The Constitutional Court found no 257 / 2025 Coll.
Findings of the Constitutional Court sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 22 / 24 concerning the application for annulment of certain provisions of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll., amending certain laws in connection with the consolidation of public budgets, virtually Act No. 187 / 2016 Coll., on gambling tax, as amended, Act No. 13 / 1997 Coll., on roads, as amended, Act No. 563 / 1991 Coll., on accounting, as amended, Act No. 93 / 2009 Coll., on auditors and amending certain laws (Act on Auditors), as amended, and Act No. 256 / 2004 Coll., on capital market business, as amended
Valid
The Constitutional Tribunal found
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257
FIND
The Constitutional Court
of 25 June 2025
sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 22 / 24 concerning the proposal to repeal certain provisions of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll., amending certain laws in connection with the consolidation of public budgets, virtually Act No. 187 / 2016 Coll., on gambling tax, as amended, Act No. 13 / 1997 Coll., on road transport, as amended, Act No. 563 / 1991 Coll., on accounting, as amended, Act No. 93 / 2009 Coll., on auditors and on amending certain laws (Act on auditors), as amended, and Act No. 256 / 2004 Coll.
On behalf of the Republic
Article 5 (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (b) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (1) (1) (a) (1) (a) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (a) (1) (1) (1) (1) (a) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (a) (1) (a) (a) (a) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1
as follows:
Motion denied.
Reasons
Subject matter of the procedure and text of the legal provisions contested
1. By a proposal pursuant to Article 64 (1) (b) of Act No. 182 / 1993 Coll., on the Constitutional Court, received by the Constitutional Court on 9.7.2024, the Group of 19 Senators and Senators of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to as "the draftsman") requests that the Constitutional Court, in proceedings under Article 87 (1) (a) of the Constitution of the Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to as "the Constitution"), abolish the specified legal provisions in the title.
2. The reason for the depreciation under the heading of the above provisions of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll., which amends certain laws in connection with the consolidation of public budgets, is that they are so-called legislative stickers. The text of the amending provisions is not necessary to quote, as their content is not significant in the process of reviewing the constitutionality of the legislative process.
3. In fact, the appellant seeks the annulment of the legal provisions, which were amended in the heading by the provisions of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll., alleging that they infringe in particular the right of municipalities to self-administration and their property law, but the argument in the proposal contained in the proposal contained only Article 7 (4) and (5) of Act No. 187 / 2016 Coll., on gambling tax, as amended by Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll., hereinafter referred to as "the Act on gambling tax ', and also Article 30 (3) (b) of Act No. 13 / 1997 Coll., on land communications, as amended by Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll. For this reason, the Constitutional Court cites only these provisions.
4. The contested provision of Paragraph 7 (4) of the Gaming Tax Act reads as follows: "(4) Part of the national gross revenue of the gambling tax at the level of the sum of the sub-taxes on online games and the sub-taxes on gambling operated without the necessary basic authorisation or declaration is the income of the State budget."
5. The contested provision of Paragraph 7 (5) of the Gaming Tax Act reads as follows: "(5) The national gross income of gambling tax, with the exception of parts of the national gross income referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4, shall be:
(a) 35% of State budget revenue; and
(b) 65% of the revenue of the municipal budgets. "
6. The contested provision of Paragraph 30 (3) (b) of the Road Act reads as follows:
"(3) For the purposes of determining the road protection zone under this law, the established territory of the municipality shall be a territory which fulfils the following conditions:
(a)...
(b) between buildings whose ground plan will be increased by 5 m throughout the perimeter for this purpose, the coupling shall not be longer than 75 m. The links form the corners of the enlarged floor plan of individual buildings (tangents are used for arches). The links between the enlarged ground features of the buildings, together with the parties to the landscapes of the buildings, form the built-up territory of the municipality.
The protection zone may be established only on one side of the motorway, road or local communication of Class I and Class II, taking into account the conditions laid down. ';
7. The Constitutional Court considers it necessary to point out that the appellant does not object to Article XCV, paragraphs 17 and 18 of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll., which amended Sections 7 (4) and 5 of Act No. 187 / 2016 Coll., on Gambling Tax.
The appellant's argument
8. The appellant claims that they do not oppose the government's intention to consolidate public budgets, in the view that any repeal of the contested provisions or consolidation of public budgets would not jeopardise or impede. It considers it necessary to respond to the so-called legislative stickers and to the intervention of the legislator in the right of municipalities to self-government, with its proposal following the fulfilment of the fundamental principles of the democratic rule of law and the constitutional conformity of the legislative process, as well as the protection of constitutional rights.
9. The intervention in the right to self-administration, according to the appellant, is a change in the budgetary determination of gambling taxes in the Gaming Tax Act, consisting of the abolition of 30% of the municipality's share of the proceeds from online gambling and gambling operated without the necessary basic permit or declaration. After the amendment, the State has a 100% share of the proceeds of these games, although the revenue thus far represented a State-challenged compensation for the costs incurred by municipalities for the negative effects of these games on their territory.
10. It argues that in the legislative process, the objections of national organisations bringing together local authorities, in particular the Union of Cities and Municipality of the Czech Republic and the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic, according to which municipalities will not be able to provide gambling prevention services or to deal with social pathology related to gambling. The State did not take over the obligation to clean up the negative effects of gambling (such as social problems or crime) and to provide additive services, nor did it propose an alternative way of ensuring this obligation. This gave rise to extreme disproportion in the rights and obligations of the State and the municipalities [paragraphs 97 and 98 of the Constitutional Court's finding of 20 February 2018 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 6 / 17 (N 26 / 88 CollNU 329; 99 / 2018 Coll.)].
