Ladislav Vyhnánek

Equal voting power under scrutiny: Czech Constitutional Court on the 5% threshold in the 2014 European Parliament Elections

This article analyzes the Czech Constitutional Courts decision concerning the legal threshold in European Parliament elections. It puts the decicion in the broader framework of European multi-level governance.

The Eternity Clause in the Czech Constitution as Limit to European Integration

Abstract The article raises one principle question: Does the Czech Eternity Clause pose a possible threat to a further integration of the European Union? In a concise introductory part, the article analyses the concept of the Eternity Clause of the Czech Constitution from both the substantive and procedural point of view. Afterwards, the article goes on to evaluate whether certain aspects of the Eternity Clause (as interpreted by the Czech Constitutional Court) might indeed create practical problems for the EU. The opinion of the author is that the ‘danger’ is quite negligible. This is mostly due to the fact that the Czech Constitutional Court generally (with an exception that is not to be overestimated) adheres to euro-friendly interpretation and it has even interpreted the Eternity Clause itself (especially concepts like democracy or sovereignty) with respect to the logic and nature of European integration. The euro-friendliness of the Czech Constitutional Court is further complemented by the respect that the EU law pays to national (especially constitutional) identity of the member states.