed by the Prime Minister, finally, it allowed for up to a six-month extension of electoral terms during the time of a declared state of emergency. On 14 November 2002, Parliament undertook to define the nature of a referendum on the Czech Republics accession to the European Union
Constitutional act of the Czech Republic
–
Czech Republic
4.
President of the Czech Republic
–
The President of the Czech Republic is the elected head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Military of the Czech Republic. Unlike counterparts in other Central European countries such as Austria and Hungary, who are generally considered figureheads, however, the stature of the first president, Václav Havel, was such that the office acquired greater influence than the framers intended. The President of the Czech Republic has the authority to act independently in a number of substantive areas, one of the offices strongest powers is that of veto, which returns a bill to parliament. Although the veto may be overridden by parliament, the ability to refuse to sign legislation acts as a check on the power of the legislature, the only kind of bills a president can neither veto nor approve are acts that would change the constitution. There are some reserved to the president, but can be exercised only under limited circumstances. Chief among these is the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, while the president can dissolve the Chamber on his own authority, forcing a new election of that body within 60 days, this can be done only under conditions prescribed by the constitution. Many of the powers can only be exercised with the assent of the Government. These include all matters having to do with foreign relations and the use of the military, the appointment of judges to lower courts,54 and 65 of the constitution, the president may not be held liable for any alleged criminal acts while executing the duties of office. Such prosecution may not occur either while the president is in office or at any time thereafter, furthermore, Art 65 prevents trial or detention for prosecution of a criminal offense or tort while in office. Many of the duties of the Czech president can be said to be ceremonial to one degree or another, a good example of this is the status as commander in chief of the military. No part of these duties can take place but through the assent of the Prime Minister, in matters of war, he is in every sense merely a figurehead, since the constitution gives all substantive constitutional authority over the use of the armed forces to the parliament. Many of the ceremonial duties fall under provisions of the constitution that allow the exercise of powers not explicitly defined in the constitution. In other words, parliament has the power to allow the president whatever responsibilities they deem proper, such a law was passed in 1994 with respect to the awarding of state decorations. Hence, this duty is effectively shared between the parliament and the president. The act even allows the president to choose someone to perform the presentation ceremony. Until 2012, the office of president was filled following an election by the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The term of office of the president is 5 years, a newly elected president will begin the five-year term on the day of taking the official oath. Candidates standing for office must be 40 years of age, since the only term limit is that no person can be elected more than twice consecutively, a person may theoretically achieve the presidency more than twice
President of the Czech Republic
–
Incumbent
Miloš Zeman since 8 March 2013
President of the Czech Republic
–
Presidential Standard
President of the Czech Republic
–
Entrace to the residence of the President of the Czech Republic,
Prague Castle.
5.
List of Presidents of the Czech Republic
–
This is a list of Presidents of the Czech Republic, a political office that was created in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic is a representative democracy, with the President acting as head of state. The first President of the Czech Republic was Václav Havel, the current President is Miloš Zeman, in office since 8 March 2013. Until 2012, the President was elected by the Chamber of Deputies, since 2013 the President is elected by popular vote. The only living former President of the Czech Republic is Václav Klaus, articles 54-66 are particularly relevant to the presidency. The official site of Prague Castle
List of Presidents of the Czech Republic
List of Presidents of the Czech Republic
–
Czech Republic
List of Presidents of the Czech Republic
List of Presidents of the Czech Republic
6.
Government of the Czech Republic
–
The Government of the Czech Republic exercises executive power in the Czech Republic. The members of the government are the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and it has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Czech Republic. The government is led by the Prime Minister, who all the remaining ministers. Government of the Czech Republic is responsible to the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Czech Republic. He or she succeeds to the if the current president dies, is incapacitated. The current Prime Minister is Bohuslav Sobotka, current government is 13th from year 1993 and dissolution of Czechoslovakia and it has 17 members and a prime minister
Government of the Czech Republic
–
Straka Academy, Seat of the Government of the Czech Republic.
Government of the Czech Republic
–
Cabinet room of the Government in
Straka Academy.
7.
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
–
The Chairman of the Government of the Czech Republic, normally referred to in English as the Prime Minister, is the head of the Government of the Czech Republic. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies, the current Prime Minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party, was appointed by the President on 17 January 2014, and serves as 11th person in this position. Prime Minister is appointed by the President and its first priority is to create a Government and appoint other Ministers. To the whole government must be given confidence by the Chamber of Deputies, the Constitution of the Czech Republic states that Prime Minister organizes activities of the Government and chairs their meetings. Since the Czech Republic is a republic, the Prime Minister. The Czech constitution provides that upon the accession to the office each Prime Minister must gain, as soon as the Prime Minister loses the confidence he or she is forced to resign and the President is obliged to choose a new Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the most powerful office in state, since he commands, President appoints the Prime Minister who appoints other Ministers of Cabinet of the Czech Republic. The official residence of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic is Kramářs Villa, the residence is located at Gogolova 212/1, Hradčany, Czech Republic. The building was built from 1911 to 1914 and it was designed by the Viennese architect Friedrich Ohmann
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
–
Incumbent
Bohuslav Sobotka since 17 January 2014
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
–
Kramář's Villa seen from the garden.
