Agricultural Issues and the Czech Constitution

Abstract

The article deals with the regulation of agricultural activities in the constitutional order of the Czech Republic, which consists mainly of the Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. The authors focus on two basic areas of regulation that often complement each other in practice: the protection of property rights and entrepreneurship and the protection of the environment. The protection of land as part of the environment is analysed from the perspective of the constitutionally enshrined obligations of the state and also as part of the right to self-government, which is manifested in particular in the process of land-use planning. The article mainly reflects the case law of the Constitutional Court and, marginally, of the Supreme Administrative Court. The authors conclude that the individual requirements of constitutional law are interconnected and form a general but very fundamental framework for the performance of agricultural activities.