Journal of the Charles University Law Faculty
Ivo Šlosarčík
Author’s affiliation:
Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague
Europeanization of the Constitutional Role of the President of the Czech Republic
Jurisprudence 2/2016 Section: Articles Page: 18-29
Keywords: European Union, Czech Republic, President of the Republic, European Council, Lisbon Treaty, treaty ratification, presidential veto on legislation, amnesty
Abstract: Accession to the European Union has affected several aspects of the constitutional position of the President of the Czech Republic. The article argues that the President of the Republic has not used the ambiguity of both the Czech constitutional framework for the external representation of the state and the flexible format of the European Council to enhance his influence in Czech foreign policy. At the same time, the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in the Czech Republic led to the clarification of the limits of the presidential discretion in the ratification process of international treaties in the Czech constitutional system. The President of the Republic continued to apply his formal constitutional powers in the domestic legislative process regardless of the consequences for the EU-law based obligations of the Czech state. Last but not least, the President’s prerogatives in the domain of penal law could interact with the Europeanized elements of the penal system and the EU’s principle ne bis in idem.
