We, the citizens
of the Czech Republic in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia,
at this time of the reconstitution of an independent Czech State,
true to all the sound traditions of the ancient statehood
of the Lands of the Czech Crown as well as of Czechoslovak statehood,
resolved to build, protect and advance the Czech Republic
in the spirit of the inalienable values of human dignity and freedom
as the home of equal and free citizens
who are aware of their obligations towards others
and of their responsibility to the community,
as a free and democratic State founded on respect for human rights
and on the precept of acommunity of citizens,
as a member of the family of democratic nations of Europe and the world,
resolved to protect and develop their natural, cultural, material and spiritual heritage,
resolved to heed all the well-proven tenets of law-abiding state,
have adopted through our freely elected representatives this Constitution of the Czech
Republic.
Article 1
The Czech Republic is a sovereign, unitary and democratic, law-abiding State, based on
respect for the rights and freedoms of man and citizen.
Article 2
(1) The people are the source of all power in the State; they exercise it through bodies
of legislative, executive and judiciary power.
(2) A Constitutional Act may define when the people exercise state power directly.
(3) State power shall serve all citizens and may be applied only in cases, within limits
and by methods defined by law.
(4) Everybody may do what is not prohibited by law and nobody may be forced to do what the
law does not instruct him to do.
Article 3
An integral component of the constitutional system of the Czech Republic is the Charter of
Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.
Article 4
The fundamental rights and freedoms shall be protected by the judiciary power.
Article 5
The political system is based on free and voluntary formation of and free competition
between political parties respecting the basic democratic precepts and rejecting violence
as a means of asserting their interests.
Article 6
Political decisions shall proceed from the will of the majority, expressed by free vote.
Majority decisions shall respect protection of minorities.
Article 7
The State shall attend to a prudent utilization of natural resources and to protection of
national wealth.
Article 8
Self-government of territorial self-governing units is guaranteed.
Article 9
(1) The Constitution may be supplemented or amended only by Constitutional Acts.
(2) The substantive requisites of the democratic, law-abiding State may not be amended.
(3) Interpretation of legal rules may not be used as authorization to eliminate or imperil
the foundations of the democratic State.
Article 10
Ratified and promulgated international treaties on human rights and fundamental freedoms,
whereby the Czech Republic is obligated, shall be directly binding and shall have
precedence over the law.
Article 11
The territory of the Czech Republic constitutes an indivisible entity the state frontiers
whereof may be changed only by a Constitutional Act.
Article 12
(1) Acquisition and loss of citizenship of the Czech Republic shall be governed by law.
(2) Nobody may be deprived of his or her citizenship against his or her will.
Article 13
The capital of the Czech Republic shall be the city of Prague.
Article 14
(1) The national symbols of the Czech Republic shall be the large and the small state
coat-of- arms, the national colours, the national flag, the standard of the President of
the Republic, the state seal and the national anthem.
(2) The national symbols and their use shall be defined by law.
Article 15
(1) Legislative power in the Czech Republic shall be vested in the Parliament.
(2) The Parliament shall have two chambers which shall be the Chamber of Deputies and the
Senate.
Article 16
(1) The Chamber of Deputies shall have 200 Deputies who shall be elected for a term of
four years.
(2) The Senate shall have 81 Senators who shall be elected for a term of six years. One
third of the Senators shall be elected every two years.
Article 17
(1) Elections to both chambers shall be held within a term beginning on the thirtieth day
prior to the expiration of the electoral term and ending on the day of its expiration.
(2) If the Chamber of Deputies is dissolved, the elections shall be held within sixty days
of its dissolution.
Article 18
(1) Elections to the Chamber of Deputies shall be held by secret ballot on the basis of
universal, equal and direct suffrage and under the principles of proportional
representation.
(2) Elections to the Senate shall be held by secret ballot on the basis of universal,
equal and direct suffrage and under the principles of the majority system.
(3) Every citizen of the Czech Republic who has attained the age of eighteen years shall
have the right to vote.
Article 19
(1) Every citizen of the Czech Republic who has the right to vote and who has attained the
age of twenty-one years may be elected to the Chamber of Deputies.
(2) Every citizen of the Czech Republic who has the right to vote and who has attained the
age of forty years may be elected to the Senate.
(3) The mandate of a Deputy or a Senator shall be established on his or her election.
