Yearbook 2019 “… We Desire to Take Our Place in the Family of Nations As a Member at Once Cultured, Peace-Loving, Democratic and Progressive.”
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Yearbook 2019 “… we desire to take our place in the Family of Nations as a member at once cultured, peace-loving, democratic and progressive.” © Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic © Photo: Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, Vladimír Novotný, (The second sentence of the Preamble of the Law of 29 February 1920, Aleš Ležatka, Jan Symon, Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic, whereby the Constitutional Charter of the Czechoslovak Republic is introduced) Constitutional Court of Hungary, Constitutional Court of Belgium ISBN 978-80-87687-18-5 1. INTRoDuCTIoN 6 5. INTernatioNAL CooPeratioN AND exTeRNAL RelatioNS 78 2. ABouT THe CoNSTITuTIoNAL Court 8 Statistics oF DeCISIoN-MAkINg IN 2019 88 History of the Constitutional Judiciary 9 6. Statistics of decision-making of the Constitutional Current Justices 12 Court in 2019 89 Structure of the Court 38 Public oral hearings 90 Substantial structure of petitions to initiate 3. oN THe Seat oF THe CoNSTITuTIoNAL Court 40 CoNTents proceedings in 2019 90 History of the Seat of the Constitutional Court 42 Statistics in terms of petitions to initiate proceedings Recent Renovation of the Seat of the Constitutional Court 43 and other submissions 91 Developments of the numbers of submissions 1993–2019 91 4. DeCISIoN-MAkINg IN 2019 56 Fundamental constitutional principles 57 Fundamental rights and freedoms 60 Political rights 67 attachmeNT – PHoToS FRoM eVents IN 2019 92 Economic and social rights 70 C Right to judicial and other legal protection 74 Dear readers: It has become a well-established tradition to publish an english version of our we proudly represented CeCC at a number of foreign forums. The Czech presi- yearbook which sums up last year’s events. We will observe that tradition – dency will culminate in 2021 when we organize the xVIIIth Congress of CeCC in after all, that is what traditions are for – and that is why you are holding the Prague. In 2019, questionnaires on „Human rights and fundamental freedoms: Constitutional Court‘s yearbook for 2019. the relationship of international, supranational and national catalogues in the 21st century“ were circulated to all CeCC member courts, and the responses Last year was a real test for us. our colleague Jan Musil decided to leave in January received will serve as a basis for the general report for the xVIIIth Congress. 2019, and at the end of the year, his successor was yet to be appointed. That meant we, the remaining 14 justices, had to increase our efforts. The complainant does In short, last year was full of demanding tasks, and I believe that we have proven not care what objective problems the court may be coping with. The complainant ourselves. After all, it would be wonderful if constitutional courts had as little work INTRoDuCTIoN seeks justice and does not want to wait for our decisions. I am pleased to note as possible in the future. Not so that we would have less work but because it would that we have not betrayed our duties and despite the absence of one of us, the mean minimal violation of the constitution and human rights. It would be average length of proceedings did not increase, and nor did the number of pending wonderful but I am afraid that the upcoming years will not bring us less work. cases. I would like to wish all the readers of the Constitutional Court’s yearbook a lot This yearbook naturally presents an overview of all important decisions – over of strength, and hopefully an inspiring reading. four thousand in total in 2019 – and statistical information on our decision-mak- ing activities and their structure. In addition to court decisions, we also dedicated our time to the Conference of Jaroslav Fenyk european Constitutional Courts /CeCC/. Foreign activities of the Czech Vice President of the Constitutional Court Constitutional Court are therefore granted much space in the yearbook because and Rapporteur general of the xVIIIth Congress of CeCC 1 7 History of the Constitutional Judiciary The Constitutional Court of the Czech and Slovak Federal republic (1991–1992) The First Czechoslovak republic It was only after the collapse of the Communist regime that a genuinely operating The history of the constitutional judiciary in our country began shortly after the Constitutional Court of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (ČSFR) was estab- birth of the Czechoslovak Republic when, pursuant to the Constitutional Charter lished pursuant to the Federal Constitutional Act of February 1991. That Court of 1920, a separate Constitutional Court of Czechoslovakia was established in was a twelve-member body in which the Federation’s constituent Republics were 1921. The Court consisted of seven members. Three of them were appointed by represented by six Justices, whose term of office was meant to be seven years. The the