Czech Republic 1993 Constitution (reviewed 2013) - Page 4 of 13

Table of Contents

Chapter III. Executive Power

A. The President of the Republic

Article 54

The President of the Republic is the head of state.
The President of the Republic is elected directly in a national popular vote.
The President of the Republic shall not be responsible for the performance of his duties.

Article 55

The President of the Republic assumes her office upon taking the oath of office. The President of the Republic’s term of office lasts for five years and begins on the day she takes the oath of office.

Article 56

The election of President shall be held in the form of a secret ballot based on the universal, equal, and direct right to vote.
The candidate having received majority of valid votes from eligible voters is elected the President of the Republic. If there is not such a candidate, fourteen days after commencement of the first electoral round a second electoral round should be held, which the two most successful candidates in the first electoral round proceed onto. If the candidates [in the first round] receive equal number of votes, all candidates having received the highest number of votes from eligible voters shall proceed onto the second electoral round; and if there are not at least two such candidates, candidates having received the second highest number of votes from eligible voters [shall also proceed onto the second electoral round].
The candidate having received the highest number of votes from eligible voters in the second round of the election is elected the President of the Czech Republic. If there are more of such candidates, the President of the Republic is not elected, and a new election of President of the Republic shall be held within 10 days.
If the candidate who proceeded onto the second round of the election ceases to be eligible for office of the President of the Republic or if such candidate waives his right to stand as a candidate for the office of the President of the Republic, the candidate having received the subsequent highest number of votes from eligible voters in the first electoral round shall proceed onto the second round of the election. The second electoral round shall be held even if there is only one candidate who proceeds onto the second round.
Each citizen of the Czech Republic who has reached the age of 18 years is entitled to nominate a candidate provided that such a nomination is supported by a petition signed by at least 50.000 citizens of the Czech Republic who are eligible to vote for the President of the Republic. A candidate can [also] be nominated by at least twenty Deputies or by at least ten Senators.
Every citizen of the Czech Republic having reached the age of 18 has the right to vote.
Presidential election shall take place within the last sixty days of the office of the incumbent President, but not less than 30 days prior to the expiration of the term of the office of the incumbent President of the Republic. If the office of the President becomes vacant, the election of the President shall be held within ninety days.
The election of the President shall be announced by the President of the Senate ninety days prior to holding the election at the latest. If the office of the President becomes vacant, the President of the Senate shall announce the election of the President within ten days [from the moment when the office became vacant] and simultaneously within eighty days prior to holding such election.
If the office of the President of the Senate is vacant, the election of the President shall be announced by the Chairperson of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament.

Article 57

Any citizen eligible for election to the Senate may be elected President.
No person may be elected President more than twice in succession.

Article 58

Further conditions of the exercise of the right to vote in the election of the President as well as the details of the process of proposing the presidential candidates for the office of the President of the Republic, the announcement and implementation of the election, and the announcement of the outcome of the election, and the judicial review shall be provided in a statute.

Article 59

The Chairman of the Senate shall administer the oath of office to the President-elect at joint meeting of both chambers.
The President-elect shall take the following oath of office: “I pledge loyalty to the Czech Republic. I pledge to uphold its Constitution and laws. I pledge on my honor to carry out my duties in the interest of all the people, to the best of my knowledge and conscience.”

Article 60

If the President-elect refuses to take the oath of office or takes it with reservations, he shall be deemed not to have been elected.

Article 61

The President of the Republic may resign her office by submitting her resignation to the Chairperson of the Senate.

Article 62

The President of the Republic:

appoints and recalls the Prime Minister and other members of the government and accepts their resignations, recalls the government and accepts its resignation;
convenes sessions of the Assembly of Deputies;
may dissolve the Assembly of Deputies;
shall entrust the government whose resignation he has accepted, or which he has recalled, with the temporary performance of its duties until new government is appointed;
shall appoint Justices of the Constitutional Court, its Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons;
shall appoint from among judges the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons of the Supreme Court;
may grant pardons or commute sentences imposed by courts and order that a criminal record be expunged;
has the right to return to Parliament acts it has adopted, with the exception of constitutional acts;
shall sign statutes;
shall appoint the President and Vice-President of the Supreme Auditing Office;
shall appoint members of the Banking Council of the Czech National Bank.

Article 63

In addition, the President of the Republic:
1. represents the state externally;
2. negotiates and ratifies international treaties; she may delegate the negotiation of international treaties to the government or, with its consent, to individual members thereof;
3. is the supreme commander of the armed forces;
4. receives heads of diplomatic missions;
5. accredits and recalls heads of diplomatic missions;
6. calls elections to the Assembly of Deputies and the Senate;
7. commissions and promotes generals;
8. may grant and award state honors, unless she has empowered some other body to do so;
9. appoints judges;
10. orders that a criminal proceeding shall not be instituted or, if it has [already] been instituted, that it shall be discontinued;
11. has the right to issue amnesties.
The President of the Republic also possesses powers which are not explicitly enumerated in constitutional acts if a statute so provides.
In order to be valid, decisions of the President of the Republic issued pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 require the countersignature of the Prime Minister or a member of the government designated by him.
The government is responsible for the decisions of the President of the Republic that require the countersignature of the Prime Minister or a member of the government designated by him.

Article 64

The President of the Republic has the right to take part in the meetings of both chambers of Parliament, as well as those of their committees and commissions. He shall be given the opportunity to speak whenever he requests.
The President of the Republic has the right to take part in the meetings of the government, to request reports from the government or its members, and to discuss with the government or its members issues that fall within their competence.

