Principles of Jurisdiction in the Czech Republic the system.

Principles of Jurisdiction in the Czech Republicthe system

Principles of Jurisdiction in the Czech Republic

Legal regulation of the jurisdiction of the Czech Republic

is generally laid out in the Constitution of the Czech Republic (Act No.1/1993 Coll.)

and detailed in the regulation is contained especially in Act 6/2002 Coll., On

Courts and Judges, as amended (hereinafter referred to as “the Act on Courts and Judges”).

and in addition in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms


The Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms

The Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms is a part of the constitutional order of the Czech Republic

stems from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

guarantees fundamental human rights and freedoms, rights of national minorities and economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to judicial protection (inhered in Chapter VI of the document)


The aforementioned documents guarantee in specific:

everyone’s right to demand their rights before an independent and impartial court

the equality of participants to an action the principle of public case consideration (public-open court) the right of the participant to express their views on all of the admitted evidence the right to refuse to give a testimony the right to assistance of a counsel from the very beginning of the proceedings the inherent rights of the proceedings participants as the right to service of an

interpreter the right to compensation for damage caused by an unlawful decision or an

incorrect official procedure and set forth the principle of review-ability of public administration bodies per

curiam.


Regarding criminal proceedings:

the fundamental principle that a person against whom a criminal proceeding has been brought shall be considered innocent until found guilty by court’s final judgment of conviction

other important principle governing the criminal proceedings is the “ne bis idem” principle

The inherent rights of the accused are: the right (to be able) to defend themselves to be given the time and opportunity to prepare a defence the right to choose the counsel the right to have the counsel appointed by the court the right to be provided counsel assistance free of charge (in special cases

set down by the laws), etc.


Criminal proceedings are governed by few more essential principles:

the principle that no one may be removed from the jurisdiction of his lawful judge

the principle of legal definition of a crime and penalties imposing in accordance with the law

not least the principle that only a court may determine a person’s guilt and

designate the punishment for criminal acts

Other fundamentals of criminal proceedings are that the culpability of a crime shall be considered in accordance with the law in effect at the time the act was committed, and a subsequent law shall be applied if it is more favourable to the offender.


After 1989, a lot of legal changes were made in the area of human and civil rights protection, besides the incorporation of the Charter of

Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms into Czech legal system.

Sweeping reforms have been made in all of the key legal codexes, i.e. Civil Code, Penal Code, Civil and Penal Procedures Codes, Labour

Code, Commercial Code aimed to strengthen legal confidence.

The courts thus became the last decisive instance on which anyone can demand, same as in any other democratic country, the protection of civil rights in a family sphere, property sphere, labour sphere as well as commercial and business sphere, and also a judicial review of the

decision made by administrative bodies.


The Constitution of the Czech Republic anchors a principle of the independence of judges.

It is a fundamental premise of impartial and equitable judicial resolution of disputes and one of the pillars of a legally consistent state and

one of the essential features of the judicial system of the European Union.

Exercise of the principle of independence of judges

(i.e. Art. 81, Art. 82 para.1, first sentence of the Constitution of the Czech Republic)

is guaranteed by statutory safeguards, specifically by, so called, irremovability and irreplaceability of judges among others.


Judges

are being appointed by the President of the Republic for an indefinite period may be revoked or released from the function

only for the reasons determined by laws And on the basis of decision of an independent disciplinary court; judges may be moved to another court with their consent only.

Judges are, while deciding cases, bound only by the law.

Judges need to be independent and impartial. One of the guarantees of independence and impartiality is a strict separation of the exercise of jurisdiction and the administration of the courts.

Judges are protected against any interference with their decision (Interference of any kind with the independence of a court is a crime according to criminal law).


Further progress achieved in the system of law of the Czech Republic concerned chiefly material law.

The process of changes was connected with approaching the European Community system and the subsequent entry into the

European Union.

Especially, it was the Commercial Code which went through an extensive amending process. Particular amendments also

pertained to all sort of regulations, including Labour Code and regulation of Social Security.

Specifically concerned areas were those demanding unification with respect to the entry onto common European market.

The High Court in Prague - Place in the

System The High Court in Prague is the second judicial instance in weightier

matters which fall under the jurisdiction of courts in civil and criminal proceedings, the High Court decides on appeals against decisions of regional courts and also a specific disciplinary agenda is part of the decisive agenda of the

High Court.

The essential legal regulation which governs the position of the High Court is the Constitution of the Czech Republic (Act No.1/1993 Coll.) (the same as the

other courts of the Czech Republic) the Act on Courts and Judges (Act No. 6/2002 Coll., as amended) the Organizational Rule/Regulations (Organizační řád) the Labour Schedule of the High Court in Prague (which covers more details).


