Which court should I turn to?

The system of general courts consists of district courts, regional courts, high courts, and the Supreme Court. District and regional courts adjudicate disputes and other legal matters at the first instance, and the law determines which court I must turn to at the first instance. Regional and higher courts then rule on appeals against the decisions of district and regional courts. The Supreme Court primarily rules on appeals for review.

We have a total of 86 district courts, which form the foundation of our judicial system. However, residents of our two largest cities are familiar with slightly different names for them: Within the jurisdiction of the city of Brno, the Municipal Court in Brno functions as the district court, and in Prague, the district courts are referred to as “obvodní soudy.”

Within the city of Prague, we refer to the Municipal Court in Prague rather than a regional court. The Regional Court in Prague is located in the capital city of Prague, but its jurisdiction is limited to municipalities in the Central Bohemian Region. Other than their names, however, they do not differ from other district and regional courts in any way.

District Court

As their name suggests, district courts are divided by district and have jurisdiction primarily within their respective districts. They handle civil disputes, such as contractual disputes, property cases, probate proceedings, divorces, and other civil law matters. They also handle less serious criminal offenses. District courts further rule on enforcement proceedings when it is necessary to collect monetary claims.

Each district court has its own organizational rules and staffing structure, which includes the presiding judge, vice-presiding judges, other judges, and lay judges. In new proceedings before district courts, decisions are generally rendered by a single judge. Following an amendment effective as of January 1, 2025, lay judges will no longer be used in district courts, with the exception of pending proceedings initiated under the previous legislation.

Regional Court

Regional courts are the next important level in the judicial hierarchy, above the district courts. Regional courts adjudicate as courts of second instance or, in the case of more complex matters, also as courts of first instance.

There are a total of 8 —which means that not every region has its own regional court. In regions where there is no regional court, branch courts operate instead.

Regional courts handle more complex civil disputes and have jurisdiction over a broader regional area than district courts. These may include larger property disputes, complex contractual relationships, and the like. They also adjudicate more serious criminal offenses.

A regional court consists of a chief judge, associate chief judges, presiding judges of the chambers, and other judges. Lay judges also participate in its decision-making to the extent prescribed by law. In proceedings before a regional court, a single judge generally renders the decision; the regional court decides in panels only in cases specified by procedural rules. If the Regional Court rules as a court of first instance in a criminal matter before a panel, the panel consists of the presiding judge and two associate judges. In other cases, the panels of the Regional Court consist of the presiding judge and two judges.

High Court

There are only two High Courts in the Czech Republic— the High Court in Prague and the High Court in Olomouc. They hear appeals against first-instance decisions of regional courts and review the legality of decisions made by other authorities in cases specified by law.

The High Courts consist of a chief justice, a vice-chief justice or vice-chief justices, and other judges. They render decisions in panels composed of a panel chair and two judges.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in civil and criminal proceedings. It primarily rules on extraordinary appeals (i.e., appeals in civil proceedings and complaints of violations of the law in criminal proceedings). Another important function is to unify Czech case law, particularly when lower courts have issued differing rulings in similar cases.

The Supreme Court has approximately seventy justices. Decisions are rendered by large panels, three-member panels, and collegial bodies. Decisions on extraordinary appeals are primarily made by three-judge panels consisting of the panel chair and two judges.

Other Courts

The Supreme Administrative Court is part of the court system, but it specializes in administrative justice and does not sit on the appellate chain for civil and criminal cases. It also plays a role during elections, when it rules on electoral matters, and is often mentioned in the media in connection with the dissolution of political parties and political movements. A well-known example is that of the Workers’ Party, whose activities were found to be unlawful and which was consequently dissolved.

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic is a separate matter altogether. Although it is sometimes viewed by laypeople as a sort of final resort to which one can turn whenever all else fails, this is far from the case. The Constitutional Court’s primary role is to safeguard and guarantee the constitutionality of the legal system. With regard to natural and legal persons, it may intervene only if their fundamental human rights have been violated.

Where can I find criminal, civil, and registry courts?

In practice, we encounter many other names for courts that can be confusing. However, there’s no need to look for additional courthouses behind these names. As a rule, they refer to one of the courts already mentioned. Let’s take a closer look at some of these terms.

A commercial registry court is a court designated by law to maintain the commercial registry, in which information about business entities is recorded. It is always a regional court. Commercial courts were part of our judicial system in the past, but the public sometimes still refers to regional courts by this name, as they handle a significant portion of disputes involving commercial companies at the first instance.

