Constitutional Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights
What is tested
Two constitutional acts frame the whole exam: Constitutional Act No. 1/1993 Sb. (Ústava) and Constitutional Act No. 2/1993 Sb. (Listina základních práv a svobod). Questions cluster around Art. 112 Ústavy (what belongs to the ústavní pořádek), Art. 10 (treaty precedence), Art. 87 (powers of the Ústavní soud) and Art. 4 Listiny (limits on restricting rights).
Core rules
- Art. 10 Ústavy: a ratified and promulgated treaty on human rights is directly binding; courts apply it and, where it conflicts with a statute, apply the treaty instead. Treaties rank above statutes but below constitutional acts.
- Art. 2 Ústavy: state power only where and to the extent the law provides; everyone may do what the law does not prohibit.
- Art. 4 Listiny: rights may be limited only by law, only for a legitimate aim, proportionately, and never in their essence and meaning. Any restriction must preserve the core of the right.
- Procedural guarantees: Art. 36 (fair hearing, public, without undue delay), Art. 37, Art. 38 (no one may be deprived of their lawful judge), Art. 40 (presumption of innocence).
- Art. 11 (property) and Art. 26 (business) are the usual arguments in enforcement disputes; they are tested through proportionality, not as absolute shields.
- Ústavní soud: 15 judges appointed by the President with Senate consent for 10 years. An ústavní stížnost under Act No. 182/1993 Sb. must be filed within 60 days of the final decision and only after other remedies are exhausted.
Worked example
A debtor's flat is attached. She argues that the execution destroys the essence of her property right. Route: objections and a návrh na zastavení exekuce (Art. 55 of the exekuční řád), then appeal, then an ústavní stížnost within 60 days of service of the final decision. The Constitutional Court asks whether there is a legal basis, a legitimate aim, necessity and proportionality under Art. 4(4). Ordinary courts must apply the Charter directly (Art. 95 Ústavy) and may refer a statute to the Constitutional Court under Art. 95(2). A constitutional complaint is not a third instance and cannot re-evaluate evidence freely.
Traps
Equating právní moc with vykonatelnost; citing Art. 6 Listiny (there is no such provision - fair trial is Art. 36); invoking the EU Charter where EU law is not being implemented (Art. 51 of the EU Charter); filing an ústavní stížnost before exhausting ordinary remedies; missing the 60-day period.