ABSTRACT
The Czech Constitutional Court (CCC) is one of the strongest constitutional tribunals anywhere in the world. Its design is framed after the German model of the Federal Constitutional Court. Between 1993 and 2020, the political landscape of the Czech Republic has changed significantly. The strategies and the nature of presidential appointments have differed, depending on the president in question. The Chief Justice preferred legal wisdom over political ideology. It was only when the President realized that the CCC was not functioning in the way he would like that he interrupted his consultations with the Chief Justice. The institutional position of the CCC has been markedly strengthened by its own decision-making in the first two decades of its existence. The new court appointed by the third President, Zeman, continued on this newly opened path of judicial self-restraint. The situation began changing only in 2001, in response to certain constitutional excesses by the parliamentary majority.
