Yearbook of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic

20 18 Yearbook of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic YEARBOOK 2018 © Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic © Photo: Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, Vladimír Novotný, Aleš Ležatka ISBN 978-80-87687-16-1 “Everyone has the right to demand that her human dignity, personal honour, and good reputation be respected, and that her name be protected.” (Art. 10 Sec. 1 of Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms) C Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 65. STATISTICS OF DECISION-MAKING IN 2018 78 Statistics of decision-making of the Constitutional Court in 2018 79 2. ABOUT THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT 8 Public oral hearings 80 History of Constitutional Judiciary 9 Substantial structure of petitions to initiate proceedings in 2018 80 Justices and Structure of the Court 11 Statistics in terms of petitions to initiate proceedings and other submissions 81 Powers and Competences 38 Developments of the numbers of submissions 1993–2018 81 3. ON THE SEAT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT 40 6. CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS 82 Recent Renovation of the Seat of the Constitutional Court 43 4. DECISION-MAKING IN 2018 56 Fundamental Constitutional Principles 57 Fundamental rights and freedoms 60 Political rights 63 Economic and social rights 65 Right to judicial and other legal protection 70 1 Introduction Dear readers, what you hold in your hands is a book which maps the events of the year 2018 courts discussed what the XVIIIth Congress of this organization should look like from the perspective of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. The year and even decided on its focus. In 2020, the theme will be “Human Rights and brought with it a number of challenges and I’m very glad to say our Constitutional Fundamental Freedoms – the Relationship of International, Supranational and Court has successfully faced them. National Catalogues in the 21st Century.” The meeting of the Circle of Presidents was accompanied by an international conference titled “Our Beginnings: Hans Years ending with the number “8” have special significance to the Czech Republic. Kelsen´s Heirs” which the organizer – that is, the Constitutional Court – dedi- It was in 1918 that World War I ended and Czechoslovakia was born. Twenty cated to its 25th anniversary of its existence. years later, this same Czechoslovakia became the first victim of Hitler’s aggres- sion and, in the year 1948, on the other hand, it fell to socialism. In the year 1968, Besides all these reasons for celebration, however, the duties of the Constitutional we were able to take a breath of freedom but the occupation cut Czechoslovakia Court did not diminish. The Constitutional Court received nearly 4.400 peti- back down. Twenty years later, in 1988, Prague saw the first mass protests against tions to initiate proceedings and a similar number of cases was decided that the socialist regime, a regime which fell in Czechoslovakia within the year. same year. For a clearer idea – in the year 2018, every justice handled on average 293 cases, while the average length of the proceedings was reduced to 141 days. The year 2018 resonated with all these anniversaries but also with the fact that You can find a detailed analysis of our key judgments and statistics in chapters the Constitutional Court celebrated 25 years since its establishment – along with 4 and 5 of this yearbook. the rest of the Czech Republic. As the most powerful institution of judicial power, the Constitutional Court wished to make sure that Czech courts commemo- Despite the best efforts of us, the justices, it seems that neither small human rated this anniversary. The Czechoslovak Republic, after all, was the first in the suffering nor great social issues have diminished. Constitutional courts must not world to anchor constitutional law in its Constitution. On October 24th, 2018, loosen their grip, however, even though the end of their efforts is out of sight. the Constitutional Court hosted a gathering in celebration of its anniversary and John Locke wrote as early as in the 17th century: “The end of law is not to abolish the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic itself. The gathering took place at or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created the Constitutional Court´s building, which had gone through painstaking reno- beings capable of law, where there is no law, there is no freedom.” I would like vations and is now one of the most beautiful palaces of justice in Europe. From to assure all readers that even in 2019, the Constitutional Court of the Czech this celebration on, the justices donned new gowns, which you may see on the Republic will protect the law, so that we may continue to live in freedom. photographs in the supplement of this publication. I wish you an interesting reading – The anniversary of the year 2018 found its reflection on the international scale as well. The