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395/2001 Coll.

CONSTITUTIONAL ACT

of 18 October 2001,

that amends the Constitutional Act of the Czech National Council no. 1/1993 Coll., the Constitution of the Czech Republic, as amended

The Parliament has enacted the following Constitutional Act of the Czech Republic:

Art. I

The Constitutional Act no. 1/1993 Coll., the Constitution of the Czech Republic, as amended by the Constitutional Act no. 347/1997 Coll., the Constitutional Act no. 300/2000 Coll., is amended as follows:

1. The current wording of the art. 1 is labelled as section 1 and section 2, that reads as follows, is added:

“(2) The Czech Republic observes its obligations arising from the international law.”

2. Art. 10 reads as follows:

“Art. 10

Promulgated treaties, to the ratification of which parliament has given its consent and by which the Czech Republic is bound, are a part of a legal order; if a treaty provides something other than what a statute provides, the treaty shall apply.”

3. Behind art. 10 a new article 10a and article 10b, which read as follows, are added:

“Art. 10a

(1)   Certain powers of the authorities of the Czech Republic may be transferred by an international treaty to an international organization or institution.

(2)   The ratification of a treaty described in section1 requires the consent of Parliament, unless a constitutional act provides that such ratification requires the approval obtained in a referendum.

Art 10b

(1)   The government informs the Parliament, regularly and in advance, on issues connected to obligations resulting from membership of the Czech Republic in an international organization or institution designated in article 10a section 1.

(2)   The chambers of Parliament give their opinion on prepared decisions of such international organization or institution in the manner laid down in their rules of procedure.

(3)   A law regulating the principles of conduct and contacts between both chambers, as well as externally, may entrust the exercise of the chambers’ competence according to section 2 to an organ common to both chambers.”

4. Art. 39 section 4 reads as follows:

“(4) The consent of three-fifths of all deputies and three-fifths of all present senators is required for the adoption of a constitutional act and for giving consent to the ratification of international treaties described in the article 10a section 1.”

5. Art. 49 reads as follows:

“Art. 49

The consent of both chambers of Parliament is required for the ratification of international treaties:

a) regulating the rights or the duties of persons;

b) of alliance, peace, or other political nature;

c) by which the Czech Republic becomes a member of an international organization;
d) of a general economic nature;
e) concerning additional matters, the regulation of which is reserved to law.”

6. Art. 52 reads as follows:

“Art. 52

(1)   In order for a law to be valid, it must be promulgated.

(2)   The manner of promulgation of laws and international treaties are regulated by law.”

7. Art. 87 section 1, letters a) and b) read as follows:

“a) on abolition of laws or their individual provisions if they are in conflict with the constitutional order;

b) on abolition of other legal regulations or their individual provisions if they are in conflict with the constitutional order or a law;”

8. To the art. 87, behind section 1, the new section 2, which reads as follows, is added:

“ (2) Prior to the ratification of an international treaty according to the article 10a or article 49, the Constitutional Court rules on the treaty’s conformity with the constitutional order. A treaty may not be ratified prior to the decision of the Constitutional Court.”

Current paragraph 2 is designated as paragraph 3.

9. The section 2 of the art. 88 reads as follows:

“(2) The judges of the Constitutional Court are, in their decision making, bound only by the constitutional order and the law according to section1.”

10.  To the art. 89 a new section 3, which reads as follows, is added:

“(3) Decisions of the Constitutional Court declaring, pursuant to Article 87 section 2, the incompatibility of an international treaty with the constitutional order, hinders its ratification until the incompatibility is eliminated.”

11.  The art. 95 reads as follows:

“Art. 95

(1)   Laws and international treaties that are a part of the legal order bind judges, in their decision-making; they are authorized to consider the conformity of other legal regulations with law or with such international treaty.

(2)    Should a court come to the conclusion that a law which should be applied in the resolution of a case is in conflict with the constitutional order, it submits the case to the Constitutional Court.”

Art. II

This Constitutional Act comes into effect on 1 June 2002.