The Judiciary of the Czech Republic is set out in the Constitution, which defines courts as independent institutions within the constitutional framework of checks and balances.Czech Republic. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "The System of Independent Courts." Hello Czech Republic (Czech Republic - The Official Website) . Ministerstvo zahraničních věcí ČR, 01 Jan. 2010. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.
The whole of chapter four of the Constitution of the Czech Republic is dedicated to defining the role of judicial 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, and gives them sole responsibility for determining guilt and administering penalties for criminal offences.Constitution, Art. 90 Courts are defined as independent,Constitution, Art. 81 although their administration is in the hands of the Ministry of Justice.
Czech courts are presided over by professional judges, who are named for life by the President and normally may not be recalled or transferred against their will.Constitution, Art. 82
The Czech Republic has a four-tier system of courts and two-instance proceedings.European Union. European Commission. "The System of Courts in the Czech Republic". European Judicial Atlas in Civil Matters. European Commission, 28 Feb. 2007. Web. 7 Dec. 2012.
Most of the higher courts are seated in Brno; this is to counterbalance the concentration of power in the capital ().
Courts
While the broad strokes are set out in the Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms,Charter..., Chapter Five: The Right to Judicial and Other Legal Protection the organization of the judiciary is detailed in the Act No. 6/2002 Coll. on Courts and Judges.zákon č. 6/2002 Sb. o soudech, soudcích, přísedících a státní správě soudů a o změně některých dalších zákonů (zákon o soudech a soudcích)
The four tiers of Czech courts are:The four levels are specifically named in the Constitution, Art. 91
2 supreme courts () – one for ordinary and one for administrative matters 2 superior courts () – one in Prague and one in Olomouc 8 regional courts () and 6 branches (pobočka) 86 district courts ()
There are three different jurisdictions:
courts of general jurisdiction administrative courts the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic
The latter two are specialised jurisdictions – if a matter is not assigned to them specifically (by legislation), it will be dealt with the courts of general jurisdiction.
The Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic () stands outside the general courts structure. Its status and powers are enshrined directly in the Constitution of the Czech Republic.Constitution, Art. 89–89 It is the judicial body responsible for constitutionality and the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms that arise from constitutional orderor constitutional laws, different renderings of Czech of the Czech Republic and to guarantee the constitutional character of the exercise of state power.
This it achieves mainly through its power to annul statutes (or parts of them) if they are in conflict with the constitutional order (most important of them, the Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms). 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. Any other legislation is subordinate. 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.Czech Republic. Constitutional Court. "Competences." Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. Ústavní soud ČR, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.
The seat of the court is in Brno.Czech Republic. Constitutional Court. "Home Page." Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. Ústavní soud ČR, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.
Ordinary courts
Both criminal and civil cases 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 criminal proceedings, the district courts would generally hear cases in the first instance. However, when the penalty for the crime in question exceeds 5 years, the case will be tried by a regional court in the first instance.
Boundaries of the district court jurisdictions are, confusingly, non-conterminous with those of the administrative districts.District courts were originally conterminous with the districts of the Czech Republic (). But the municipalities for each district court were explicitly named in the Law on Courts and Judges of 2002, and in 2007 the borders of the districts of the Czech Republic were slightly adjusted and many municipalities are now within different districts of the Czech Republic, making district court boundaries non-conterminous with these new districts of the Czech Republic.
Of the two high courts, one is seated in Prague with jurisdiction over Bohemia, and the other in Olomouc with jurisdiction over Moravia and Silesia. These handle appeals of cases heard in the first instance by a regional court.
The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic (), seated in Brno, is the highest judicial authority both in civil (including commercial) and criminal matters, except for issues that fall within the competence of the Constitutional Court or the Supreme Administrative Court.Constitution, Article 92 As a court of third instance it works on the principles of cassation (review) and appeal.Czech Republic. Supreme Court. "General Information." The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic. Nejvyšší soud ČR, 2010. Web. 07 Dec. 2012.
Administrative courts Czech administrative judiciary (správní soudnictví) 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, which, as the name suggests, is dedicated exclusively to administrative justice.Czech Republic. Supreme Administrative Court. "Introduction." Supreme Administrative Court. Nejvyšší správní soud ČR, 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 07 Dec. 2012
Matters falling within the competence of administrative courts include cases relating to elections, registration of political parties and movements and actions for competence issues between government agencies.
Officials 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 () and bailiffs ().
Judge The judge () is indeed the central figure of the Czech judiciary, as only his position is defined by the Constitution itself. There is no such thing as jury in Czech courts and the judge himself (or a panel of judges) decides both the verdict and the sentence.
The Czech Republic has a system of career judiciary. The Constitution stipulates that judges are appointed for life by the President of the Republic, and cannot normally be recalled.Constitution, Art. 63 Submitted by the Minister of Justice, the appointments are subject to co-signing by the Prime Minister. The Constitution requires a judge to be a graduate of a law school, a person with full integrity (no criminal record) and states the position is incompatible with political functions.Constitution, Article 93 Further regulations specifies he must be at least 30 and go through a three years of specialised training within the courts.
Since the judiciary is to be kept from influences of the executive and the legislator, all disciplinary matters of judges (as well as state prosecutors) are to be dealt with by the judiciary itself, in particular by the disciplinary chambers of the Supreme Administrative Court.Czech Republic. Supreme Administrative Court. "Disciplinary Chambers." Supreme Administrative Court. Nejvyšší správní soud ČR, 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 07 Dec. 2012
It does not help the reputation of judges, that around 1,000 of them have been members of the pre-1989 Communist Party, according to a list published by the Ministry of Justice. In the socialist legal system, law and judges were tools of the state, dedicated to punishment of its enemies.
Public prosecutor
The only body capable of bringing a criminal court action is the state prosecutor. The State Prosecutors' Bureau () is part of the Ministry of Justice.
Advocate
All legally educated persons providing legal representation in court (and giving advice and other services) are called . To be allowed to legally practise law in the Czech Republic, an advocate must first obtain a master's degree from a faculty of law, a prospective advocate must complete 3 years of professional training crowned by passing the bar examination. He must then become a member of the Czech Bar Association (). Members of equivalent bodies in other EU member states are also allowed."Welcome at the Czech Bar Association". Czech Bar Association, n.d. Web. 28 Dec. 2012.
Lay judge
Lay judges sit with a professional judge in the first instance of a non-specialized trial. They are appointed by local councils; by municipal councils () in district courts, and by regional councils () in regional courts.
Law
The Czech Republic has a legal system of the continental type, rooted in Germanic legal culture. The main source of law is written legislature. Its main areas are systematically codified, mainly in Civil Code and Criminal Code. The form of court proceeding is prescribed in the Codes of Criminal, Civil and Administrative Procedure. The legal force of different Czech legal sources is hierarchical.
Procedure
Court proceedings are oral and public, with exceptions stated by law (juvenile justice etc.). The procedure is based on inquisitorial system with features of the adversarial system. There is no jury.
For criminal procedure, the chief regulation is Act No. 141/1961 Coll., the Code of Criminal Procedure. In the chapter on preparatory procedure it sets out the role of the bodies involved in criminal proceedings (, namely the police, the public prosecutor and the court) while preparing the prosecution, such as interviewing the witnesses and gathering evidence. The chapter on court proceedings sets out procedures for criminal charge, trial, and appeal process. Although in force since 1961, the code has been amended many times since 1989, adding radically new features, such as plea bargaining (in 2012). In Act No. 218/2003 Coll., on Juvenile Criminal Procedure, separate procedure has been introduced for minors.
The civil procedure is governed by a number of statutes, most importantly Act. No. 99/1963 Coll., the Code of Civil Procedure.
Administrative justice, deals with claims of natural and legal persons, who seek protection from illegal decisions or action of public authorities. While in many respects similar to civil procedure, the administrative court procedure is different in that the defendant here is not an entity of private law, but a public body. Not being a legal person, such a public body could not be sued otherwise. Administrative matters are usually adjudicated by regional courts, and follow the procedure set out in Act. No. 150/2002, the Code of Administrative Procedure.Official translation available, translated as the Code of Administrative Justice zákon č. 150/2002 Sb., soudní řád správní
Pardon and amnesty