Article 20
Other conditions of the exercise of the right to vote, the organization of elections and
the scope of judicial review shall be set by law.
Article 21
Nobody may be at the same time member of both chambers of the Parliament.
Article 22
(1) The office of Deputy or Senator shall be incompatible with the exercise
of the office of the President of the Republic, of a judge or of other offices specified
by law.
(2) On the day when a Deputy or Senator assumes the office of President of the Republic or
on the day when he or she assumes the office of judge or another office incompatible with
the office of Deputy or Senator, his or her mandate as Deputy or Senator shall cease.
Article 23
(1) A Deputy shall take an oath of office at the first meeting of the Chamber of Deputies he or
she attends.
(2) A Senator shall take an oath of office at the first meeting of the Senate he or she
attends.
(3) The oath of office of Deputies and Senators shall read: "I hereby
swear my allegiance to the Czech Republic. I swear to uphold its Constitution and its
laws. I swear on my honour that I shall discharge my office in the interest of all the
people and according to my best consciousness and conscience."
Article 24
A Deputy or a Senator may resign from his or her office by a statement made personally at
a meeting of the chamber the member whereof he or she is. If serious circumstances prevent
him or her from doing so, he or she may so act in a manner specified by law.
Article 25
The office of a Deputy or a Senator shall be terminated by
a) refusal to take the oath of office or by taking the oath with reservation,
b) expiration of the electoral term,
c) resignation from office,
d) loss of eligibility,
e) dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies in the case of Deputies,
f) emergence of incompatibility of office under Article 22.
Article 26
Deputies and Senators shall exercise their office in person and in conformity with the
oath they have taken and in doing so they shall not be bound by any instructions.
Article 27
(1) No Deputy or Senator may be disciplined for his or her voting in the Chamber of
Deputies or in the Senate, or in their bodies.
(2) No Deputy or Senator may be criminally prosecuted for statements made in the Chamber
of Deputies or in the Senate, or in their bodies. A Deputy or a Senator shall be subject
only to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the chamber of which he or she is member.
(3) A Deputy or a Senator who has committed a transgression shall be subject only to the
disciplinary jurisdiction of the chamber of which he or she is member, unless the law
provides differently.
(4) No Deputy or Senator may be criminally prosecuted without the consent of the chamber
of which he or she is member. If the respective chamber denies its consent, criminal
prosecution shall be excluded forever.
(5) A Deputy or a Senator may be detained only if he or she has been apprehended when
committing a criminal offence or immediately thereafter. The competent agency shall
immediately report the detention to the chairman of the chamber of which the detainee is
member; if the chairman of the respective chamber does not consent within twenty-four
hours of the detention to the surrender of the detainee to a court, the competent agency
shall release him or her. At its first subsequent meeting the respective chamber shall
decide with final validity on the admissibility of the prosecution.
Article 28
A Deputy and a Senator may refuse giving evidence on facts of which he or she may have
learned while performing his or her office even after he or she has ceased being a Deputy
or a Senator.
Article 29
(1) The Chamber of Deputies shall elect and recall the Chairman and the Vice-Chairmen of
the Chamber of Deputies.
(2) The Senate shall elect and recall the Chairman and the Vice-Chairmen of the Senate.
Article 30
(1) In order to investigate a
matter of public concern, the Chamber of Deputies may establish an investigation
commission if not less than one fifth of the Deputies so move.
(2) The proceedings before the commission shall be governed by law.
Article 31
(1) The chambers shall establish as their bodies committees and commissions.
(2) The work of the committees and commissions shall be governed by law.
Article 32
A Deputy or a Senator who is a member of the Government may not be the Chairman or
Vice-Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies or of the Senate, or a member of a parliamentary
committee, an investigation commission or commission.
Article 33
(1) If the Chamber of Deputies is dissolved, the Senate shall adopt legal measures
regarding matters which cannot be delayed and which would otherwise require the enactment
of a law.
(2) However, the Senate may not adopt legal measures regarding the Constitution, the State
Budget, the final state budgetary account, the electoral law and international treaties
under Article 10.
(3) A legal measure may be proposed to the Senate for adoption only by the Government.
(4) A legal measure adopted by the Senate shall be signed by the Chairman of the Senate,
the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister.
(5) A legal measure of the Senate shall have to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies at
its first meeting. If the Chamber of Deputies does not approve it, its continued validity
shall cease.
