It will soon be thirty-three years since the Constitutional Court of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic first sat in Brno in the building formerly known as the New Diet House. Although this judicial body responsible for the protection of constitutionality shared the fate of the federation, ceasing to exist on 31 December 1992, its legacy is clear, still alive, reflected in the existence of the constitutional courts of the independent Czech and Slovak Republics. It is certainly for this reason that the two courts maintain regular contacts, the quality of which is strengthened by their shared historical experience, geographical and language proximity and similarities in their legal systems.
The annual meeting of the plenums has long been a tradition. Last year, the Justices met in southern Slovakia, while this year the joint session was held at the seat of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic in Brno. The programme consisted of two parts. The first one, which took place on Tuesday afternoon, focused on the relationship between national law and European Union law in the context of the constitutionality review proceedings before the Constitutional Court. The topic of the second session, which was held on Wednesday morning, was the relationship between private law and constitutional law (with particular reference to European private law).
On Tuesday evening, the Justices toured the historic halls of Brno's New Town Hall. The New Town Hall, although it has been the seat of municipal administration for almost a century, was originally the House of Estates, the seat of medieval Moravian Diet and Moravian Land Court. In the 1870s, a new house was built for the purposes of the newly established Moravian Land Diet (modern Moravian Parliament). After the Velvet Revolution, the Diet House was given a new mission in the pursuit of justice. From 1991, the Constitutional Court of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic sat here. The Constitutional Court of the independent Czech Republic has been seated here since its establishment in 1993.
Pavel Dvořák
Head of External Relations and Protocol Department
Foto: Jiřina Rittichová