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
–
Home office of the Prime Minister
8.
List of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic
–
This is list of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic. For individual information about Prime Minister see, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and this is a list of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic, a political office that was created in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic is a representative democracy, with the Prime Minister acting as head of government. The first Prime Minister of the Czech Republic was Václav Klaus, the current and 11th Prime Minister is Bohuslav Sobotka, leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party, who was appointed by the President on 17 January 2014. 6 March 1990 –31 December 1992, called Czech Republic within Czechoslovakia, Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic Parties OF From 1 January 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia
List of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic
List of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic
–
Czech Republic
List of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic
List of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic
9.
Bohuslav Sobotka
–
Bohuslav Sobotka is the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and Leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party. He has been the Member of Parliament for South Moravian Region since 1996 and he also served as Finance Minister from 2002 to 2006. Born in Telnice but soon moved with family to Slavkov u Brna and he studied law at the Masaryk University in Brno and earned magister degree in 1995. After the fall of communism he helped rebuild Czech Social Democratic Party, Sobotka also co-founded Young Social Democrats, youth wing of the ČSSD. He was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the 1996 legislative election, in 2005, he was appointed as the First Deputy Prime Minister in Paroubeks government. His family moved to Slavkov u Brna in the early 1980s, there he completed Primary School Tyršova. He studied on Gymnasium Bučovice from 1986 to 1990 and he was a student of Masaryk University and gained a Magister degree of Law. Sobotka was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1996, from 2002 to 2006, he was Finance Minister of the Czech Republic. Sobotka was also a Deputy Prime Minister from 2003 to 2004, as the minister of finance he formed an advisory body of economists. It later became the National Economic Council of Czech government and his austerity policy included dismissal of employees and restrictions on savings accounts and health benefits, a policy he later criticized. When Jiří Paroubek became the new Prime Minister in 2005, Sobotka reduced his restrictions which led to an increase in the deficit, Sobotka was elected to the Chamber again in 2006 but his party lost the election and went into opposition. Sobotka became a Minister of Finance in a Shadow Cabinet of Social democrats and his party won legislative election in 2010 but failed to form a governing coalition and remained in opposition. Sobotka then served as leader of ČSSD after the resignation of Jiří Paroubek following the election. He also briefly served as chairman in 2006, after the resignation of Stanislav Gross. Sobotka was elected the Chairman of the party on 18 March 2011 when he defeated Michal Hašek who became the First Deputy Chairman, on 18 March 2011, Sobotka was officially elected the party chairman. Sobotka led his party in the elections of 2013. The party won the election, gaining 20. 45% of votes and they called on Sobotka to resign due to the partys poor election result. Hašek and his allies also eliminated Sobotka from the negotiating the next government
Bohuslav Sobotka
–
Bohuslav Sobotka
Member of Parliament
Bohuslav Sobotka
–
Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka on 5 May 2015.
10.
Parliament of the Czech Republic
–
The Parliament of the Czech Republic or just Parliament is the legislative body of the Czech Republic, seated in Malá Strana, Prague. It consists of two chambers, both elected in elections, the Lower House, Chamber of Deputies the Upper House. 15 of the Constitution stipulates its name as the Parliament, the tradition of modern parliamentarianism in the Bohemian lands dates back to times of the Austrian Empire, where the Imperial Council was created in 1861. After proclamation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 its National Assembly undertook legislative duties both of the Imperial Council and State Diets, in 1938–39 and between 1948–89 there existed a parliament within non-democratic regimes. As a consequence of federalization of Czechoslovakia, national councils of Czech, the Chamber of Deputies keeps continuity with the Czech National Council, while the Senate was established in 1996
Parliament of the Czech Republic
–
Session room of the Chamber of Deputies
Parliament of the Czech Republic
–
Parliament of the Czech Republic Parlament České republiky
11.
