Constitution of the Czech Republic

Constitution of the Czech Republic
Overview
JurisdictionCzech Republic
Created19 October 1992
Ratified28 December 1992
Date effective1 January 1993
SystemParliamentary
Government structure
Branches3
Head of statePresident
ChambersBicameral Parliament
ExecutivePrime Minister led Government
JudiciaryConstitutional Court
Supreme Court
Supreme Administrative Court
FederalismUnitary state
Electoral collegeNo
History
Amendments8
Last amended1 June 2013
Author(s)Czech National Council
SignatoriesMilan Uhde and Václav Klaus
172 of the 198 delegates
Supersedes1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia
Full text
Constitution of the Czech Republic at Wikisource
The first page of the Constitution of the Czech Republic as published in the Collection of Laws as Act No. 1/1993 Coll.

The Constitution of the Czech Republic (Czech: Ústava České republiky) is the supreme law of the Czech Republic. The current constitution was adopted by the Czech National Council on 16 December 1992. It entered into force on 1 January 1993, replacing the 1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia and the constitutional act No. 143/1968 Col., when Czechoslovakia gave way to the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic in a peaceful dissolution.

The constitution is a constitutional act, and together with other constitutional acts constitutes the so-called constitutional order of the Czech Republic, or the constitution (with a small c). While the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms (Listina základních práv a svobod, No. 2/1993 Coll.), an equally important constitutional act, asserts human and civil rights, the Constitution is concerned with state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and defines the institutions governing the state.

The Constitution is divided into a preamble and 8 chapters. The fundamental provisions are followed by long chapters on the legislative power, the executive power (the cabinet and the president), and the judicial power (the Constitutional Court and other courts), and shorter chapters on the Supreme Audit Office, the Czech National Bank, and territorial self-government, concluding with interim provisions.

As of April 2013, the constitution has been amended eight times. The most important amendments are Act No. 395/2001 Coll. providing the legal framework for the accession to the EU in 2004, and Act No. 71/2011 Coll., which came into force on 1 October 2012, and provided for the election of the president by popular vote.