On delimitation of extend of Constitutional Court's review in an reopened proceeding

The article deals with the first two cases of reopening of proceedings decided before the Czech Constitutional Court in July 2008 on the background of two cases heard before the European Court of Human Rights (see Application no. 64935/01 and Requête no 1993/02). Both cases concern the petitions for rehearing of a proceeding and such reopened proceedings pursuant to §§ 119 to 119b of the Constitutional Court Act 1993 (as amended in 2004). According to the Art. 119 of that Act a petition for rehearing may be submitted, if the Constitutional Court have decided in a criminal (not civil case) matter, in which an international court found that, as the result of the encroachment of a public authority, a human right or fundamental freedom was infringed in conflict with an international treaty (in both cases was held, that there has been a violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms). The author analyses practical problems that are connected with the entirely new proceedings and tries to find explanation for the decisions passed by the Constitutional Court on the background of the professional literature. The findings of the Constitutional Court are analyzed in terms of the provision of Art. 119b para. 4 of the Constitutional Court Act 1993 (as amended in 2004), demanding to proceed in new finding of the Constitutional Court on the basis of the international court’s interpretation of obligations of the Czech Republic under international law. There was emphasized the need of restrictive interpretation of that provision and respect for maintaining of the Czech sovereignty (potestas punitiva).