Senate of the Czech Republic
–
The Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, usually referred to as Senate, is the upper chamber of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague, the Senate has 81 members, elected for six years, every two years one third of them, in one-seat constituencies through two rounds majority system. A candidate for the Senate does not need to be on a political partys ticket, the senate has one President and four Vice-Presidents. Its members participate in specialised committees and commissions, the Senate Chancellery has been created to provide professional, organisational and technical services. The Senate occupies several historical palaces in centre of Prague, in Malá Strana quarter, in 2005 its budget was 561.2 million CZK. The Senate can delay a law which was approved by the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate however cannot be overridden when it votes on constitutional law, Senate decides on confirmation of judges of the Constitutional Court, proposed by the President, right. It often uses to block unacceptable nominees, and may propose new laws, however, the Senate does not get to vote on the country budget and on confidence in the government, unlike the Chamber of Deputies. The President of the Senate is the second-highest official of the Czech Republic for ceremonial purposes, after the President of the Republic, the Senate was established in constitutional law of the Czech National Council No. The immediate reason for its creation was a need to find a place for members of the Federal Assembly, dissolved together with Czechoslovakia. Other reasons given were the positioning of the Senate as a safety device correcting laws endorsed by lower chamber, due to opposition by the Civic Democratic Alliance and those politicians fearing dilution of power the Senate was not set up. The first elections were held in 1996, with turnout around 35%. Further elections were held in accordance with the Constitution every two years after that, the Senate has received criticism for being essentially powerless and unnecessary for a country of the size of the Czech Republic
Senate of the Czech Republic
Senate of the Czech Republic
–
Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Senát Parlamentu České republiky
Senate of the Czech Republic
–
Wallenstein Palace in Prague, the main building of the Senate
12.
Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic
–
The Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic or just Chamber of Deputies, is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Chamber of Deputies is Thun Palace in Malá Strana, the members of the 200-seat house serve for four-year terms and are elected using the party-list proportional representation system. Since 2002, there are 14 constituencies matching the Czech regions, the Government is primarily responsible to the Chamber of Deputies and the Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of a majority of its members. Every citizen of the Czech Republic aged at least 21 who has the right to vote is eligible to be elected, the Deputy may not hold the office of the Senator, the President of the Czech Republic or judge, which also applies to certain positions specified by law. The Parliament of the Czech Republic - the Chamber of Deputies, Prague, Published for the Office of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic by Ivan Král,2009. ISBN 978-80-87324-01-1 List of Speakers of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Official website Official website
Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic
Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic
–
Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Poslanecká sněmovna Parlamentu České republiky
13.
Judiciary of the Czech Republic
–
The Judiciary of the Czech Republic is set out in Constitution, which defines courts as independent institutions within the traditional framework of checks and balances. The whole Chapter Four of the Constitution of the Czech Republic is dediacted to defining the role of the power in the Czech Republic. It states the main function of courts of law is the protection of rights in a manner defined by legislation, Courts are defined as independent, although their administration is in the hands of the Ministry of Justice. Czech courts are presided over by judges, who are named for life by the President. The Czech Republic has a system of courts and two-instance proceedings. Majority of higher courts are seated in Brno, so as to provide a counterbalance to the concentration of power in the capital. While the broad strokes are set out in the Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms, 6/2002 Coll. on Courts and Judges. The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic stands outside the general courts structure and its status and powers are enshrined directly in the Constitution of the Czech Republic. This it achieves mainly through its power to annul statutes if they are in conflict with the constitutional order and this is because laws that are part of the constitutional order are legislative acts of the highest force, their enactment also requires a special majority in the parliament. This process is called the judicial review, related to this is the power of the court to decide about the conformity with the constitutional order of an international treaty prior to its ratification. The seat of the court is in Brno, both criminal and civil case can start at either a district court or a regional court, in other words, district and regional courts act as courts of the first instance. For example, in proceedings, the district courts would generally hear cases in first instance. However, when the penalty for the crime in question exceeds 5 years, boundaries of the district court jurisdictions are, confusingly, non-conterminous with those of the administrative districts. Of the two courts, one is seated in Prague with jurisdiction over Bohemia, the other in Olomouc with jurisdiction over Moravia and Silesia. Naturally, these will handle an appeal of a case heard in the first instance by a regional court, as a court of third instance it works on the principles of cassation and appeal. Czech administrative judiciary has two layers, the lower one consists of specialised administrative chambers within regional courts, which act as courts of first instance. The court of second and last instance is the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic, seated in Brno, the most important characters in all proceedings are professional judges and advocates, in criminal trials also state prosecutors, and sometimes lay judges. Note that other legal professions exist, not directly involved in court proceedings – notaries, the judge is indeed the central figure of the Czech judiciary, as only his position is defined by the Constitution itself
Judiciary of the Czech Republic
–
Allegory of Justice on the facade of the District Court in Olomouc
Judiciary of the Czech Republic
–
Czech Republic
Judiciary of the Czech Republic
–
The "Ruling in the Name of the Republic" (Rozsudek jménem republiky) of the Regional Court in Prague in a civil matter
Judiciary of the Czech Republic
–
Seat of the Constitutional Court in
Brno
14.
Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic
–
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
Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic
–
Seat of the Court in the former Moravian Diet building
Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic
–
Karel Baxa, Chief Justice 1921-1931
Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic
–
Hall for plenary sessions (formerly hall of the Moravian Parliament)
15.
Supreme Court of the Czech Republic
–
The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic is the court of highest appeal for almost all legal cases heard in the Czech Republic. As set forth in the Constitution of the Czech Republic, however, cases of constitutionality, administrative law, along with the Supreme Administrative and Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court forms a triumvirate of courts at the summit of the Czech judiciary. It is on Burešova Street 20, Brno, the Supreme Court sits in panels consisting of a Chairman and two judges or it sits in Grand Panels of the Divisions. The Divisions analyse and evaluate legally effective decisions of lower courts, the Criminal Division consists of the judges of the Supreme Court, who apply substantive and procedural criminal law. The Civil and Commercial Division is responsible for ensuring uniformity and lawfulness in the decision-making of courts in civil proceedings and it does so in extraordinary appeal proceedings against decisions of courts of appeal and within its non-decision-making jurisdiction by providing standpoints. The Grand Panel of the Division decides cases referred to it by divisions, the Plenum discusses the Supreme Court´s Rules of Procedure and adopts standpoints on the courts decision-making
Supreme Court of the Czech Republic
–
Supreme Court of the Czech Republic
16.
Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic
–
The Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic is the court of highest authority on issues of procedural and administrative propriety. It also adjudicates in disciplinary proceedings against judges and state prosecutors and it is the court of second instance in actions against the decisions of authorities. Similarly to other countries in Europe, administrative justice is considered a branch of the judiciary in the Czech Republic. The modern SAC can trace its origins back to Bohemia and Moravia under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Administrative Courts of the Czech Republic and Austria thus have a common ancestor. However, many of the specifics about the SAC were deferred to later statutes, the Parliament did not bring such legislation into force until 1 January 2003, when it passed law 150/2002, the Code of Administrative Justice. It is this document, more than any other, which actually returned a working administrative court to the regions of Bohemia, Moravia. Since 2003, the SAC has been characterized by a case load amidst understaffing. The latter was accomplished in late 2006, when the court moved out of rented office space and into its new. Simultaneously, the Parliament has paid more attention to the SAC, giving greater definition to the scope
Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic
–
Today's seat of the Court in Moravian Square
17.
Elections in the Czech Republic
–
Elections in the Czech Republic gives information on election and election results in the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic elects on national level a legislature, the Chamber of Deputies has 200 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation with a 5% election threshold. The Senate has 81 members, in single-seat constituencies elected by two-round runoff voting for a six-year term, the President of the Czech Republic was indirectly elected for five-year terms until 2012, beginning with the 2013 election, the president is elected by direct two-round runoff voting. There are municipal elections four years since 1990 and regional elections every four years starting in 2000. The Czech Republic has a multi-party system, with two or three parties and another party or coalition that is electorally successful. Therefore, the only ever held in the Czech Republic was Czech European Union membership referendum in 2003. The Government of the Czech Republic approved a bill in 2005
Elections in the Czech Republic
–
Czech Republic
18.
Czech legislative election, 2006
–
Parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic on 2 and 3 June 2006. The pre-election campaign was fierce and mostly negative, the two largest parties — the Civic Democratic Party and the ČSSD profited from the divisive campaign and obtained the highest percentage of votes ever. Turnout of otherwise apathetic Czech voters increased, compared to the previous election in 2002. The elections produced an evenly balanced result, one potential coalition – the ODS, Christian Democrats and Greens – won exactly half of the 200 seats, whilsy. The ČSSD and Communists held the other half, making the possibility of a minority Social Democratic government supported by the Communists equally problematic. Ultimately the Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and Greens formed a government when a confidence vote was passed on 19 January 2007. He was summoned before parliament commission few days before the election where he presented a document and it also contained information about minor officials, some of whom had already been imprisoned on suspicions of bribery. Paroubek and the others denied these claims and accused the opposition of trying to manufacture a scandal to avoid electoral failure, after the elections, Paroubek said that the allegations cost his party victory and that democracy was in as much danger as in 1948. Initially, he planned to challenge the election result, the Chamber of Deputies consists of 200 members elected for a four-year term. Seats were allocated by proportional representation amongst those lists that gained at least 5% of the total of valid votes cast. Party lists were presented in 14 regions, with votes cast for a list, the Czech Republic has a parliamentary system of government, with ministers being responsible to the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber is the most powerful organ of the state power to override vetoes by the President. On 26 June, ODS, KDU-ČSL and SZ announced, that they had agreed on a coalition. Official election web site, English http, //www. volby. cz – Official site with detailed results of all elections since 1994 in Czech and English Adam Carrs Election Archive Parties and elections
Czech legislative election, 2006
–
All 200 seats to the
Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic 101 seats were needed for a majority
Czech legislative election, 2006
19.