Article 34
(1) Both chambers shall be in session permanently. Sessions of the Chamber of Deputies
shall be convened by the President of the Republic so that a session opens not later than
on the thirtieth day folowing election day; if the President fails to do so, the Chamber
of Deputies shall meet on the thirtieth day after election day.
(2) The session of a chamber may be recessed by resolution. The total period for which the
session may be recessed may not exceed one hundred and twenty days in a year.
(3) When a session is in recess, the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies or of the Senate
may convene the chamber prior to the set term of recess. He or she shall do so always when
so requested by the President of the Republic, the Government or by at least one fifth of
the members of the respective chamber.
(4) The session of the Chamber of Deputies shall end on the expiration of its electoral
term or by its dissolution.
Article 35
(1) The Chamber of Deputies may be dissolved by the President of the Republic, if
a) the Chamber of Deputies failes to vote confidence in a newly appointed Government the
Prime Minister whereof was appointed by the President on the proposal of the Chairman of
the Chamber of Deputies,
b) the Chamber of Deputies has not decided on a Government Bill the consideration whereof
the Government tied to the question of confidence,
c) the session of the Chamber of Deputies has been recessed for a longer than admissible
term,
d) the Chamber of Deputies has not had a quorum for a period longer than three months
although its session was not recessed and although during the said period it had
beenrepeatedly convened to meet.
(2) The Chamber of Deputies may not be dissolved three months prior to the end of its
electoral term.
Article 36
Meetings of both chambers shall be public. The public may be excluded only under
conditions defined by law.
Article 37
(1) Joint meetings of both chambers shall be convened by the Chairman of the Chamber of
Deputies.
(2) Deliberations of joint meetings of both chambers shall be governed by the Rules of
Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies.
Article 38
(1) Any member of the Government may attend meetings of either chamber, its committees and
commissions. He shall be given the floor whenever he asks for it.
(2) Any member of the Government shall personally appear at a meeting of the Chamber of
Deputies on the basis of its decision. This shall also apply to meetings of a committee, a
commission or investigating commission, where, however, the respective member of the
Government may let himself or herself be represented by his or her deputy or another
member of Government, unless his personal presence is expressly requested.
Article 39
(1) Both chambers shall have a quorum if at least one third of their members are present.
(2) The decision of a chamber shall be adopted if approved by more than half of the
Deputies or Senators present.
(3) Decisions on declaration of war and approval of the presence of foreign troops on the
territory of the Czech Republic shall require the consent of more than half of all
Deputies and more than half of all Senators.
(4) Adoption of Constitutional Acts and approval of international treaties specified in
Article 10 require the consent of a three-fifth majority of all Deputies and of a
three-fifth majority of the Senators present.
Article 40
The electoral law, the law defining the principles of transactions and contacts internally
between the two chambers, as well as externally, and the law on the rules of procedure of
the Senate shall be passed if and when approved by both the Chamber of Deputies and the
Senate.
Article 41
(1) Bills shall be introduced in the Chamber of Deputies.
(2) Bills may be introduced by a Deputy, a group of Deputies, the Senate, the Government,
or the representative body of a superior self-governing territorial unit.
Article 42
(1) The Draft State Budget and the Draft Final State Budgetary Account shall be introduced
by the Government.
(2) The aforesaid drafts shall be considered and decided upon at public meetings by the
Chamber of Deputies alone.
Article 43
(1) The Parliament may decide to declare a state of war if the Czech Republic is attacked
or if it must meet its international treaty obligations on common defence against
aggression.
(2) Armed forces may be sent outside the territory of the Czech Republic only with the
consent of both chambers of Parliament.
Article 44
(1) The Government may express its opinion on all Bills.
(2) If the Government does not express its opinion on a Bill within thirty days of the day
the Bill was delivered to it, it shall be deemed to have expressed itself positively.
(3) The Government may ask the Chamber of Deputies to complete its consideration of a
Government Bill within three months of its introduction, provided that the Government ties
thereto its request for a vote of confidence.
Article 45
A Bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies shall be reffered by it to the Senate without
unwarranted delay.
Article 46
(1) The Senate shall consider a Bill referred to it and decide thereon within thirty days
of the day the Bill was sent to it.
