The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (hereinafter referred to as the Congress) is the pan-European assembly representing the local and regional authorities of all forty-seven member states of the Council of Europe. In general, its mission is to promote dialogue and cooperation between national governments and local and regional authorities. 

Within the preview of its activities, the Congress monitors the application of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in the member states of the Council of Europe. The European Charter of Local Self-Government (hereinafter referred to as the Charter) was adopted in Strasbourg on 15 October 1985. Following the approval by the Parliament of the Czech Republic and ratification by the President of the Republic, the Charter has been in force in our country since 1 September 1999. 

The Congress carries out its monitoring activities through the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments. The so-called Monitoring Committee makes regular visits to signatory countries and then, based on the findings, drafts reports and recommendations. Country-by-country monitoring missions to each member state are undertaken approximately every five years. 

The most recent visit of the Monitoring Committee to the Czech Republic took place last week. After meeting with the representatives of several statewide bodies, the delegation was welcomed at the Constitutional Court on Friday afternoon (4 March 2022). The discussion focused, among other things, on the place and importance of the Charter in the national legal system, the constitutional protection of local and regional self-government in the Czech Republic, or the case law of the Constitutional Court concerning the protection of local and regional self-government.
 

Pavel Dvořák,
Head of External Relations and Protocol Department