The Practice of National Constitutional Courts Concerning Migration and Refugee Affairs – The Czech Republic

Abstract

This article focuses on the relationship between the Czech Constitutional Court and European Union law, with an emphasis on asylum and migration policies. After introducing the Czech Constitutional Court, the article focuses on its relevant case laws in relation to European Union law and the transfer of powers from the Czech Republic to the Community institutions. Thereafter, it explores whether the Czech Constitutional Court perceives asylum and migration issues as part of the Czech constitutional identity, which the European Community must not interfere with, and presents the basic legal framework within which the Constitutional Court considers these issues. Finally, it examines the comparative method of interpretation in the case law of the Constitutional Court, supplemented by extensive citations of relevant decisions of the Constitutional Court.