Reference period: 1 January 1995 - 30 April 1995

Statistical data
• Decisions by the plenary: 7
• Decisions by chambers: 15
• Number of other decisions by the plenary: 1
• Number of other decisions by chambers: 125
• Number of other procedural orders: 60
• Total number of decisions: 186

Important decisions

Identification: CZE-95-1 -001
a) Czech Republic / b) Constitutional Court / с) / d) 16.02.1995 / e) III.US 61/94 / f) Position of the Consti-tutional Court in the system of courts / g) / h).

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:
Constitutional justice - Constitutional jurisdiction -Relations with other institutions - Courts.
Constitutional justice - The subject of review - Court decisions.
Fundamental rights - Civil and political rights -Procedural safeguards - Fair trial - Rules of evidence.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Evidence, submission / Review of decisions of ordinary courts.

Headnotes:
The Constitutional Court is not at the top of the pyramid of ordinary courts but remains outside the system of ordinary courts. It is, however, empowered to review decisions of ordinary courts which infringe upon the principle of a fair trial.

Summary:
The position of the Constitutional Court is that of an organ outside the system of ordinary courts of the Czech Republic. As provided for by the Constitution, it does not represent the top level of court jurisdiction. Therefore, any intervention of the Constitutional Court in the exercise of ordinary jurisdiction can be justified only if the ordinary court steps outside the scope and limits set by the principle of a fair trial (Article 36 et al. of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms). This can be interpreted in such a way that the Con-stitutional Court is first of all empowered to watch over the procedural correctness of court proceedings in the course of a litigation.
This interpretation was handed down by the Constitu-tional Court in a claim raised against court proceedings by which the ordinary court abruptly violated general procedural rules on the acceptance and/or dismissal of evidence. Ordinary courts are obliged not only to decide on the submission evidence but also to specify reasons for the dismissal of evidence proposed by a party. By not doing so, the decision of the ordinary court is tainted with defects that make it reviewable and unconstitutional at the same time.

Languages:Czech.

Identification: CZE-95-1-002
a) Czech Republic / b) Constitutional Court / c) / d) 20.02.1995 / e) III.US 97/94 / f) Decision of court taken without ordering a public hearing / g) / h).

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:
Fundamental rights - Civil and political rights -Procedural safeguards - Fair trial - Public hearings.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Court hearing, omission.

 Headnotes:
The provision of the Code of Civil Procedure that allows for decisions without court hearings has to be interpreted very restrictively and may be applied only in simple cases without infringing upon the right to a fair trial.

 Summary:
A claim was raised against a court decision which dismissed a private action for the setting aside of an administrative decision taken by Police Headquarters. This administrative decision cancelled an administra-tive act by which an identity card had been delivered. The action had been rejected by the court without ordering a court hearing. In doing so, the court had relied upon the provisions of Section 250f of the Code of Civil Procedure which allows - under specified circumstances - for decisions upon an action without ordering a court hearing.
The Constitutional Court annulled the part of the court decision in which a court hearing had been refused. The conditions for passing a decision without ordering a court hearing have to be interpreted strictly and in a restrictive way. These conditions are fulfilled only in simple cases, especially when it is obvious that the court based its decision on a correct statement of facts and was called upon to resolve only a legal question. Otherwise a decision passed without a previous court hearing violates the constitutional right of a party to a fair trial.

Languages: Czech.
 
Identification: CZE-95-1-003
a) Czech Republic / b) Constitutional Court / с) / d) 22.03.1995 / e) IV.US 189/94 / f) Interpretation of the notion "gratuitous transfer of a piece of land" with respect to the property restitution / g) / h).

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:
Fundamental rights - Civil and political rights -.Procedural safeguards - Fair trial.
Fundamental rights - Civil and political rights - Right ; to property.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Land, gratuitous transfer / Property restitution.

Headnotes:
Ordinary courts must not base their decisions on the title of a contract, but have to evaluate its contents. Otherwise, the right to a fair trial is infringed.

Summary:
For the interpretation of the term "transfer without consideration" with respect to a piece of land, the denomination of the contract shall not be decisive. A contract denominated as "contract of purchase" can therefore in fact contain a gratuitous transfer of cul-tivated pieces of land if this is manifestly the intention of the parties to the contract.
The Constitutional Court annulled a decision of a Regional Court dismissing an action for setting aside a decision invalidating a contract for the purchase of cultivated land concluded in 1975. The Court relied on the Act on modification of property rights in land and other agricultural property. The Constitutional Court found that the proceeding before the ordinary courts violated the principle of a fair trial before an impartial tribunal. It was stated explicitly in the contract under consideration that the vendor demanded no money for the cultivated pieces of land and that the purchase price had been modified by the contracting parties accordingly in such a way that it had been reduced exactly by the amount of the price of the land. Even if the contract of 1975 had been denominated as a "contract of purchase", it contained a gratuitous transfer of the cultivated pieces of land. It was to this gratuitous character of the transfer that the will of the parties of the contract has been directed. The cul-tivated pieces of land mentioned above had been included in the contract of purchase only for the reason that it had to be included in accordance with the policy pursued by the State organs at that time. The statement of facts thus falls without any doubt within the scope of the Act on modification of land property rights and other agricultural property, no. 22/1991 of the Collection. This Act was passed in order to mitigate the consequences of certain injuries to property rights during the period of 1948-1988 stemming from the fact that, due to the collectivization of agricultural property and land, the land integrated for purposes of collective farming has lost any real value to its owners.

Languages: Czech

 Identification: CZE-95-1 -004
a) Czech Republic / b) Constitutional Court / с) / d) 28.03.1995 / e) PLUS 20/94 / f) Limitation of parental custody for children of minor age by administrative acts / g) / h).

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:
Institutions - Executive bodies - Powers.
Institutions - Courts - Jurisdiction.
Fundamental rights - Civil and political rights - Right to family life.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Parental rights, limitation.

Headnotes:
The separation of minor children from their parents against the parents' will can be imposed only by decision of ordinary courts but not by means of ad-ministrative decisions.

Summary:
Organs of the State administration decided against the will of the father on the placement of his minor son into a nursing home. This decision was based on Section 46 of the Family Code which, in urgent cases, provides for an obligation of the district administration organs to adopt a preliminary decision on measures that can normally be decided upon only by a court (the court shall subsequently decide on the validity of such a decision). Based on a claim raised by the father of the child, the Constitutional Court considered the con-stitutionality of this provision and declared it to be contrary to Article 32.4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. According to this Article, which reflects the obligations of the State established by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, parental rights can be limited and minor children can be separated from their parents against their will only by a decision taken by an ordinary court based on statutory provisions.

Languages: Czech.