Czechia
Courts in Czechia
District, regional and high courts under the Supreme Court, a separate Supreme Administrative Court, and a separate Constitutional Court — three apex bodies.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
The Constitution sets the court system: "The court system comprises the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, superior, regional, and district courts" (Article 91(1)). The ordinary hierarchy runs from district courts (okresní soudy) through regional courts (krajské soudy) and two high courts (vrchní soudy, in Prague and Olomouc) up to the Supreme Court (Nejvyšší soud, in Brno), the highest court save for matters reserved to the Constitutional or Supreme Administrative Court (Article 92).
The same idea, explained generally
- What do courts do?
Courts resolve disputes, test the state’s case against individuals, interpret law, and review public decisions. This guide explains those functions and why judicial independence is structural.
- What is due process?
Due process is the requirement that the state follow fair, established procedures before it takes action against a person. This guide explains what it typically includes and how it differs between systems.
Sources
Sources
Constitution of the Czech Republic (Act No. 1/1993 Coll., as amended) — official English translation
Ústavní soud (Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic) · Legislation · 1993-01-01 · link verified 2026-07-26
The Constitutional Court's official English translation of the Constitution (constitutional Act No. 1/1993 Coll., adopted 16 December 1992, in force 1 January 1993, as amended to Act No. 98/2013), fetched as a PDF and text-extracted. Supports Art. 80(1) ("The State Attorney's Office shall issue and argue public indictments in criminal proceedings") and 80(2), placing the prosecution in executive power with its status set by statute; Art. 81–82 (judicial power exercised by independent courts; judges independent); Art. 83–84 (the Constitutional Court as the judicial body responsible for the protection of constitutionality, fifteen Justices for ten-year terms); Art. 87 (its jurisdiction, including annulment of statutes and constitutional complaints); Art. 90 ("Only a court may decide upon guilt and determine the punishment"); Art. 91(1) ("The court system comprises the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, superior, regional, and district courts"); and Art. 92 (the Supreme Court as the highest court save for matters of the Constitutional Court or the Supreme Administrative Court). WAVE 20 ADDITION. Read from the same official text on the Chamber of Deputies' site, together with the Listina. Supports Ustava Ceske republiky (ustavni zakon c. 1/1993 Sb., as amended), Cl. 43(1) and Cl. 39(3): “Clanek 43 (1) Parlament rozhoduje o vyhlaseni valecneho stavu, je-li Ceska republika napadena, nebo je-li treba plnit mezinarodni smluvni zavazky o spolecne obrane proti napadeni. [Clanek 39] (3) K prijeti usneseni o vyhlaseni valecneho stavu a k prijeti usneseni o souhlasu s vyslanim ozbrojenych sil Ceske republiky mimo uzemi Ceske republiky nebo s pobytem ozbrojenych sil jinych statu na uzemi Ceske republiky, jakoz i k prijeti usneseni o ucasti Ceske republiky v obrannych systemech mezinarodni organizace, jiz je Ceska republika clenem, je treba souhlasu nadpolovicni vetsiny vsech poslancu a nadpolovicni vetsiny vsech senatoru.”. Supports Ustava Ceske republiky, Cl. 87(1)(a),(b),(d): “Clanek 87 (1) Ustavni soud rozhoduje a) o zruseni zakonu nebo jejich jednotlivych ustanoveni, jsou-li v rozporu s ustavnim poradkem, b) o zruseni jinych pravnich predpisu nebo jejich jednotlivych ustanoveni, jsou-li v rozporu s ustavnim poradkem nebo zakonem, [...] d) o ustavni stiznosti proti pravomocnemu rozhodnuti a jinemu zasahu organu verejne moci do ustavne zarucenych zakladnich prav a svobod,”. Supports Listina zakladnich prav a svobod (ustavni zakon c. 2/1993 Sb., as amended by ustavni zakon c. 162/1998 Sb. and c. 295/2021 Sb.), Cl. 4: “Clanek 4 (1) Povinnosti mohou byt ukladany toliko na zaklade zakona a v jeho mezich a jen pri zachovani zakladnich prav a svobod. (2) Meze zakladnich prav a svobod mohou byt za podminek stanovenych Listinou zakladnich prav a svobod (dale jen "Listina") upraveny pouze zakonem. (3) Zakonna omezeni zakladnich prav a svobod musi platit stejne pro vsechny pripady, ktere splnuji stanovene podminky. (4) Pri pouzivani ustanoveni o mezich zakladnich prav a svobod musi byt setreno jejich podstaty a smyslu. Takova omezeni nesmeji byt zneuzivana k jinym ucelum, nez pro ktere byla stanovena.”. Cited for the constitutional allocation of the war-state decision to Parliament, for the Constitutional Court's jurisdiction, and for the finding that the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms contains NO emergency derogation clause. It supports no claim about any measure taken during any Czech emergency and no claim about any other country.
National justice systems — Czechia (European e-Justice Portal)
European Commission (European e-Justice Portal) · International organisation · link verified 2026-07-26
The European Commission's e-Justice portal page on Czechia, read directly. Supports the court hierarchy (district, regional and high courts under the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court), the statement that "the central state administrative body for the courts is the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic", that "the special court system consists only of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic", and that the only judicial councils are advisory "Councils for the Judiciary" established within individual courts (there is no national self-governing judicial council).