(2) In its decision the Senate shall pass or defeat the Bill or shall return it to the
Chamber of Deputies with amendments, or shall express its resolve not to consider it.
(3) If the Senate does not express itself within the term set in paragraph 1, the Bill
shall be considered as having been passed.
Article 47
(1) If the Senate defeats a Bill, the Chamber of Deputies shall take a second vote
thereon. The Bill shall pass if approved by more than half of all Deputies.
(2) If the Senate returns a Bill to the Chamber of Deputies with amendments, the Chamber
of Deputies shall vote on its version passed by the Senate. The Bill shall pass by its
resolution.
(3) If the Chamber of Deputies does not pass the Bill in the version approved by the
Senate, it shall take a new vote on the Bill in the version in which it was referred to
the Senate. The Bill shall then pass if approved by more than half of all Deputies.
(4) No amendments may be introduced when a defeated or returned Bill is considered in the
Chamber of Deputies.
Article 48
If the Senate resolves not to consider a Bill, its resolution shall pass the Bill.
Article 49
(1) International treaties requiring ratification by the Parliament shall be approved by
the Parliament in like manner as Bills.
(2) Ratification by the Parliament shall be required for treaties on human rights and
fundamental freedoms, political treaties and economic treaties of general nature, as well
as treaties the implementation whereof requires a law.
Article 50
(1) The President of the Republic may return an enacted law, with the exception of
Constitutional Acts, together with the grounds for the return, within fifteen days of the
day the law was reffered to him.
(2) The Chamber of Deputies shall take a new vote on the returned law. No amendments may
be introduced. If the Chamber of Deputies upholds the returned law by majority vote of all
Deputies, the law shall be promulgated. If not, the law shall be considered defeated.
Article 51
Laws which have been enacted shall be signed by the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies,
the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister.
Article 52
An enacted law shall enter into effect when promulgated. The manner of promulgation of
laws shall be specified by law. The same shall apply to international treaties ratified by
the Parliament.
Article 53
(1) Every Deputy may interpellate the Government or its members with respect to matters
under their jurisdiction.
(2) Interpellated Government members shall answer the interpellation within thirty days of
its introduction.
Article 54
(1) The President of the Republic is the Head of State.
(2) The President of the Republic shall be elected at a joint meeting of both chambers of
the Parliament.
(3) The President of the Republic shall not be accountable for the performance of his
office.
Article 55
The President of the Republic shall assume his office by taking the official oath. His term of office shall be five years and shall begin to run on the day he takes the official oath.
Article 56
The election shall take place within the last thirty days of the term of office of the
incumbent President. If the office of President of the Republic is vacated, the election
shall take place within thirty days.
Article 57
(1) Any citizen who is eligible for election to the Senate may be elected President of the
Republic.
(2) Nobody may be elected President of the Republic more than twice in succession.
Article 58
(1) Nomination of a candidate for the presidency may be introduced by not less than ten
Deputies or ten Senators.
(2) The candidate who has won the majority of votes of all Deputies and the majority of
votes of all Senators shall be elected President of the Republic.
(3) If no candidate wins the majority of votes of all Deputies and of all Senators, a
second round of the election shall be held within fourteen days.
(4) The candidate who won the largest number of votes in the Chamber of Deputies and the
candidate who won the largest number of votes in the Senate shall pass to the second round
of the election.
(5) If several candidates win an equal highest number of votes in the Chamber of Deputies
or several candidates win an equal highest number of votes in the Senate, the votes cast
for such candidates in both chambers shall be added up. The candidate who has thus
obtained the largest number of votes shall pass to the second round.
(6) The candidate who wins the majority of votes of the Deputies present and the majority
of votes of the Senators present shall be elected.
(7) If the President of the Republic is not elected in the second round either, a third
round of the election shall be held within fourteen days, in which the candidate from the
second round, who wins the majority of votes of the Deputies and Senators present, shall
be elected.
(8) If the President of the Republic is not elected even in the third round, a new
election shall be held.
Article 59
(1) The President of the Republic shall take an oath of office at a joint meeting of both
chambers of the Parliament, where it shall be administered by the Chairman of the Chamber
of Deputies.
(2) The President's oath shall read as follows: "I swear allegiance to the Czech
Republic. I swear to uphold its Constitution and laws. I swear upon my honour that I shall
perform my office in the interest of all the people and according to my best consciousness
and conscience."