Czech legislative election, 2010
–
A legislative election in the Czech Republic took place on 28–29 May 2010. The election had been expected to place some time before the end of 2009 to elect the members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic. Before the election, the country had been governed by a caretaker administration, the election saw a loss of support for the Social Democratic Party, although they still received the highest number of votes. The conservative Civic Democratic Party and TOP09 followed in second and third, in June, centre-right coalition of Civic Democratic Party, TOP09, and Public Affairs was formed, with Petr Nečas becoming the prime minister. Incumbent PM Mirek Topolánek had lost a vote on 24 March 2009. After four failed attempts, the opposition Social Democrats succeeded in leading the lower house of the Czech parliament to a no confidence vote in Topoláneks government. The measure passed with 101 votes to 96, largely due to members of Topoláneks own party voting with the opposition. On 28 March 2009, Jiří Paroubek and Topolánek agreed to hold early polls in October 2009, the newly founded party Tradition Responsibility Prosperity 09, which split off from the KDU–ČSL, also contested the election. In some polls, it was already in place, closely behind the KSČM. The election date was officially set on 1 July 2009. Due to a complaint filed by independent ex-Social Democrat MP Miloš Melčák, a hearing was set for 10 September 2009, if the court had ruled at that date against the complaint, elections would have been held as planned. As the Court ruled the election invalid, the laws were passed on 11 September as planned. President Klaus signed the laws on 12 September, and parliament planned to dissolve itself on 15 September, Melčák stated, however, that he would likely file another complaint if this plan had gone ahead. The Social Democrats had 71 seats and needed ten more MPs supporting their position to delay the election, the Christian and Democratic Union also withdrew their support for early elections, meaning the election will be held in May 2010. Following controversial comments about the Catholic Church, Jews and gays and he was replaced by Petr Nečas. The centre-left Social Democrats won the most votes, with 22. 1%, the conservative Civic Democratic Party and TOP09 followed with 20. 2% and 16. 7% respectively. The Communist Party came fourth with 11. 3%, slightly ahead of the centre-right Public Affairs which received 10. 9% and it was the first time that the Communists had failed to finish third in a Czech election. For TOP09 and Public Affairs, it was the first election in which they had won seats in Parliament, the Christian Democrats, the Party of Civic Rights and the Green Party, along with Sovereignty, failed to gain the 5% necessary to enter parliament
Czech legislative election, 2010
–
200 seats in the
Chamber of Deputies 101 seats were needed for a majority
Czech legislative election, 2010
Czech legislative election, 2010
Czech legislative election, 2010
20.
Czech legislative election, 2013
–
Early legislative elections were held in the Czech Republic on 25 and 26 October 2013, seven months before the constitutional expiry of the elected parliaments four year legislative term. The government elected in May 2010 led by Prime Minister Petr Nečas was forced to resign on 17 June 2013, after a corruption and bribery scandal. A caretaker government led by Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok was then appointed by the President, the Chamber of Deputies then passed a motion dissolving itself on 20 August, with a call for new elections within 60 days after presidential assent. The President gave his assent on 28 August, scheduling the elections for 25 and 26 October 2013, the two parties gaining the most seats were the Czech Social Democratic Party and the new party ANO2011. The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia came third, with a 3. 6% swing in its favour, two other parties gained seats, the new Dawn of Direct Democracy party and the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak Peoples Party. The previous election in May 2010, resulted in formation of the three party centre-right government ODS‑TOP09‑VV, representing 118 seats, and being led by Prime Minister Petr Nečas, on 17 June 2013, Prime Minister Petr Nečas resigned after a spying and corruption scandal. As per 25 June 2013, the government alliance however only represented 98 seats. Former Prime Minister Jan Fischer was named as finance minister, on 7 August 2013, the caretaker government of Jiří Rusnok lost the constitutionally required vote of confidence in parliament by 93 to 100 votes, with 7 opting not to vote. The ČSSD and Communist Party did likewise support an early election, though the constitution of the Czech Republic allows the president two chances to offer someone an opportunity to form a new government, there is no time limit. Never-the-less, the government decided voluntarily to resign immediately on 13 August 2013. A vote was to place at 14,00 on 20 August on dissolution of the parliament. The spokeswoman of the president stated that in case of parliament being dissolved, the president gave his approving assent for the dissolution of the parliament on 28 August, and scheduled the elections for 25‑26 October 2013. The police investigation into the Petr Nečas cabinet spying scandal, is set to be concluded ahead of the election in October. The box below shows the distribution of seats in the incumbent Chamber of Deputies on 20 August 2013, * Three of these eight members were however not members of the LIDEM party itself, but just collaborated with the LIDEM parliamentary group as independents. ČSSD confirmed Bohuslav Sobotka as the candidate for Prime Minister in the elections. The Communist Party were not envisaged to be part of a new government either, if the party wins more than 33% of the votes, Sobotka said he can envision the creation of a ČSSD single-party minority government. TOP09 leader Karel Schwarzenberg said the issue for his party during the campaign would be to campaign against Zeman. He added, At first, we wanted to launch a European election campaign, in fact, the republic is the issue
Czech legislative election, 2013
–
All 200 seats in the
Chamber of Deputies 101 seats needed for a majority
Czech legislative election, 2013
Czech legislative election, 2013
Czech legislative election, 2013
21.
