Constitution of the Czech Republic (1992, as amended 2013) (excerpts related to Fair Trial (Right to a) (English)
CONSTITUTION OF CZECH REPUBLIC
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Article 93
1. Judges are appointed to their office for an unlimited term by the President of
the Republic. They assume their duties upon taking the oath of office.
2. Any citizen who has a character beyond reproach and a university legal
education may be appointed a judge. Further qualifications and procedures shall
be provided for by statute.
Article 94
1. A statute shall specify which cases shall be heard by a panel of judges, as well as
the composition thereof. All other cases shall be heard by individual judges.
2. A statute may specify in which matters and in what manner other citizens shall
participate alongside judges in court’s decision-making.
Article 95
1. In making their decisions, judges are bound by statutes and treaties which form
a part of the legal order; they are authorized to judge whether enactments other
than statutes are in conformity with statutes or with such treaties.
2. Should a court come to the conclusion that a statute which should be applied in
the resolution of matter is in conflict with the constitutional order, it shall
submit the matter to the Constitutional Court.
Article 96
1. All parties to a proceeding have equal rights before the court.
2. Proceedings before courts shall be oral and public; exceptions to this principle
shall be provided for by statute. Judgments shall always be pronounced publicly.
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CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND BASIC FREEDOMS
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CHAPTER 2: HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS
Article 8
1. Personal liberty is guaranteed.
2. No one may be prosecuted or deprived of her liberty except on the grounds and
in the manner specified by law. No one may be deprived of her liberty merely on
the grounds of inability to fulfill a contractual obligation.
3. A person accused of or suspected of having committed a criminal act may be
detained only in cases specified by law. A person who is detained shall promptly
be informed of the grounds for the detention, questioned, and within
[twenty-four] hours at the latest, either released or turned over to a court. A
judge must question the detained person and decide, within twenty-four hours
of receiving him, whether the person shall be placed in custody or released.
4. A person accused of a criminal act may be arrested only on the basis of a warrant
issued by a judge in writing and stating the reasons for the arrest. The arrested
person shall be turned over to a court within twenty-four hours. A judge shall
question the arrested person and decide, within twenty-four hours, whether the
person shall be placed or released.
5. A person may be placed in custody only on the grounds and for the length of
time laid down in a law, and only on the basis of a judicial decision.
6. The law shall specify the cases in which a person may be committed to or kept in
a medical institution without her consent. A court must be notified within
twenty-four hours that such a measure has been taken, and it shall decide within
seven days whether the placement was proper.
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CHAPTER 5: THE RIGHT TO JUDICIAL AND OTHER
LEGAL PROTECTION
Article 36
1. Everyone may assert, through the legally prescribed procedure, his rights before
an independent and impartial court or, in specified cases, before another body.
2. Unless a law provides otherwise, a person who claims that her rights were
curtailed by a decision of a public administrative authority may turn to a court
for review of the legality of that decision. However, judicial review of decisions
affecting the fundamental rights and basic freedoms listed in this Charter may
not be removed from the jurisdiction of courts.
3. Everybody is entitled to compensation for damage caused him by an unlawful
decision of a court, other State bodies, or public administrative authorities, or as
the result of an incorrect official procedure.
4. Conditions therefor and detailed provisions shall be set by law.
Article 37
1. Everyone has the right to refuse to give testimony if she would thereby
incriminate herself or a person close to her.
2. In proceedings before courts, other State bodies, or public administrative
authorities, everyone shall have the right to assistance of counsel from the very
3. All parties to such proceedings are equal.
4. Anyone who declares that he does not speak the language in which a proceeding
is being conducted has the right to the services of an interpreter.
Article 38
1. No one may be removed from the jurisdiction of her lawful judge. The
jurisdiction of courts and the competence of judges shall be provided for by law.
2. Everyone has the right to have her ease considered in public, without
unnecessary delay, and in her presence, as well as to express her views on all of
the admitted evidence. The public may be excluded only in cases specified by
law.
Article 39
Only a law may designate the acts which constitute a crime and the penalties or
other detriments to rights or property that may be imposed for committing them.
Article 40
1. Only a court may determine a person's guilt and designate the punishment for
criminal acts.
2. A person against whom a criminal proceeding has been brought shall be
considered innocent until his guilt is declared in a court's final judgment of
conviction.
3. An accused has the right to be given the time and opportunity to prepare a
defense and to be able to defend herself, either pro se or with the assistance of
counsel. If she fails to choose counsel even though the law requires her to have
one, she shall be appointed counsel by the court. The law shall set down the
cases in which an accused is entitled to counsel free of charge.
4. An accused has the right to refuse to give testimony; he may not be deprived of
this right in any manner whatsoever.
5. No one may be criminally prosecuted for an act for which she has already been
finally convicted or acquitted of the charges. This rule shall not preclude the
application, in conformity with law, of extraordinary procedures for legal
redress.
6. The question whether an act is punishable or not shall be considered, and
penalties shall be imposed, in accordance with the law in effect at the time the
act was committed. A subsequent law shall be applied if it is more favorable to
the offender.
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