Article 65

While in the office, the President of the Republic may not be taken into detention, criminally prosecuted, and prosecuted for misdemeanors or other administrative offense.
The Senate may with the consent of the Chamber of Deputies lodge a constitutional motion against the President of the Republic for a high treason, a gross violation of the Constitution or other component of the constitutional order to the Constitutional Court; by treason it is meant any conduct of the President of the Republic directed against the sovereignty and integrity of the Republic as well as against the democratic order. Upon the constitutional motion the Constitutional Court may hold that the President loses the office of President and the eligibility for holding it in future.
For the Senate to accept the proposal for constitutional motion the consent of a three-fifths majority of the present senators is required. For the Assembly of Deputies to consent to the filing of constitutional motion a three-fifths majority of all deputies is required: if the Assembly of Deputies fails to grant the consent within three months from the day when the Senate requests the consent, the consent shall be deemed withheld.

Article 66

If the office of the Presidency becomes vacant and before a new President of the Republic has been elected or has taken the oath of office, likewise if the President of the Republic is, for serious reasons, incapable of performing his duties, and if the Assembly of Deputies and the Senate adopt a resolution to this effect, the performance of the presidential duties under Article 63 paragraph 1, letters a) to e) and h) to k), and Article 63, paragraph 2 shall devolve upon the Prime Minister. In any period in which the Prime Minister is performing the above-specified presidential duties, the performance of the duties under Article 62 letters a) to e) and k) and further Article 63 paragraph 1 letter f), if the announcement of the election for the Senate is concerned shall devolve upon the Chairperson of the Assembly of Deputies; if the office of the Presidency becomes vacant during a period in which the Assembly of Deputies is dissolved, the performance of these functions shall devolve upon the Chairperson of the Senate, who is also in charge of the office of the Presidency at the time when the Prime Minister is in charge of the designated functions of the President of the Republic pursuant to Article 63 paragraph 1 letter f), if the announcement of the election for the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament is concerned.

B. The Government

Article 67

The government is the highest body of executive power.
The government consists of the Prime Minister, deputy prime ministers, and ministers.

Article 68

The government is responsible to the Assembly of Deputies.
The President of the Republic shall appoint the Prime Minister and, on the basis of her proposal, the other members of the government and entrust them with the management of the ministries or other offices.
Within thirty days of its appointment, the government shall go before the Assembly of Deputies and ask it for a vote of confidence.
If the newly appointed government does not receive a vote of confidence from the Assembly of Deputies, the process in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be repeated. If the government appointed on this second attempt does not receive vote of confidence from the Assembly of Deputies either, the President of the Republic shall appoint the Prime Minister on the basis of a proposal by the Chairperson of the Assembly of Deputies.
In other cases, on the basis of the Prime Minister’s proposal, the President of the Republic shall appoint and recall other members of the government and entrust them with the management of the ministries or other offices.

Article 69

The President of the Republic shall administer the oath of office to the members of the government.
The members of the government shall take the following oath of office: “I pledge loyalty to the Czech Republic. I pledge that I will uphold its Constitution and laws and bring them to life. I pledge on my honor that I will conscientiously carry out my duties and not abuse my position.”

Article 70

Members of the government may not engage in activities which are by their nature incompatible with the performance of minister’s duties. Detailed provisions shall be set down in a statute.

Article 71

The government may submit to the Assembly of Deputies a request for vote of confidence.

Article 72

The Assembly of Deputies may adopt a resolution of no confidence in the government.
The Assembly of Deputies may debate a proposed resolution of no confidence in the government only if it has been submitted in writing by at least fifty Deputies. To adopt the resolution, an absolute majority of all Deputies must give their consent.

Article 73

The Prime Minister submits his resignation to the President of the Republic. Other members of the government submit their resignations to the President of the Republic through the Prime Minister.
The government shall submit its resignation if the Assembly of Deputies rejects its request for a vote of confidence, or if it adopts a resolution of no confidence. The government shall always submit its resignation after the constituent meeting of newly elected Assembly of Deputies.
If the government submits its resignation in accordance with paragraph 2, the President of the Republic shall accept it.

Article 74

The President of the Republic shall recall members of the government if the Prime Minister so proposes.

Article 75

The President of the Republic shall recall a government that has not submitted its resignation, even though it was obliged to do so.

Article 76

The government shall make decisions as a body.
In order for the government to adopt resolution, the consent of an absolute majority of all its members is necessary.

Article 77

The Prime Minister shall organize the government’s activities, preside over its meetings, act in its name, and perform other duties entrusted to him by this Constitution or by other laws.
A Deputy Prime Minister or another member of the government so commissioned may act in place of the Prime Minister.

Article 78

In order to implement statutes, and while remaining within the bounds thereof, the government is authorized to issue orders. Such orders shall be signed by the Prime Minister and the competent member of the government.

Article 79

The ministries and other administrative offices may be established, and their powers provided for, only by statute.
The legal relations of state employees within the ministries and other administrative offices shall be laid down in a statute.
If they are so empowered by statute, the ministries, other administrative offices, and bodies of territorial self-governing units may issue regulations on the basis of and within the bounds of that statute.

Article 80

The State Attorney’s office shall issue and argue public indictments in criminal proceedings; it shall perform other functions as well if a statute so provides.
The status and powers of the State Attorney’s Office shall be provided for by statute.