The Czech System of Government

The Czech Republic is a sovereign, united and democratic state. Its government is divided into three branches – the legislative, represented by the Parliament, the executive, represented mainly by the president and the government, and the judicial, represented by courts at various levels. The Parliament consists of two chambers – the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The 200 Deputies and 81 Senators have the exclusive duty of making laws. These two groups of members of the Parliament differ in the way in which they are elected and in the length of the terms they serve. The elections to the Chamber of Deputies take place every four years while every two years one third of the Senators is renewed.

When these times come, every citizen from the age of 18 can exercise the universal, equal, direct and secret right to vote. The Parliament’s main task is to pass laws, ratify international treaties and decide on sending troops abroad. The Parliament is a law-making body. A new law-to-be, a bill, can be proposed by a deputy, a group of deputies, the Senate, the government, or higher-level authorities. The bill first goes to the Chamber of Deputies which debates and ultimately votes on it. A bill that has been passed by the Chamber of Deputies is then submitted to the Senate where the process begins anew. The law must be approved by the government and must be signed by the head of the Chamber of Deputies, the prime minister and the president.

The president is elected every five years by the Parliament but no one can serve more than two terms in office in a row. The president represents the state abroad and concludes foreign treaties. He has also many duties in relation to the other bodies of government: appointment of all judges, generals of the army, ambassadors and other officials. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the army. In the law-making process he can exercise the power of veto which means not signing a bill within the assigned 15 days and returning it to the Parliament. In relation to the judicial power he can grant a pardon to a convicted person or declare an amnesty. His task is also to call a general election. The leader of the winning party is then appointed the prime minister and on his suggestion the president makes appointments of all the other members of the government.

The government is composed of the premier, the vice-premier, and the ministers. The hierarchy of the executive branch goes further down to the local authorities where the municipality is the smallest unit. The municipal elections take place every four years (the winners from town council, district authorities etc.). The head of the municipal authorities is called a mayor. The several ministries, headed by ministers, enforce laws made by the Parliament. Some of the ministries are: Interior, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Justice, Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, Finance, Transport, Labour and Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Health.

The judicial power is divided into a system of courts, starting with the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court and going down to the courts at all levels of regional government. The courts check the constitutionality of existing laws. They apply the law in practice in individual cases. They can nullify a law except for a constitutional one. Judges serve for an unlimited period of time, must have a good reputation, and must be professional lawyers. In the elections the citizen can choose from variety of political parties. Among these three groups can be distinguished: the left wing, moderate, and right wing. In our country the Social Democratic Party is the winning party of the last election.