Suchergebnisse

The insertion of "resiliency of democratic institutions" into the five key priorities of the 2022 Czech presidency indicates a political commitment to focus on the rule of law agenda. The following text aspires to map the practice of the Czech presidency in the domain of democratic institutions and rule of law and explain the reasons behind its (in)ability to deliver the expected outcomes. Firstly, the article analyses the specifics of the EU regulatory framework for the rule of law, and the impact of the Czech internal political situation after the 2021 parliamentary elections on the presidency's performance. Secondly, the text covers four key policy issues that required the presidency's attention in the second half of 2022: the evaluation of the judicial systems of member states, the formation of new EU rules for media freedom and the fight against disinformation, the amendment of the EP election process, and the judicial response to the crimes committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Abstract
Before the Czech Republic joined the European Union in 2004, its constitution has been amended with objective to guarantee constitutional conformity of the EU accession. The Czech legal system has been opened to external legal provisions and a constitutional mechanism has been established for transfer of competencies to an external entity, all framed by the explicitly formulated constitutional principle of loyalty to the international obligations of the Czech Republic. However, the 'European amendment' of the Czech Constitution has left several important issues unanswered, such as the principle of supremacy of the EU law or relations between the Czech Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the EU.
This article analyses how the Czech Constitutional Court tackled with EU-related constitutional issues that emerged during the first decade of Czech membership in the EU. Focused on four key cases decided by the Czech Constitutional Court (sugar quotas, European Ar­rest Warrant, Lisbon Treaty, Slovak Pensions), the article will demonstrate how the Czech Constitutional Court combined a conservative and pragmatic approach in its EU law related case-law by formulating a constitutional doctrine of a 'EU-friendly' interpretation of Czech constitutional rules, while, at the same time, leaving the EU law formally outside the frontiers of Czech constitutional law and refusing EU law to be used as the ultimate argument in intra-judiciary disputes in the Czech Republic.

Policy Analysis in the Czech Republic is a vital addition to the International Library of Policy Analysis series. It is not only the first comprehensive overview of the historical development and current state of policy analysis in the Czech Republic, but also in the post-communist Central and Eastern European region. As such, it provides a unique picture of policy analysis that in many respects profoundly differs from 'Western' policy analysis textbooks. Written by leading experts in the field – including practitioners – it outlines the historical development of policy analysis, identifies its role in academic education and research, and examines its varying styles and methods. This unique book offers indispensable reading for researchers, policy makers and students