Czech Senate election, 2010
–
Senate elections were held in the Czech Republic for a third of the Czech Senate in October 2010. The first round was held on 15 and 16 October 2010, the election was a major success for the Czech Social Democratic Party, who gained 12 seats to become the largest party, with 41. The Czech Social Democratic Party ran on a platform of promising to put off austerity measures as well as stopping the expansion of Czech troops in the War in Afghanistan. In the first round, a turnout of 44. 33% of voters was reached and no candidate gained 50% of the vote in their district, the ČSSDs candidates advanced to the second round in 22 districts despite the fact that they held none of the seats. The ruling ODS, which held 18 of the seats, advanced to the run-off in 19, TOP09 advanced in 5 seats, KDU–ČSL in 3, the regional Severočeši. cz in 2, Public Affairs in 1, and independent candidates in 2
Czech Senate election, 2010
–
Czech Republic
22.
Czech Senate and municipal elections, 2014
–
Senate elections were held in the Czech Republic on 10–11 October 2014, with a second round on 17–18 October 2014. One-third of Senate seats were elected, along with approximately 62,300 local council seats, the election date was announced by the President Miloš Zeman in June,2014
Czech Senate and municipal elections, 2014
–
Map of senate constituencies of the Czech Republic. The 2014 election were held in the constituencies Nos. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 45, 48, 51, 54, 57, 60, 63, 66, 69, 72, 75, 78 and 81
23.
Czech Senate election, 2016
–
Senate elections were held in the Czech Republic on 7 and 8 October 2016, with a second round on 14 and 15 of October. The first round was held alongside regional elections and several municipal referendums, ANO2011 won the first round with fourteen candidates advancing, but only three of them were elected, which was a disappointment to the party. The most successful party was the centre-right Civic Democratic Party. It had 6 candidates advancing and four of them elected, one third of the 81-member Senate is elected every two years, giving Senators six year terms. The seats are elected in single-member constituencies using the two-round system, on 10 November the results in Most District were annulled due to the illegitimacy of Alena Dernerovás candidature. A re-run of the vote was organised for 27–28 January 2017, in which Dernerová was elected in the first round
Czech Senate election, 2016
–
Czech Republic
24.
Czech presidential election, 2003
–
The 2003 Czech presidential election took place in January and February 2003 to elect a new President of the Czech Republic. The Parliament of the Czech Republic failed to elect a candidate on the first 2 ballots on the 15 and 24 January, however on the third round of the third ballot on the 28 February, Václav Klaus was elected President. In 2003 Václav Havel had served the maximum 2 consecutive terms as President of the Czech Republic, a joint session of the Parliament of the Czech Republic was held on the 15 January 2003 to elect his successor. Before the constitution was amended in 2012 to establish direct presidential election, the President of the Czech Republic was elected indirectly by a joint session of the Czech Parliament. Each ballot had 3 rounds, with a candidate needing an absolute majority of both the 200 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 81 members of the Senate in order to be elected in the first round. If the second round was unsuccessful, then in the third round a candidate needed to win a majority of all present members of parliament. So if all the members of parliament were present a candidate would need 141 votes, from a combination of deputies and senators, when no candidate is elected in all 3 rounds, the process would be repeated at further joint sessions until a candidate was elected. The leading party in the government coalition, the Social Democratic Party and he defeated a former leader of his party and Prime Minister, Miloš Zeman, for the nomination, despite Zeman winning a party primary, causing splits in the party. Zeman was a rival of the Prime Minister and Social Democrat leader Vladimír Špidla, the junior party in the coalition, the Christian Democratic Party, meanwhile nominated the chairman of the Senate and former Prime Minister between 1990 and 1992, Petr Pithart as their candidate. He was also supported by the Freedom Union party, another party in the governing coalition, the main opposition party, the Civic Democratic Party, chose the former leader of the party and Prime Minister, Václav Klaus, as their candidate. Klaus declared his candidacy in October 2002 and stepped down as leader of his party in December, after having led his party to defeat at the 2002 parliamentary election. The final candidate in the election was Miroslav Kříženecký, a military prosecutor. However there was scepticism that any candidate would be able to be elected in the first ballot on the 15 January 2003, before the votes the outgoing President Václav Havel delivered a farewell speech for which he received a standing ovation, after urging legislators to follow their conscience. Almost half of the Social Democrats lawmakers did not vote for Bureš, very surprising was low support for Petr Pithart. He received only 20 votes in Chamber of Deputies even though KDU-ČSL that nominated him had 21 Members of the Chamber. Klaus led throughout and in the round received 113 votes to 89 for Pithart. The first ballot showed disunity of ČSSD during the election and it also showed that Klaus has much higher support than it was expected. Following the first ballot the five parties in parliament agreed to try again on the 24 January, Václav Klaus, after leading in the first ballot, was renominated by the Civic Democrats, but no other party again supported the candidates they had nominated in the first ballot
Czech presidential election, 2003
–
Nominee
Czech presidential election, 2003
Czech presidential election, 2003
–
Petr Pithart came second in the first ballot of the election
Czech presidential election, 2003
–
Miloš Zeman was unexpectedly knocked out after coming third in the first vote of the second ballot.
