The Constitutional Court of the First Czechoslovak Republic and the Austrian Constitutional Court are the two oldest specialized judicial bodies for the protection of constitutionality in Europe. The establishment of both courts was linked to the ideas of Prague native Hans Kelsen, who is considered to be the father of the European model of constitutional justice, in which the constitutional court is the supreme guarantor of constitutionality, the rule of law, and democracy. The modern successors of both mentioned courts are thus linked not only by geographical proximity, but also by a common historical and legal heritage.

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic and the Constitutional Court of Austria have long maintained close and cooperative relations. This is evidenced also by the yesterday´s bilateral meeting in Brno. The Austrian delegation was led by the President of the Court Christoph Grabenwarter, accompanied by Vice-President Verena Madner and Justices Georg Lienbacher, Michael Holoubek, Ingrid Siess-Scherz, Angela Julcher and Stefan Perner. The Czech Constitutional Court was represented at the meeting by President Josef Baxa, Vice-Presidents Veronika Křesťanová and Kateřina Ronovská, and nine other Justices.

Two general topics were chosen for the day-long meeting. These were socially sensitive issues in the case law of constitutional courts and civil law and the constitution. Both Presidents spoke on the first topic, while Justice Stefan Perner and Vice-President Kateřina Ronovská, both professors of civil law, gave presentations on the second. The program also included time for discussion, which was used to its full extent.

Czech and Austrian law have much in common for historical reasons. In addition, both legal systems are currently linked to supranational legal regimes, which are formed by European Union law and the European Convention on Human Rights (and case law of the European Court of Human Rights). It is not only for these reasons that similar legal issues often arise before both constitutional courts. Sharing experiences, knowledge, and perspectives is therefore of great importance, as it helps to improve the quality and efficiency of the decision-making activities of judicial bodies protecting constitutionality.

Pavel Dvořák
Head of External Relations and Protocol Department

© Photos: Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, Jiřina Rittichová