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This chapter focuses on the Czech Constitutional Court (CCC). It shows, on the one hand, how the CCC has so far skilfully navigated through political ups and downs and has risen to prominence in Czech politics. On the other hand, this chapter also suggests that the CCC, despite its current wide powers, is a rather fragile institution. It argues that the creation of the CCC must be understood in the broader historical and political context. To that end, the chapter sketches the institutional design of the CCC and discusses the CCC’s powers. Subsequently, the chapter analyses the internal judicial practices of the CCC and the key procedural rules, then provides the taxonomy of the CCC’s rulings as well as their style, effects, and publication. Finally, it identifies and discusses political determinants of the CCC’s functioning and focuses on the interaction of the CCC with other domestic as well as supranational actors.

The book studies other than purely legal factors that influence the Czech Constitutional Court judges in their decision-making. The publication is inspired by foreign models of judicial decision-making and discusses their applicability in the Czech environment. More specifically, it focuses, for example, on the influence of the judge’s personality, collegiality, strategic decision-making or the impact of public opinion and the media. The book is based mainly on interviews with current constitutional judges.

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