Article 60
If the President of the Republic refuses to take the oath or takes it with a reservation,
he shall be regarded as not having been elected.
Article 61
The President of the Republic may resign from his office by placing his resignation into
the hands of the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies.
Article 62
The President of the Republic shall
a) appoint and recall the Prime Minister and other members of the Government and accept
their resignation, recall the Government and accept its resignation,
b) convene sessions of the Chamber of Deputies,
c) dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, d) authorize the Government the resignation of which
he accepted or which he recalled with continued performance of its duties provisionally
untill a new Government is appointed,
e) appoint Justices of the Constitutional Court, its Chief Justice and Assistant Chief
Justices,
f) appoint from among the Justices of the Supreme Court the Chief Justice and Assistant
Chief Justices of the Supreme Court,
g) pardon and mitigate penalties imposed by a court, order that criminal proceedings
should not be initiated and, if already initiated, should be suspended, and that previous
sentences should be expunged,
h) have the right to return to the Parliament an enacted law with the exception of
Constitutional Acts,
i) sign enacted laws,
j) appoint the President and the Vice President of the Supreme Control Office,
k) appoint members of the Bank Board of the Czech National Bank.
Article 63
(1) The President of the Republic shall furthermore
a) represent the State with respect to other countries,
b) negotiate and ratify international treaties; he may delegate the negotiation of
international treaties to the Government or, with its consent, to its individual members,
c) be the supreme commander of the armed forces,
d) receive the heads of diplomatic missions,
e) appoint and recall the heads of diplomatic missions,
f) call elections to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate,
g) appoint and promote generals,
h) award and bestow state decorations unless he authorizes a different body to do so,
i) appoint judges,
j) have the right to grant amnesty.
(2) The President of the Republic shall also exercise authority which is not explicitly
defined in this Constitutional Act, if the law so provides.
(3) Decisions made by the President of the Republic pursuant to the provisions of
paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be valid only if countersigned by the Prime Minister or by a
member of the Government so authorized by the Prime Minister.
(4) The responsibility for a decision made by the President of the Republic, which must be
countersigned by the Prime Minister or a member of the Government authorized by him, shall
be borne by the Government.
Article 64
(1) The President of the Republic may attend meetings of both chambers of the Parliament,
their committees and commissions. He shall be given the floor whenever he asks for it.
(2) The President of the Republic may attend meetings of the Government, ask for reports
from the Government and its members, and discuss with the Government or its members
matters which are under their jurisdiction.
Article 65
(1) The President of the Republic may not be detained, subjected to criminal prosecution
or charged with a transgression or a different administrative offense.
(2) The President of the Republic may be impeached by the Senate for high treason at the
Constitutional Court. The penalty may be loss of his presidential office and of his
eligibility to regainit.
(3) Criminal prosecution for criminal offences committed by the President of the Republic
while performing his office shall be precluded for all times.
Article 66
If the office of President of the Republic is vacated and a new President has not yet been
elected or has not yet taken his oath of office, or if the President of the Republic is
unable to perform his official duties for serious reasons, and if the Chamber of Deputies
and the Senate so decide, the performance of the presidential duties pursuant to the
provisions of Article 63 par. 1 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (h), (i), and (j), and Article 63
par. 2, shall appertain to the Prime Minister. When the Prime Minister is performing
limited official duties of the President of the Republic, the Chairman of the Chamber of
Deputies shall perform the presidential duties specified in Article 62, insets (a), (b),
(c), (d), (e) and (k); if the office of President of the Republic is vacated at a time
when the Chamber of Deputies is dissolved, the performance of these duties shall appertain
to the Chairman of the Senate.
Article 67
(1) The Government is the supreme body of executive power.
(2) The Government shall consist of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and
Ministers.
Article 68
(1) The Government shall be accountable to the Chamber of Deputies.
(2) The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President of the Republic who shall
appoint on the Prime Minister's proposal the other members of the Government and shall
entrust them with the direction of individual ministries or other agencies.
(3) Within thirty days after its appointment the Government shall present itself to the
Chamber of Deputies and shall ask it for a vote of confidence.
(4) If a newly appointed Government fails to win the confidence of the Chamber of
Deputies, the procedure specified in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be followed. If a thus
appointed Government again fails to win the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies, the
President of the Republic shall appoint a Prime Minister on the proposal of the Chairman
of the Chamber of Deputies.
