All sources required for the assignments and the final exam are available in the Information system in Study materials. All the materials available there (cases, regulations, articles, chapters etc.) are considered relevant and required sources. The final exam will be based on information from those sources. 

Library catalogue

MUNI search interface - DISCOVERY

MUNI search interface - KATALOG

Your assignments are basically essay topics.

Your task is, therefore, to write a short essay.

How to write an essay?

Have a look HERE.

1. Choose a topic

Your task is easier beacuse you do not really have to choose a whole topic, just a part of it. Your assignments are always quite precise questions that leave you free to choose a subtopic.

How? Do your research first!

Without a research and knowledge of the topic it would be very difficult to write something that makes sense.

For example:

 The first assignment asks you to discuss, compare and contrast a "chosen constitutional issue". To do so, you need to choose a "constitutional issue". Study the related materials, do your own research and pick something regulated by the constitution to write about.

2. Wrtiting

Make sure your text makes sense, start with a very brief introduction to make clear what are you going to write about and in what seqence.

How to write the main body of the essay? Have a look HERE.

Conclude your essay: do not leave your reader in the middle of a thought.

Do not forget to CITE YOUR SOURCES.

How? Use a citation convention of your choice, for example this one: OSCOLA.

3. Revision

• Make sure your text fulfils what the assignment asks you to.
  
• Make sure the text is grammaticaly correct
• Make sure you cite all the sources correctly. Do not forget to refer to the exact pages of the source you are using.
  

What is culture?

What is legal culture?

PRAKKE, Lucas, Constantijn KORTMANN a Hans van den BRANDHOF. Constitutional law of 15 EU member states / editors Lucas Prakke, Constantijn Kortmann ; by Hans van den Brandhof ... [et al.]. 2004. ISBN 9013012558.

What did the legal system looked like before 1989?

Velvet Revolution

Velvet revolution history

Velvet revolution: day-by-day

What happened after 1989?

Dear students,

besides reading two texts below, please watch the movie Milada available on Netflix. It will give you a better grasp of the atmosphere of the time.

Thank  you.

Best ragards

Markéta Štěpáníková

Presentation: https://prezi.com/6xzvt9ntq6j1/sources-of-law/

1. What sources of law are overtly mentioned in the Czech Constitution?

2. What can the judge rely on in their decision-making?

3. What sources may the judge use in their argumentation? Do these sources differ with respect to their "importance"?

4. May the Czech judge base their decision solely on past case law? Why?

5. May the Czech judge base their decision solely on legal regulations (parliamentary statutes ...)?

6. Is the judge obligated to refer to past decisions in case they use them?

6. Can the judge ignore past case law and decide differently from what courts said in similar matters in the past? Why?

Presentations:

1. https://prezi.com/id6gen3nk-t4/why-do-judges-refer-to-past-judicial-decisions/

2. https://prezi.com/mnqqu-48bzpl/precedent-in-europe/

3. https://prezi.com/okbvl1eo7ng6/normativity-of-case-law/

The acronym IRAC stands for a methodology of legal case analysis, regardless of whether we analyse a decision a court already made, or whether we are trying to solve a case. 

The first step is to outline the ISSUE. Gather the facts, tell the story. What happened? Who was involved? What did they want? 

The second step is to identify the RULE(S). This may be easy or complicated depending on the complexity of the case. When dealing with apex courts' cases, this part would often involve PRINCIPLES, value judgments etc.

After knowing what happened, why, who etc. and after knowing which rules would be applicable and why, we can APPLY the rules to the facts. This would involve interpretation of the rules, argumentation, or even discussions regarding different interpretations. 

CONCLUSION presents the results of the above-mentioned process. It can be short (in a shorter case summary) but it can also be a complex analysis and discussion of what happened in the first three steps. It can (and it is welcome) involve scholarly literature, case-law and other relevant sources. 

A very brief explanation of how this particular structure of summarising cases works may be found here (yes, it is Wikipedia :) ) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRAC

Presentation: https://prezi.com/oh8p4391hsoq/czech-judiciary/

Constitutional Court 

Competences: https://www.usoud.cz/en/competences/

Legal basis: https://www.usoud.cz/en/legal-basis/

Constitutional Court Act: https://www.usoud.cz/fileadmin/user_upload/ustavni_soud_www/Pravni_uprava/AJ/ConstitutionalCourtAct_1.pdf

Supreme Court

General information: http://www.nsoud.cz/Judikatura/ns_web.nsf/Edit/TheSupremeCourt~GeneralInformation?Open&area=The%20Supreme%20Court&grp=General%20Information&lng=EN

Guide to proceedings:  

http://nsoud.cz/Judikatura/ns_web.nsf/web/DecisionMaking~GuideonProceedings~Extraordinary_Appeal_Proceedings_Pursuant_to_the_Rules_of_Civil_Procedure~?openDocument&lng=EN 

Supreme Administrative Court

General information: http://www.nssoud.cz/-p-General-Information-p-/art/557?menu=173

Procedural Guide: http://www.nssoud.cz/The-Procedural-Guide/art/5

General Judiciary (Ordinary Courts)

It has three levels: courts of first instance, courts of second instance and Supreme Court. These levels are occupied by district courts, regional courts, high courts and the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic.

Criminal and civil cases may start either at the level of district court or at the level of regional court. If the case starts at the level of regional court then the regional court acts as a court of first instance. 

When does a case start at the level of regional court? 

• criminal matters but only if the penalty exceeds 5 years of imprisonment
• employment matters

Unless acting as courts of first instance, regional courts act as appelate courts (courts of second instance) for decisions made by district courts. 

High courts decide cases of appeals against decisions made by regional courts (if acting as courts of first instance)

When dissatisfied with the decision of the court, we may use essentialy two types of remedies:

• ordinary remedy - appeal to the court of second instance, or
• extraordinary remedy - extraordinary appeal to the Supreme Court of the CZ

What can a court of second instance do with a first instance decision?

1. Dismiss the appeal, i.e. agree with the decision of the court of first instance ( principle of appeal)
2. Make a new decision, including new evaluation of evidence (principle of appeal)
3. Repeal the decision of the court of first instance and ask it to make a new decision (cassation) 

The Supreme Court has the same options listed above.

Administrative Judiciary

Administrative judiciary mainly reviews the decisions made by administrative bodies; their review is based on the legality (i.e. accordance with parliamentary statutes).

It has two levels: lower and upper. 

Administrative divisions of regional courts act as the lower level, the Supreme Administrative Court hears cassation claims against the decisions made by these administrative divisions of regional courts. 

As the name suggests, the decisions on cassation claims are made solely based on the cassation principle. The Supreme Administrative court may:

• Dismiss the cassation claim, or
• Repeal the decision of the regional court and ask it to make a new decision.

Additional sources

https://e-justice.europa.eu/content_judicial_systems_in_member_states-16-cz-en.do?member=1

Please, upload your presentations here: