Constitution of the Czech Republic (1992)

The velvet divorce charter with a noted constitutional court tradition.

Overview

Adopted December 16, 1992 in advance of the January 1, 1993 dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Constitution created a parliamentary republic with a bicameral parliament, a directly elected president since a 2012 amendment, a strong Constitutional Court inheriting the prewar 1920 court tradition, and a Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of 1991 as part of the constitutional order. The court produced landmark jurisprudence on lustration, property restitution, and the Lisbon treaty. The 2013 presidential first direct election occurred under it. It is counted among the postcommunist constitutions that consolidated quickly and endured.