Applicability of the Concept of Rule of Law in the Interpretation of the Concept of Essential Requirements of the Democratic Legal State (Rechtsstaat)

The concept of democratic legal state (Rechtsstaat) is one of the core concepts of the Czech Constitution. The Czech Constitution uses the essential requirements of democratic legal state in the eternity clause to define its unchangeable core. When interpreting this concept, one encounters a fundamental comparative law question - to what extent is the concept of legal state different or similar to the concept of rule of law? And deriving from this, to what extent the inspiration can be drawn from scholarship and doctrine dedicated to rule of law, when interpreting the concept of legal state? This paper analyzed these questions from the point of view of the Czech Constitution. First, the origin of both concepts was compared, then I analyzed the core conflicts in each of these concepts and in the end I compared the purpose and goals of these concepts in constitutional system. The conducted analysis has shown that both concepts are very similar and influence each other significantly, with differences only deriving from their origin in common law or civil law system, which means that rule of law and its interpretation is relevant for interpretation of the concept of legal state. However, the specific features of the Czech Constitution must be reflected in this process.