System The High Court chiefly concentrates on appeals (regular appeals)

against the decisions of regional courts as the courts of the first instance

The High Court decides on appeals:

in majority of commercial cases in cases dealing with rights of privacy concerning protection of rights of third parties in law-suits concerning claims arising from Copyright Act in law-suits involving another country or a person enjoying

diplomatic immunities and privileges


SystemIn criminal matters, the High Court deals with:

cases where the statutory-stated minimum sentence is higher than 5 years of imprisonment

cases where an extraordinary punishment may be imposed for the crime which is being heard (the extraordinary punishment is life imprisonment, or imprisonment for 15 up to 25 years, there is no capital punishment in Czech legal system)

And specific matters even though the minimum sentence is lower than 5 years of imprisonment if expressly stated by the law


System The specific matters expressly stated by the law are following:

e.g. crimes against the principles of the Republic, another state or an international organisation (terror, genocide)

crimes committed by means of bills of exchange, cheques or other kind of securities if characterized by a significant damage or considerable advantage (profit)

and crimes caused by breaking the rules on disposal of controlled commodities and technologies, breaking the rules of external (foreign) trading with military materials (supplies), breaking binding rules of commerce, and misuse of information in commercial relations


System The High Court discusses and decides on cases in senates (judicial juries)

A senate composes of a chair of the senate and associate judges

The High Court in Prague currently has 15 civil-law senates, 12 criminal-law senates and 3 disciplinary senates.

The High Court in Prague cooperates, on the basis of bilateral agreements, with the High Provincial Courts in Linz, Nuremberg (Nürnberg) and Cologne (Köln), and with the French Court d‘ Apell de Paris.

Organisation of Justice in the Czech RepublicThe justice system of the Czech Republic has been organised so that the system of general courts consists of four degrees of courts:

district courts district courts having jurisdiction over Prague districts are

called city district courts the district court for the town of Brno is called Municipal Court

in Brno regional courts

the regional court having jurisdiction over the capital city of Prague is called Municipal Court in Prague

high courts The High Court in Prague The High Court in Olomouc

the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic residing at Brno

Organisation of Justice in the Czech Republic

The first instance of the exercise of jurisdiction is formed by district courts (as well as city district courts in Prague and the Municipal Court in Brno)

as the first instance competent authorities, district courts exercise jurisdiction in the majority of civil and criminal cases.


Regional Courts (and the Municipal Court in Prague)

decide particularly on ordinary remedies (appeals) against decisions of district courts (city district courts and the Municipal Court in Brno) concerning the whole judicial agenda of district courts.

herewith decide as the courts of the first instance in case of specific civil proceedings i.e. on protection of privacy matters, protection against information representing an

abuse of the freedom of speech and liberty of press, furthermore, in matters related to copyright, and on a majority of law-suits resulting from commercial relations, including bankruptcy and owelty-liquidation.

Regional Courts are also competent to decide in criminal matters as the courts of the first instance, these are certain very serious crimes.


High Courts exercise jurisdiction especially as the second instance courts (appeal courts) on appeals against first instance decisions of regional courts

in civil, commercial and criminal matters the high courts reside in Prague and Olomouc

The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic resides in Brno

exercises jurisdiction over the agenda of extraordinary remedies (extraordinary appeals) regarding all types of proceedings but excluding proceedings in administrative matters

the decision competence of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic is limited to matters for which extraordinary remedies are determined, i.e. in civil proceedings as well as in commercial and criminal proceedings


The system of justice also includes administrative jurisdiction, i.e. the system of courts dealing with administrative agenda :

regular regional courts in the first instance (and the Municipal Court in Prague regarding administrative

matters of Prague) the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic,

as the second (appeal) instance also residing in Brno

The administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic afford protection to public rights of a subjective kind pertaining to both natural and legal persons.


The administrative agenda of regional courts covers

specifically the control of legality of decision-making by administrative authorities and the protection against authorities’ inactivity as well as unlawful intervention by administrative authorities

the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic

pursues legitimacy and uniformity of decision-making by regional courts and administrative authorities.

decides on appeals against final judgements by regional courts in administrative matters.

also decides in electoral matters as well as in matters of dissolution of political parties and suspension and restoring of their activities.

Furthermore, has jurisdiction to decide on the disputes of competence among administrative authorities lies with the Supreme Administrative Court.


The system of justice of the Czech Republic is sheltered by the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic

the Constitutional Court

is a judicial body guarding the constitutionality in the republic lies beyond the ordinary courts system resides at Brno consists of 15 judges deals with the constitutionality of laws (not meaning deciding preliminary

but the subsequent) the other significant part of the agenda of the Constitutional Court is

formed by constitutional appeals by natural and legal persons in matters of protection of state guaranteed fundamental rights and freedoms and their interference

Organization of Justice in the Czech Republic

General Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic

Appeal Procedure up to up to

IInd instance High CourtsRegional Courts

(the Municipal Court in Prague) up to

Appeal Procedure up to

Ist instance Regional Courts (the Municipal Court in

Prague)District Courts

(city district courts in Prague)

Organization of Justice in the Czech Republic

Jurisdiction in Administrative Matters

The Supreme Administrative CourtAppeal Procedure

Ist Instance up to

Regional Courts

(the Municipal Court in Prague)

Principles of Jurisdiction in the Czech Republic the system.

Documents

Transcript of Principles of Jurisdiction in the Czech Republic the system.