Circle of Presidents of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts Jaroslav Fenyk held its meeting in Prague. The Czech Republic or, rather, its Constitutional Vice-President of the Constitutional Court, was voted to head this prestigious organization, which it will do until Court of Czech Republic and 2020. At the June meeting in Prague in 2018, over thirty European constitutional General Rapporteur of the CECC 7 2About the Constitutional Court History of Constitutional Judiciary The Constitutional Court of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (1991–1992) The Czechoslovak First Republic It was only after the collapse of the Communist regime that a genuinely oper- ational Constitutional Court of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (ČSFR) The history of the constitutional judiciary in our territory began shortly after was established pursuant to a federal constitutional act from February 1991. the birth of the Czechoslovak Republic when, pursuant to the Constitutional That federal court was a twelve-member body in which each of the Federation’s Charter of 1920, a separate Constitutional Court was established in 1921. constituent republics was represented by six Justices, whose term of office was The seven-member body was formed in such a way that the President of the meant to be seven years. The Court’s seat was also in Brno. Ernest Valko was Republic appointed three Justices, including the Chairman, and a further four appointed the President of the Constitutional Court of the ČSFR, and Vlastimil were delegated to their offices, two from the Supreme Court and two from the Ševčík became its Vice-president. The members of Panel I were Justices Marián Supreme Administrative Court. Justices had a ten-year term of office. The first Posluch, Jiří Malenovský, Ivan Trimaj, Antonín Procházka, with Ján Vošček as group of Justices of the Constitutional Court of the Czechoslovak Republic a substitute member. Panel II comprised Justices Pavel Mates, Peter Kresák, was appointed on 7 November 1921: Karel Baxa became the President, and Viera Strážnická, Vojen Güttler, and Zdeněk Kessler as a substitute member. Antonín Bílý, Petrovič Mačik, Josef Bohuslav, Václav Vlasák, František Vážný Despite its short existence, the Federal Constitutional Court adjudicated and Bedřich Bobek the other Justices. After the term of office of the Court‘s more than one thousand matters, and the Constitutional Court of the Czech first composition had expired, a new contingent of Justices was only appointed Republic has, in its work, followed the federal court‘s legal views in a number in 1938; naturally, it did not hold court during the war period, and its work of its decisions. was not resumed at the end of the war. The work of the First Republic’s Constitutional Court is viewed as a subject of little interest and not of great significance. The First Period of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic (1993–2003) The Constitutional Judiciary during the Communist Regime Following the dissolution of the Czechoslovak federation, the existence of (1948–1989) a Constitutional Court was also provided for in the Constitution of the inde- pendent Czech Republic, of 16 December 1992. The first Constitutional Court The constitutions of 1948 and 1960, which reflected the legal situation of the of the Czech Republic began working on 15 July 1993. On that day, Václav Havel, totalitarian state of that time, no longer called for a Constitutional Court. An the then President of the Republic, appointed twelve of the fifteen Justices of odd situation came about after the state was federalized in 1968, as the Act on this Court for a ten-year term of office, consent to their appointment having the Czechoslovak Federation not only envisaged the creation of a Constitutional been given at that time by the Assembly of Deputies of the Parliament due to Court for the federation, but also of a Constitutional Court for each national the fact that the Senate did not yet exist. This occurred a mere month after the republic. None of those courts was ever established, however, even though Assembly of Deputies had approved Act No. 182/1993 Sb., on the Constitutional the unimplemented constitutional directive stayed in effect for more than two Court, which, with reference to Article 88 of the Constitution, governed in par- decades. ticular the organization of this Court and proceedings before it, and designated the city of Brno as the Court’s seat. 9 YEARBOOK 2018 Thus, with the appointment of the first twelve Justices of the Constitutional Vladimír Jurka, Vladimír Klokočka, Vladimír Paul, and Antonín Procházka Court, a new era for the constitutional judiciary commenced, moreover, in expired, as did that of the President of the Constitutional Court, Miloš Holeček. a newly formed state. It is therefore appropriate to recall the initial composition A month later (6 August 2003) Vojen Güttler a Pavel Holländer were appointed of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic.

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