The Chamber of Deputies, officially the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic ( cs, Poslanecká sněmovna Parlamentu České republiky), is the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Parliament of the Czech Republic The Parliament of the Czech Republic ( cs, Parlament České republiky) or just Parliament ( cs, Parlament) is the legislative body of the Czech Republic, seated in Malá Strana, Prague. It consists of two chambers, both elected in direct elec ...

. The chamber has 200 seats and deputies are elected for four-year terms using the

party-list proportional representation Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be u ...

system with the

D'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highes ...

. Since 2002, there are 14constituencies, matching the Czech regions. A

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

is answerable to the Chamber of Deputies and the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

stays in office only as long as they retain the support of a majority of its members. The

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to '' Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

is set by law to one third (67) of elected deputies. Any changes to the constitutional laws must be approved by at least 60 percent of the Chamber of Deputies. The seat of the Chamber of Deputies is the Thun Palace in

Malá Strana Malá Strana (Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or more formally Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant cente ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Electability and mandate

Every citizen of the Czech Republic over 21 years old with the right to vote is eligible to be elected. The Deputy may not hold the office of Senator,

President of the Czech Republic The president of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The president mostly has ceremonial powers as the day-to-day business of the executive govern ...

or judge, which also applies to certain positions specified by law. The office of the Deputy expires once: * a Deputy-elect refuses to take the oath or takes it with reservation * a Deputy's tenure expires * a Deputy resigns from the office * a Deputy loses eligibility to be elected * a Deputy takes up an office incompatible with serving as a Deputy. * the Chamber of Deputies is dissolved

Dissolution

After a dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, new elections must be held within 60 days, and the Chamber cannot be dissolved within three months of regular elections. The Chamber of Deputies can only be dissolved by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

under conditions specified by the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

. The Chamber of Deputies is most commonly dissolved following two votes of no confidence in the cabinet. During a dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate has the authority to take necessary legal measures in its place.

Seat of the Chamber of Deputies

The Chamber of Deputies resides in three building complexes in

, Prague. The main building with the plenary chamber is the Thun Palace, built at the end of the 17th century. It was rebuilt at the start of the 19th century to house the

Bohemian Diet The Bohemian Diet ( cs, Český zemský sněm, german: Böhmischer Landtag) was the parliament of the Kingdom of Bohemia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1861 and Czechoslovak independence in 1918. The Diet during the Absolutist Per ...

. The current plenary chamber was built in 1861 for the reinstated Bohemian Diet after it was dissolved by the

Austrian-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until ...

in 1849. The second building was the seat of the Governors of the Kingdom of Bohemia appointed by the emperor, located on Malá Strana Square. The last building complex includes the Smiřický Palace and Šternberk Palace at the opposite side of the square.

Past Chamber of Deputies election results

As part of the democratic Czechoslovakia

During this time the Chamber of Deputies was called the National Council.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic Parliament of the Czech Republic Czech Republic, Chamber of Deputies of the 1993 establishments in the Czech Republic