The Constitution of Czechia : a contextual analysis / David Kosar and Ladislav Vyhnǹek.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kosar, David, author.

Vyhnǹek, Ladislav, author.

Series:

Constitutional Systems of the World

Constitutional Systems of the World.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Constitutional law--Czech Republic.

Constitutional law.

Constitutional history--Czech Republic.

Constitutional history.

Czech Republic--Politics and government.

Czech Republic.

Physical Description:

223 pages

Edition:

First edition.

Distribution:

[London, England] : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021

Place of Publication:

London [England] : Hart Publishing, 2021

Summary:

"tbc"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Acknowledgements

Contents

Abbreviations

Table of Cases

Table of Legislation

Introduction

Further Reading

1. The Rise of Czech Constitutionalism: History and Context

I. The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Bohemia

II. Influence of Foreign Legal Cultures

III. Czech Constitutional Scholarship and its Changing Role Over Time

IV. Inter-war Czechoslovakia

V. The Communist Legacy

VI. Democratic Transition and Dealing with the Past

VII. The Dissolution of Czechoslovakia

VIII. Return to Europe

IX. Where are the People?

X. Conclusion

2. The Challenge of a Pluralist Constitution

I. Drafting the 1993 Constitution

II. The Pluralist Constitution

III. The Eternity Clause

IV. International and Supranational Sources

V. Super-statutes

VI. Constitutional Conventions

VII. Judicial Decisions as a Source of Constitutional Law

VIII. Conclusion

3. Constitutional Principles

I. The Democratic Principle

II. The Rechtsstaat Principle

III. Principle of the Separation of Powers

IV. Principle of Sovereignty

V. Principle of the Unitary State

VI. Protection of Fundamental Rights

VII. The Implicit Welfare State Principle

4. The Czech Parliament

I. Basic Structure: The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate

II. Competences of the Parliament and its Chambers

III. The Procedural Limits of Parliamentary Power

IV. Parliamentary Elections and the Czech Political Party System in Turmoil

V. Scandals, Corruption and Immunities

VI. Conclusion

5. The Growing Tension within the Double-Headed Executive

I. The Challenge of a Double-Headed Executive

II. Over-achieving President and Under-achieving Governments.

III. The State of Emergency and the Hidden Powers of the Executive

IV. The Quest to Depoliticise the State Administration

V. Conclusion

6. Local Governance

I. The Centre and the Periphery

II. The Structure of Territorial Self-Governance

III. Election of Municipal and Regional Bodies

IV. Direct Democracy at the Local Level

V. The Rise of the Municipal Power

VI. It is All About Taxes and Eu Subsidies

VII. Local Self-Governance in the Eu

VIII. Conclusion: Towards Moderate Decentralisation

7. The Judicial Branch

I. Setting the Scene: Key Players within Czech Judicial Politics

II. Who are the Czech Judges?

III. The Constitutional Court

IV. Basic Features of the Ordinary Judiciary

V. Civil and Criminal Courts

VI. Administrative Courts

VII. Prohibition of Special Courts and Tribunals

VIII. The War(S) of the Courts

IX. Czech Courts and European SUPRANATIONAL COURTS: A Complicated Relationship

X. Constitutional Politics of the Judicial Branch

XI. Conclusion: From the Judicialisation of Politics to the Politicisation of the Judiciary

8. Human Rights Constitutionalism

I. The Charter and the Rest: The Pluralist Nature Of Human Rights Protection In Czechia

II. How to Challenge the State: Constitutional Review, General Courts, Administrative Review And The Ombudsman

III. Human Dignity as a Fundamental Right?

IV. Proportionality as a Key Unifying Principle?

V. Positive Obligations and the Challenge of Socio-Economic Rights

VI. Public/Private Distinction and the Importance of Drittwirkung

VII. The Influence of the European Convention on Human Rights

VIII. Selective Judicial Activism - Expounding or Expanding Human Rights?

IX. Conclusion

Further Reading.

Conclusion: Dynamics of Constitutional Change and the Search for Constitutional Identity

I. Formal Amendments in a Rigid System

II. Constitutional Interpretation and Informal Amendments as a Mechanism of Constitutional Change

III. The Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments Doctrine

IV. Conflicting Legacies and the Search for Constitutional Identity

V. Concluding Remarks: A Danger of Democratic Backsliding?

Index.

ISBN:

9781509920563

1509920560

9781509920549

1509920544

OCLC:

1266907517