(5) In other cases the President of the Republic shall appoint and recall on the proposal
of the Prime Minister the other members of the Government and shall entrust them with the
direction of ministries or other agencies.
Article 69
(1) Each Member of Government shall take an oath of office administered by the President
of the Republic.
(2) The oath taken by a Member of the Government shall read: "I herby swear
allegiance to the Czech Republic. I swear to uphold its Constitution and laws and to
implement them. I swear upon my honour that I shall conscientiously perform my office and
shall not misuse my position."
Article 70
A Member of Government may not engage in activity the nature whereof contradicts the
performance of his office. Detailed provisions shall be set by law.
Article 71
The Government may ask the Chamber of Deputies for a vote of confidence.
Article 72
(1) The Chamber of Deputies may express no confidence in the Government.
(2) A motion to express no confidence in the Government shall be considered by the Chamber
of Deputies only if it is filed in written form by not less then fifty Deputies. The
motion shall be admitted when approved by the majority of all Deputies.
Article 73
(1) The Prime Minister shall submit his resignation to the President of the Republic.
Other Members of Government shall submit their resignations to the President of the
Republic through the Prime Minister.
(2) The Government shall resign if the Chamber of Deputies rejects its request for a vote
of confidence or if it voted no confidence in the Government.
(3) If the Government resigns in accordance with the provision of paragraph 2, the
President of the Republic shall accept its resignation.
Article 74
The President of the Republic shall recall a Member of Government if the Prime Minister so
proposes.
Article 75
The President of the Republic shall recall a Government which has not resigned although
required to do so.
Article 76
(1) The Government shall make its decisions as a body.
(2) In order to be adopted, a decision of the Government shall have to be approved by the
majority of all its members.
Article 77
(1) The Prime Minister shall organize the work of the Government, preside over its
meetings, act in its name and pursue other activities entrusted to him by the Constitution
or other laws.
(2) The Prime Minister shall be represented in his absence by a Deputy Prime Minister or
another so authorized Member of Government.
Article 78
The Government may issue decrees for the implementation and within the scope of laws.
Decrees shall be signed by the Prime Minister and the pertinent Member of Government.
Article 79
(1) Ministries and other administrative agencies and their jurisdiction may be established
only by law.
(2) The legal status of government employees in ministries and other administrative
agencies shall be defined by law.
(3) Ministries, other administrative agencies and territorial self-government bodies may
issue on the basis and within the scope of a law legal regulations, if they are authorized
to do so by law.
Article 80
(1) State attorneys shall represent public prosecution in penal proceedings; they shall
also perform other duties, if the law so provides.
(2) The position and the jurisdiction of state attorneys shall be defined by law.
Article 81
Judicial power shall be exercised in the name of the Republic by independent courts.
Article 82
(1) Judges shall be independent in the performance of their office. Nobody may jeopardize
their impartiality.
(2) A judge may not be recalled or transferred to another court against his will;
exceptions, ensuing in particular from disciplinary liability, shall be specified by law.
(3) The office of judge shall be incompatible with the office of President of the
Republic, Member of Parliament, or any office in public administration; the law shall
specify which other activities are incompatible with the performance of judicial office.
Article 83 The Constitutional Court is a judicial body charged with protection of constitutional rule.
Article 84
(1) The Constitutional Court shall consist of fifteen Justices appointed for a term of ten
years.
(2) Justices of the Constitutional Court shall be appointed by the President of the
Republic and shall be confirmed by the Senate.
(3) Any citizen of full integrity who is eligible for election to the Senate, is the
graduate of a university law school and has been active in the legal profession for at
least ten years may be appointed Justice of the Contitutional Court.
Article 85
(1) A Justice of the Constitutional Court shall assume his office by taking the official
oath administered by the President of the Republic.
(2) The oath taken by Justices of the Constitutional Court shall read: "I hereby
swear on my honour and conscience to protect the inviolability of man's natural rights and
the rights of citizen, to uphold constitutional laws and to make my decisions
independently and without prejudice according to my best conviction."
(3) If a Justice refuses to take the official oath or takes it with a reservation, he
shall be regarded as not having been appointed.
Article 86
(1) A Justice of the Constitutional Court may not be subjected to criminal prosecution
without the consent of the Senate. If the Senate refuses to grant its consent thereto,
criminal prosecution of the Justice shall be precluded for all times.