25.
Czech presidential election, 2008
–
The candidates standing for election were Klaus and University of Michigan Professor Jan Švejnar. When no winner emerged on the first ballot, another ballot was held on 15 February 2008, the election was marked by party splits and post-Cold War rancor, Germanys Deutsche Welle reported. He signed his presidential pledge with a platinum-plated pen allegedly worth up to 1 million koruna, a Czech company had donated the pen, one of a limited edition of 10, to Klaus, who promised he would exercise his powers cautiously and conservatively during his second term. Each ballot can be composed of three rounds with gradually relaxing requirements for election, for the first time there were only two candidates, so no elimination between first and second round. Due to absences of MPs, the quorum for election was decreased 140, in the 2008 election, the President came of the 3rd round of the second election, in 2003 it took one election more. Klaus was nominated for the term by the 122 MPs. The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia was considering supporting him, most analysts assumed that Klaus would win re-election. Both Klaus and Švejnar are vied for the support of the KDU–ČSL, Švejnar announced on 8 December 2007 that his bid was still alive and that he would decide whether to run in the coming week, depending on the level of support from major parties. On 11 December 2007 the press stated that he had acquired the support of five analysts and experts to assist him in his bid for the presidency. Švejnar himself announced that he would decide on whether hed run only in the week afterwards, Švejnar later stated he would renounce his US citizenship if elected. The ČSSD announced their support for Švejnar on 15 December 2007. As the president is elected by a majority of MPs and senators. In a mid-December public opinion poll, Švejnar gained in popularity and was tied with Klaus. Švejnar proposed a debate with Klaus, but Klaus rejected on the grounds that Klaus did not need the publicity and that it would only help Švejnar. According to polls, 43% prefer Klaus as president, while 28% would prefer Švejnar, the former foreign minister Jiří Dienstbier had also been suggested by some Social Democrats and Communists as a possible anti-Klaus candidate. Former president Václav Havel officially announced his support for Švejnar on 1 January 2008, there are rumours that KDU–ČSL are offering full support to Klaus in exchange for Jiří Čunek becoming a government minister again. According to polls from early January 2008, in a direct election Švejnar would beat Klaus with 52% to 48%, polls from late January 2008 saw Švejnar increase his lead to 55% against Klaus 45%. Other polls favored Klaus in a direct election, according to Palacký University Klaus would gain 51% to Švejnars 49
Czech presidential election, 2008
–
Nominee
Czech presidential election, 2008
Czech presidential election, 2008
–
Joint session of the Parliament of the Czech Republic electing the President.
26.