We also sometimes encounter the terms “criminal court” and “civil court” (or “civil law court”). However, these are not separate specialized courts operating outside the ones already mentioned. In practice, within a given court, some judges handle civil cases while others focus on criminal law. The situation is similar with administrative proceedings at regional courts. Each court therefore has certain areas or dockets that it handles, and if I turn to it, for example, in criminal proceedings, I can refer to it as a “criminal court.”

Don’t expect anything out of the ordinary from the term “court of cassation.” It is simply a court that rules on cassation appeals.

The Arbitration Court attached to the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic and the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic constitutes a separate category. It is not a court that forms part of the judicial system of the Czech Republic, but rather a permanent arbitration court that resolves property disputes on the basis of an arbitration agreement in accordance with the Act on Arbitration Proceedings. Therefore, it cannot be turned to in all matters that are otherwise resolved by the courts; arbitration does not apply, for example , to criminal, administrative, status, or family law matters. By law , disputes arising from contracts that a business enters into with a consumer are also excluded from arbitration. In addition to commercial and other property disputes, the arbitration court also adjudicates certain domain name disputes, such as those involving .cz, .eu, or selected generic domains such as .com, .org, or .net. However, for .eu domains, it is not the only global provider of ADR proceedings; in addition to the Czech Arbitration Court, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center also operates.

When does a district court have jurisdiction, and when does a regional court?

The jurisdiction of individual courts is divided according to rules on subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction, with the jurisdiction of the court and the judge being determined by law. Subject-matter jurisdiction determines which type of court (e.g., district or regional) will hear certain types of cases, as well as whether it will do so at the first instance or as an appellate court. Territorial jurisdiction, in turn, determines which specific court (whether in Olomouc or Hradec Králové) will hear the case. This may be determined, for example, by the defendant’s place of permanent residence or registered office, the location where a criminal offense was committed, or the location of the real property at issue in the proceedings. The precise rules in this regard are set forth in the Civil Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, and certain other regulations.

• District courts generally have subject-matter jurisdiction over most civil (including enforcement and child custody) and criminal cases at the first instance.
• Regional courts adjudicate legally more complex matters at the first instance, such as disputes concerning copyright, corporate law, and the like. In criminal proceedings, they hear cases at the first instance involving, for example, murder, certain cases of robbery, or rape.
• High courts primarily serve as appellate courts reviewing decisions of regional courts when those courts have ruled at the first instance.

Judges

Individual judges serving on the courts may be appointed after meeting relatively stringent requirements. A citizen of the Czech Republic who is of full legal capacity, of good character, at least 30 years of age, holds a master’s degree in law, has passed a professional judicial examination or an equivalent examination, and has successfully completed the selection process for the position of judge may be appointed as a judge. They are appointed to office by the President of the Republic.

In some cases, judges decide cases alone, as so-called sole judges; in others, they sit on panels. As a general rule, first-instance courts decide cases through a sole judge. Appeals are decided by panels composed of three judges.

Only a judge (or associate judge) who is not recused from the proceedings and is capable of deciding the case independently, impartially, and fairly may rule on individual legal matters. A judge is disqualified if, in light of his or her relationship to the case, the parties to the proceedings, or their representatives, there is grounds to object to his or her impartiality. In such a case, the judge may either inform the parties himself or herself that he or she is disqualified, or a higher court may decide on his or her disqualification based on an objection raised by a party.

Representatives of the People

In a Czech court, you will certainly not hear the question of whether the jury has reached a verdict of guilty or not guilty. However, even laypeople can be represented in our system in the role of the aforementioned lay judges. In certain cases, they sit in robes alongside the professional judge, the presiding judge. However, their role has been significantly reduced compared to previous legislation. The Ministry of Justice, in its commentary on Amendment No. 319/2024 Coll., the Ministry of Justice explicitly states that,as of January 1, 2025, lay assessors will no longer be used in labor disputes in civil proceedings and in criminal proceedings before district courts, and their participation in regional courts will be restricted. The completion of pending proceedings is addressed by transitional provisions, which allow for the participation of district court lay assessors only until the final conclusion of proceedings in which they participated under the legislation in effect prior to January 1, 2025.

Summary

The judicial system of the Czech Republic is a complex but well-structured network of institutions that play a key role in the application of the law and the protection of civil rights and freedoms. It ranges from district courts, which handle day-to-day civil and criminal cases, to regional and high courts, which rule on more complex matters and appeals, all the way to the Supreme Court, which ensures the uniformity of case law and rules on extraordinary appeals. The Constitutional Court, in turn, oversees the conformity of the legal system with the Constitution and protects the fundamental rights of citizens.