(2) A Justice of the Constitutional Court may be detained only if he is apprehended while
committing a criminal act or immediately thereafter. The competent agency shall report the
detention without delay to the Chairman of the Senate. If the Chairman of the Senate does
not consent withintwenty-four hours of the detention to delivery of the detainee to a
court, the competent agency shall release the latter. At its first subsequent meeting the
Senate shall decide on admissibility of the criminal prosecution with final validity.
(3) A justice of the Constitutional Court may refuse to give evidence on facts of which he
learned in connection with the performance of his office even after he ceased to be a
Justice of the Constitutional Court.
Article 87
(1) The Constitutional Court shall rule on
a) repeal of laws or their individual provisions which are in violation of a
Constitutional Act or an international treaty defined in Article 10,
b) repeal of other legal regulations or their individual provisions which are in violation
of a Constitutional Act, a law or an international treaty defined in Article 10,
c) constitutional complaints filed by territorial self-government bodies against illegal
interventions by the State,
d) constitutional complaints filed against final decisions and other interventions by
agencies of public authority, violating constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights and
freedoms, e) appeals against decisions in matters of confirmation of the election of a
Deputy or Senator,
f) reservations on loss of eligibility and on incompatibility of holding the office of
Deputy or Senator according to Article 25,
g) impeachment by the Senate of the President of the Republic under Article 65, par. 2,
h) the Presidential proposal to repeal a decision of the Chamber of Deputies and the
Senate according to Article 66,
i) 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,
j) 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,
k) 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.
(2) A law may stipulate that in place of the Constitutional Court, rulings shall be issued
by the Supreme Administrative Court in respect of
a) repeal of legal regulations or their individual provisions, which are in violation of
the law,
b) 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.
Article 88
(1) A law shall determine who and under what conditions may file a motion to initiate
proceedings and other rules of procedure before the Constitutional Court.
(2) Justices of the Constitutional Court shall be bound in their decision-making only by
constitutional laws and international treaties specified in Article 10, and by law as
stipulated in Article 1.
Article 89
(1) A ruling issued by the Constitutional Court shall be enforceable upon its promulgation
in a manner set by law, unless the Constitutional Court rules differently on its
enforcement.
(2) Enforceable rulings of the Constitutional Court shall be binding for all agencies and
individuals.
Article 90
The courts shall first and foremost provide in a manner defined by law protection of
rights. A court alone shall decide about guilt and penalty for criminal offences.
Article 91
(1) The system of courts shall be made up of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative
Court, and superior, regional and district courts. Their designation may be changed by
law.
(2) The jurisdiction and the organization of courts shall be defined by law.
Article 92
The Supreme Court is the supreme judicial body with respect to matters which are under the
jurisdiction of courts, save matters ruled on by the Constitutional Court or the Supreme
Administrative Court.
Article 93
(1) Judges shall be appointed for life by the President of the Republic. A judge shall
assume his office by taking the oath of office.
(2) Any citizen with full integrity, who is the graduate of a university law school, may be appointed judge. Additional requisites and the appointment procedure shall be defined by law.
Article 94
(1) The law shall specify the cases when judges decide in bench and the composition of a bench. In other cases judges shall decide as single judges.
(2) The law may define in what cases and in what manner other citizens participate in addition to judges in judicial decision-making.
Article 95
(1) In making decisions a judge shall be bound by the law; he may assess the compliance of
another legal regulation with the law.
(2) If a court concludes that the law which is to be applied to the settlement of a case
is in violation of a Constitutional Act, it shall refer the case to the Constitutional
Court.
Article 96
(1) All parties to judicial proceedings shall have equal rights.
(2) Proceedings before a court shall be oral and public; exceptions shall be defined by
law. Verdicts shall always be pronounced in public.
Article 97
(1) The Supreme Control Office is an independent body. It shall control the management of
state property and the implementation of the State Budget.
(2) The President and the Vice-President of the Supreme Control Office shall be appointed
by the President of the Republic on the proposal of the Chamber of Deputies.
(3) The status, the jurisdiction, the organizational structure and other details regarding
the Supreme Control Office shall be defined by law.
Article 98
<(1) The Czech National Bank is the central bank of the State. The main purpose of its
operations shall be care for the stability of the currency; intercessions in its
operations may be effected only on the basis of law.