Czech presidential election, 2013
–
The first direct presidential election in the Czech Republic was held on 11–12 January 2013. No candidate received a majority of the votes in the first round, nine individuals secured enough popular signatures or support of parliamentarians to become official candidates for the office. Miloš Zeman and Karel Schwarzenberg qualified for the round of the election. On 26 January 2013, Miloš Zeman won the round of the election and was elected the next president of the Czech Republic. He won 54. 8% of the vote, compared to Schwarzenbergs 45. 2%. He assumed office in March 2013 after being sworn in, the possibility of a directly elected President has been controversial because of concerns that it could weaken a government under the Prime Minister. The 2008 presidential election, which narrowly reelected Václav Klaus after several attempts, however was criticized for the appearance of political deal-making, several outspoken opponents of the change however came from the Prime Ministers own Civic Democratic Party. On 14 December 2011, the Chamber of Deputies passed the amendment for direct elections by a vote of 159 out of 192. This was then sent to the Senate, which passed the amendment on 8 February 2012 after five hours of debate by a majority of 49 of 75. In June 2012 an implementation bill for holding the election passed in the Chamber of Deputies, Klaus opposed the measure, though saying it was a fatal mistake as the country was not ready for such a move. He however signed the law on 1 August 2012, the law was scheduled to take effect on 1 October 2012, after which Senate President Milan Štěch was due to set a date for the election, following discussions with the Ministry of the Interior. The two-day first round was on 11–12 January 2013, however, because no one secured an absolute majority, a run-off round was held on 25–26 January 2013. Candidates were allowed to spend up to Kč40 million in the first round, each candidate had an election committee that manages campaign funding, which should be run through a special account. All anonymous campaigns contributions were banned, in order to be a candidate, an individual needs to gather 50,000 signatures from citizens or the support of twenty Deputies or ten Senators. The candidates were bound to file their applications with the signatures sixty-six days before the election, the Civic Democratic Party held a primary elections in July 2012 to choose their candidate, selecting former President of the Senate Přemysl Sobotka over MEP Evžen Tošenovský. SPOZ, TOP09, and Suverenita have their party leaders running for the post, Jan Švejnar, who ran for the presidency in 2008 against Václav Klaus, declined to run in order to support Jan Fischers candidacy. The current president Klaus expressed fear that his successor would be Franz or Okamura, along with the action, the ministry stated that many of Bobošíkovás alleged signatories were long dead, while in case of Okamura, the ministry found a large number of fictitious signatories. Both candidates appealed the decision before the Supreme Administrative Court
Czech presidential election, 2013
–
Turnout
Czech presidential election, 2013
Czech presidential election, 2013
–
The
Prague Castle, official residence of the Czech President, behind the statue of
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first
President of Czechoslovakia
Czech presidential election, 2013
–
Bobošíková
Jana Bobošíková
27.
Political parties in the Czech Republic
–
This is a list of political parties in the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic has a multi-party system, due to the electoral system used, a limited number of parties are successful in each parliamentary election. The other parliamentary party is the Party of Free Citizens, which has one MP in the European Parliament, three parties – ČSSD, ODS, and KSČM – have had members elected to every Parliament since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The current government is composed of ČSSD, ANO2011 and KDU-ČSL, meanwhile, Tomio Okamura founded a new party called Freedom and Direct Democracy with two other former members of Dawn. The next legislative election will be held in October 2017
Political parties in the Czech Republic
–
Czech Republic
28.
Foreign relations of the Czech Republic
–
It entertains diplomatic relations with 191 countries in the world, around half of which maintain a resident embassy in the Czech capital city, Prague. Until the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the policy of Czechoslovakia had followed that of the Soviet Union. This goal was met with great success, as the nation joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. The Czech Republic is a member of the United Nations and participates in its specialized agencies and it is a member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The Czech Republic became a member of the EU in May 2004 and this followed signature of the Treaty of Accession with nine other candidate nations in 1993. Although there have been disagreements with established EU member nations over some issues, such as agricultural quotas. The Czech Republic became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, along with Poland and Hungary and this membership represents a milestone in the countrys foreign policy and security orientation. As a result, Liechtenstein did not diplomatically recognize the existence of the Czech Republic as a new state until 2009, government of the Czech Republic agrees to host a missile defense radar on its territory while a base of missile interceptors is supposed to be built in Poland. The main government supporter Alexandr Vondra, Deputy Prime Minister for European affairs, more problematic is that between 2004 and 2006 he was an executive director of a lobbying company Dutko Worldwide Prague. Dutkos and its strategic partner AMI Communications customers are Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Nortrop Grumman, AMI Communications also received a government contract to persuade Czechs to support US radar base. The Czech Republic is represented in Belize through its embassy in Mexico City and has an honorary consulate, Belize has an honorary consulate in Prague. Canada has an embassy in Prague, the Czech Republic has an embassy in Ottawa and a consulate-general in Toronto and an honorary consulate in Calgary. Colombia is represented in the Czech Republic through its embassy in Vienna, the Czech Republic has an embassy in Bogota and 3 consulates. Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 January 1993, diplomatic relations between Czechoslovakia and Mexico were established in 1922. Mexico re-recognised Czech independence in 1993 after its separation with Slovakia, the Czech Republic has an embassy in Mexico City and honorary consulates in Monterrey, Guadalajara and Tijuana. Mexico has an embassy in Prague, U. S. President Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in the establishment of Czechoslovakia on 28 October 1918. The Czech Republic has an embassy in Washington, DC and consulates-general in Chicago, Los Angeles, the United States has an embassy in Prague. The Czech Republic is accredited to Uruguay from its embassy in Buenos Aires, Uruguay is accredited to the Czech Republic from its embassy in Vienna, Austria
Foreign relations of the Czech Republic
–
Czech Republic
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