President of the Republic (including the Court´s President), two Justices were Court’s seat was located to the City of Brno. ernest Valko was appointed President delegated by and from the Supreme Court and two Justices by and from the of the Constitutional Court of the ČSFR, and Vlastimil Ševčík became its Vice- Supreme Administrative Court. The Justices had a ten-year tenure. The first group President. The Court was made up of two Panels. Justices Marián Posluch, Jiří ABouT of Justices of the Constitutional Court of the Czechoslovak Republic was appointed Malenovský, Ivan Trimaj, Antonín Procházka and Ján Vošček (a substitute mem- on 7 November 1921. Among them were karel Baxa (who became the Court’s first ber) were members of Panel I. Panel II consisted of Justices Pavel Mates, Peter THe CoNSTITuTIoNAL President), Antonín Bílý (Vice-President), konstantin Petrovič Mačík, Josef kresák, Viera Strážnická, Vojen güttler and Zdeněk kessler (a substitute member). Bohuslav, Václav Vlasák, František Vážný and Bedřich Bobek. After the term of Despite its short existence, the Federal Constitutional Court adjudicated more Court office of the Court‘s first members had expired, new Justices were appointed only than one thousand matters, and the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic in 1938 with Jaroslav krejčí as the President of the Court. During the Second World has, in its decision-making, followed the Federal Court‘s legal views in a number War, the Court did not meet, and after the war its work was not resumed. The of cases. work and functioning of the First Republic’s Constitutional Court was for a long time afterwards a subject of little interest, and it was not considered a topic of great significance. The First Period of the Constitutional Court of the Czech republic (1993–2003) The Constitutional Judiciary in the Period After the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Federation, the existence of a constitu- of the Communist regime (1948–1989) tional court was also provided for in the Constitution of the independent Czech Republic of 16 December 1992. The newly established Constitutional Court of the The Constitutions of 1948 and 1960, which reflected the legal situation of the Czech Republic began its work on 15 July 1993. on that day, Václav Havel, the then totalitarian state of that time, no longer called for a constitutional court. An odd President of the Republic, appointed twelve of the fifteen Justices of this Court to situation came about after the state was federalised in 1968, as the Act on the a ten-year term, consent to their appointment being given at that time by the Czechoslovak Federation not only envisaged the creation of a Constitutional House of Deputies of the Parliament due to the fact that the Senate did not yet Court for the Federation, but also particular Constitutional Court for each of the exist. This occurred a mere month after the House of Deputies had approved Act two Republics. None of these courts was ever established, however, even though No. 182/1993 Sb. on the Constitutional Court, which, with reference to Art. 88 of the unimplemented constitutional provision stayed in effect for more than two the Constitution, governed in particular the organisation of the Court and pro- decades. ceedings before it, and designated the City of Brno as the Court’s seat. 2 9 Yearbook 2019 ABouT THe CoNSTITuTIoNAL Court Thus, with the appointment of the first twelve Justices of the Constitutional that of Miloš Holeček, who had been presiding over the Court after the resignation Pavel Rychetský’s on 6 August 2013, Dagmar Lastovecká’s on 29 August 2013, Jan Justices and Structure of the Court Court, a new era for the constitutional judiciary commenced. These were impor- of Zdeněk kessler. Musil’s on 27 November 2013 and Jiří Nykodým’s on 17 December 2013. tant times, since the new state was still being formed. Therefore, we find it suit- able to recall the initial composition of the Constitutional Court of the Czech aPPoinTmenT oF JuSTiCeS Republic. The Second Period of the Constitutional Court The Current Composition of the Constitutional Court of the Czech republic (2003–2013) According to the Constitution, the Justices of the Constitutional Court are Zdeněk kessler became the first President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech By appointment of the President of the Republic made on 3 May 2013, Milada appointed by the President of the Republic with the consent of the Senate of the Republic and carried out his duties until February 2003, when, for health reasons, on 6 August 2003, the President of the Republic appointed Pavel Rychetský to the Tomková, Jaroslav Fenyk and Jan Filip became the first three Justices of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (hereinafter “Senate”). The President of the he resigned from the position. Miloš Holeček served as the first Vice-President, position of Justice and President of the Constitutional Court. on the same day, so-called “Third Decade” of the Constitutional Court.