(2) The position and competence of and other details regarding the Czech National Bank
shall be defined by law.
Article 99
The Czech Republic shall be divided into communities which shall be the basic
self-governing territorial divisions. The superior self-governing territorial divisions
shall be lands or regions.
Article 100
(1) Self-governing territorial divisions are communities of citizens inhabiting a
particular area, which have the right of self-government. The law shall define when they
constitute administrative areas.
(2) A community shall be always a component of a superior self-governing territorial
division.
(3) A superior self-governing territorial division may be constituted or abolished only by
a Constitutional Act.
Article 101
(1) A community shall be independently administered by a community assembly.
(2) A superior self-governing territorial division shall be independently administered by
an assembly of representatives.
(3) Self-governing territorial divisions are public-law corporations which may have their
own property and which operate according to their own budget.
(4) The State may intervene in the activities of self-governing territorial divisions only
if such intervention is required by protection of the law and only in a manner defined by
law.
Article 102
(1) Assembly members shall be elected by secret ballot on the basis of universal, equal
and direct suffrage.
(2) The term of office of an assembly shall be four years. The law shall define the
conditions under which a new election of an assembly shall be called prior to the
expiration of its term of office.
Article 103
The designation of a superior self-governing territorial division shall be determined by
its assembly.
Article 104
(1) The jurisdiction of assemblies may be set only by law.
(2) A community assembly shall decide on matters of community self-government save in
cases where these matters are entrusted to the assembly of a superior self-governing
territorial division.
(3) Assemblies may within the scope of their jurisdiction issue generally binding
ordinances.
Article 105
Exercise of state administration may be entrusted to territorial self-government bodies only when so provided by law.
Article 106
(1) On the day this Constitution enters into effect, the Czech National Council shall
become the Chamber of Deputies, the electoral term whereof shall end on 6th of June, 1996.
(2) Until the Senate is elected in accordance with the Constitution, the function of the
Senate shall be performed by a Provisional Senate. The Provisional Senate shall be
constituted in a manner defined by a Constitutional Act. Until such Act enters into
effect, the function of the Senate shall be performed by the Chamber of Deputies.
(3) The Chamber of Deputies may not be dissolved as long as it performs the function of
the Senate pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 2.
(4) Until laws on the rules of procedures of both chambers of the Parliament are enacted,
the two chambers shall proceed according to the Rules of Procedure of the Czech National
Council.
Article 107
(1) The law on election of the Senate shall define the manner of determining in the first
election to the Senate the third of Senators whose electoral term will be two years, and
the third of Senators whose electoral term will be four years.
(2) Sessions of the Senate shall be convened by the President of the Republic so that they
begin not later than on the thirtieth day following election day; if he fails to do so,
the Senate shall meet in session on the thirtieth day following election day.
Article 108
The Government of the Czech Republic appointed after the elections held in 1992 and
performing its function on the day this Constitution enters into effect shall be
considered to be a Government appointed under this Constitution.
Article 109
Until such time as the system of state attorneys is instituted, its function shall be
performed by the Office of the Prosecutor of the Czech Republic.
Article 110
Until the 31st of December, 1993, the judiciary system shall also include military courts.
Article 111
Judges and Justices at all courts of the Czech Republic serving as judges or Justices on
the day this Constitution enters into effect shall be considered to be judges and Justices
appointed under the Constitution of the Czech Republic.
Article 112
(1) The constitutional system of the Czech Republic shall comprise this Constitution, the
Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, Constitutional Acts adopted under the
provisions of this Constitution, and Constitutional Acts of the National Assembly of the
Czechoslovak Republic, the Federal Assembly of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and of
the Czech National Council defining the state frontier of the Czech Republic, and
Constitutional Acts of the Czech National Council adopted after the 6th of June, 1992.
(2) The existing Constitution, the Constitutional Act concerning the Czechoslovak
Federation, the Constitutional Acts amending it, and the Constitutional Act of the Czech
National Council No. 67/1990, on the State Symbols of the Czech Republic, are hereby
repealed.
(3) The other Constitutional Acts in force on the territory of the Czech Republic on the
day this Constitution enters into effect shall have the force of a law.
Article 113
This Constitution shall enter into effect on the 1st of January, 1993.
Milan Uhde (Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies)
Václav Klaus (Prime Minister)