At the invitation of Josef Baxa, the President of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, representatives of the Constitutional Court of the Kingdom of Spain arrived in Brno at the beginning of this week. The delegation was led by the President of the Court, Cándido Conde-Pumpido Tourón, and also included Justice José Ramón Sáez Valcárcel, Secretary General Andrés Javier Gutiérrez Gil, and Chancellor Joaquín Vives de la Cortada Ferrer-Calbetó.
Monday's welcome dinner was followed by a full day of working meetings on Tuesday, which took place at the seat of the Constitutional Court in Brno. The bilateral talks were opened by the President of the host court, Josef Baxa. In his introductory speech he highlighted a number of significant parallels that connect the two courts and presented in more detail the functions and operation of the Czech judicial body responsible for the protection of constitutionality. He then gave the floor to his Spanish counterpart, who thanked the host for the invitation and warm welcome and praised the quality and importance of the mutual relations cultivated at the bilateral as well as multilateral levels. Cándido Conde-Pumpido Tourón further emphasized that both the Czech and Spanish models of constitutional review build on the legacy of Hans Kelsen, and thus the competences and positions of both courts in the legal systems of Spain and the Czech Republic are very similar. He also explained how the Spanish tribunal works and what its particular features are. The second session of discussions focused on the role of constitutional justice in the common legal order of the European Union. A speech on this topic was delivered by the President of the Spanish Constitutional Court Cándido Conde-Pumpido Tourón and by Justice of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic Zdeněk Kühn. The third session of the meeting was dedicated to the role of constitutional courts in the electoral and parliamentary process. Justice Jan Wintr presented the topic on behalf of the Czech court, and Justice José Ramón Sáez Valcárcel spoke on behalf of its Spanish counterpart.
On Wednesday morning, the program continued with visits to two supreme courts based in Brno. At the Supreme Administrative Court, the President Karel Šimka and the Vice-President Barbara Pořízková received Spanish delegation. Their debate focused on the functioning of administrative justice in both countries and the relationship between national and EU law. The Spanish guests then moved on to the Supreme Court, where the President Petr Angyalossy welcomed them. Given that Cándido Conde-Pumpido Tourón had been a judge at the Spanish Supreme Court for many years, they had a lot to discuss.
Wednesday afternoon was devoted to a cultural program, which concluded with an informal dinner. Throughout the visit, the high quality of the relations between the two constitutional courts was repeatedly confirmed, as was the fact that the notions of democracy, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights have the same meaning and relevance in both Czech and Spanish.
Pavel Dvořák
Head of the External Relations and Protocol Department
© Photos: Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, Jiřina Rittichová