A constitutional act, with respect to the laws of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, is an act which can change the

Constitution of the Czech Republic The Constitution of the Czech Republic ( cs, link=no, Ústava České republiky) is the supreme law of the Czech Republic. The current constitution was adopted by the Czech National Council on 16 December 1992. It entered into force on 1 Januar ...

, provisions of the

Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms The Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms ( cs, Listina základních práv a svobod, sk, Listina základných práv a slobôd) is a document enacted in 1991 by the Czechoslovak Federative Republic and currently continued as part of the cons ...

, the conditions under which the citizenry may exercise state power directly, or the exterior or interior frontiers of the

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

of the

.Constitution of the Czech Republic, Art. 9Constitution of the Czech Republic, Art. 11Constitution of the Czech Republic, Art. 2Constitution of the Czech Republic, Art. 112Constitution of the Czech Republic, Art. 100 Passage of such an act can only be accomplished through the agreement of 3/5 of all

Deputies A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

and Senators present at the time the proposed act is laid before each house of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

.Constitution of the Czech Republic, Art. 39 It is the only type of legislation which does not require the

signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

of 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 ...

to become law.Constitution of the Czech Republic, Art. 50 Furthermore, it is the only type of legislation which the President cannot

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

.Constitution of the Czech Republic, Art. 62 A number of constitutional acts were required for the Czech government to function in its first year of existence. However, those had no lasting impact upon the constitution itself, and may, in hindsight, be regarded as "votes which required 3/5 majorities". For instance, the Provisional Senate of 1992 was "constituted in a manner defined by a Constitutional Act",Constitution of the Czech Republic, Art. 106 but that act is not binding upon the Senate today.

Specific acts

, only six constitutional acts have been passed which have truly changed the nature of the constitution. They have mostly been the result of implications in the original wording of the constitution that Parliament should pass constitutional acts on various subjects.

Number 347/1997

Article 100 of the constitution provided that "higher self-governing regions may be created or dissolved only by a constitutional act". Parliament thus moved on 3 December 1997 to create 14 such regions. This required the act to rewrite Article 99 and repeal Article 103 of the constitution, so as to set the regions as being of higher authority than

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. Given the administrative burden of complying with the act, however, it did not come into effect until 1 January 2000.

Number 110/1998

On 22 April 1998, Parliament opted to pass a constitutional act that was not directly implied or obliged by language in the constitution. The "Constitutional Act on the Security of the Czech Republic" defined the ways in which the Republic would respond to imminent threat. It defined the obligations the constituent parts of the Republic, and even its citizenry, had towards national defense. It allowed for

compulsory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

to be instituted by further statute, required regional governments to offer material aid to the national defense, and defined the response to a non-military state of emergency, such as an ecological or industrial

disaster A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...

. It also set up a State Security Council, headed by the Prime Minister. Furthermore, it required, during times of imminent military threat or war, that legislative debate be shortened to just 72 hours from the time of a bill's introduction, and that the president's

power be temporarily suspended. Finally, it allowed for up to a six-month extension of electoral terms during the time of a declared state of emergency.

Number 300/2000

Number 395/2001

Number 448/2001

Number 515/2002

On 14 November 2002, Parliament undertook to define the nature of a public

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union. Such an act was implied in Article 10a of the original wording of the constitution, which says that the Republic may surrender a part of its powers under international treaty "unless a constitutional act provides that such ratification requires the approval obtained in a referendum." Since the constitution later specifically required the president to "call a referendum on the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union", Parliament exercised its right under Article 10 to not only formalize that there would be such a referendum, but to define the terms under which it would be held.

References

{{reflist Constitution of the Czech Republic Government of the Czech Republic Law of the Czech Republic