11. According to the appellant, by adopting the adjustment, there was an undue and unforeseeable interference in the right to self-management, namely the right of municipalities to manage their own property according to their own budget, including the right to the guaranteed means of self-administration and the guaranteed possibility of long-term management planning to effectively dispose of their own property.
12. The justification for the changes is based only on the fact that, for online gambling, their negative effects are not linked to the place where the companies operating them have their registered office or establishment. However, according to the appellant, this is not a rational consideration, as it fails to see that the negative effects of Internet games are inextricably linked to the players of these games residing in the territory of the municipalities and that it is the municipalities that are directly exposed to the negative effects. The appellant considers that the contested legislation constitutes an infringement of the constitutionally guaranteed right of municipalities to self-government pursuant to Article 8 in conjunction with Article 100 (1) of the Constitution and the right of municipalities to own property pursuant to Article 11 (5) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms ("the Charter ') in conjunction with Article 4 (4) of the Charter in conjunction with Article 101 (3) of the Constitution.
13. The appellant states that the definition and therefore the scope of the road protection zone has changed to the detriment of the established territory of the municipality, and that the amendment interferes with the rights and legitimate interests of all owners of land around the road. According to the appellant, this constitutes an intervention in the right of municipalities to define their own built-up territory and to determine the concept of own development, which is to form part of the right to self-administration under Article 8 in conjunction with Article 100 (1) of the Constitution. Moreover, this legislative change was made on the basis of the so-called legislative sticker.
14. Also amendments to Act No. 563 / 1991 Coll., on Accounting, as amended, Act No. 256 / 2004 Coll., Act No. 93 / 2009 Coll., on Auditors and on Amendments to Certain Laws (Act on Auditors), as amended, ("the Act on Auditors"), Act No. 256 / 2004 Coll., on Business in the Capital Market, as amended, as amended by the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 537 / 2014, Directive 2004 / 109 / EC, Directive 2006 / 43 / EC and Directive 2013 / 34 / EU, as regards the submission of undertakings on sustainability ("Directive (" the CSRD ")."), "Although a wide range of accounting and audit obligations were introduced in the framework of non-financial reporting, the draft law was not properly discussed, it was subject to due consideration or to the regulatory impact assessment process (RIA).
15. In the context of the contested violation of the fundamental principles and rules of the legislative process, the appellant recalls that, when discussing the draft law No 349 / 2023, Members of the Commission, Mr Jiří Havránek, Josef Bernard, Michael Kohajda, Miloš Nová and Jakub Mikhalek submitted a comprehensive amendment, the purpose of which in the parts of the Act on Accounting, the Law on Auditors and the Act on Capital Market was to bring them into line with the requirements of European law, which are the same as the modification of the road protection zone in the Land Communications Act - nothing in common with the consolidation of public budgets, since the change did not result of the savings or consolidation of public funds, and thus does not give a close relationship between the changes made by the general amendment and the original draft law.
16. Referring to the case-law of the Constitutional Court concerning the assessment of the correlation between the original draft law (in terms of its object and purpose) and the later amendment [the findings of 27.3.2008 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 56 / 05 (N 60 / 48 SbNU 873; 257 / 2008 Coll.) and of 30.6.2015 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 21 / 14 (N 122 / 77 SbNU 759; 199 / 2015 Sb.)], the appellant considers that the contested parts of Act No 349 / 2023 Coll. ', in the wording of "the general amendment, are constitutionally inadmissible legislative improvements, since they have entered into Act No 349 / 2023 Coll.
Proceedings
17. The Constitutional Court first examined whether the procedural conditions of the proceedings were fulfilled. The application was submitted by an actively legitimate appellant, i.e. by a group of 19 senators and senators [Paragraph 64 (1) (b) of the Constitutional Court Act], and the Constitutional Court is competent to discuss it [Article 87 (1) (a) of the Constitution]. Senator Ing. Michael Canov is the author.
18. On 26.7.2024 the Constitutional Court received a copy of the letter from Senator Patrick Kunchar dated 25.6.2024. In it, the Senators Jan Paparega and Patrik Kunchar and Senator Ivana Váňová and Jaromír Vítková inform Michael Canov that they have decided to withdraw their support for the submitted proposal and asked the nominee to withdraw the proposal. In view of the fact that the entity's competence to file an application for annulment of the law and other legislation is assessed at the time of the opening of the procedure, the Constitutional Court did not consider the fact communicated from the point of view of procedural assumptions to be relevant (see the finding of the Constitutional Court of the CSFR of 26.11.1992 sp. zn. Issue 2. Praha: C. H. Beck, 2007, p. 362).
19. In addition, the Constitutional Court states that in the procedure for the control of standards, the application may not be withdrawn once in order to obtain a termination of proceedings (see the finding of 12.4.1995 sp. zn. Pl. Pl. ÚS 12 / 94 (N 20 / 3 SbNU 123; 92 / 1995 Coll.) or paragraphs 11 and 12 (Constitutional Court Decision available on https: / / nalus.udou.cz)). In fact, there is a strong public interest in assessing the constitutionality of the contested provision (legislation), the result of which will be bound by all the institutions and persons referred to in Article 89 (2) of the Constitution [finding of 3 November 2020 sp. zn.
20. In addition, the Constitutional Court examined whether part of it was inadmissible under Article 66 of the Constitutional Court Act, as amended. The reason for this is that Paragraph 30 (3) of the Road Act, as amended, ("the Road Act ') was amended with effect from 1.7.2026 by Act 152 / 2023 Coll., amending Act 283 / 2021 Coll., Construction Act, as amended by Act 195 / 2022 Coll., and certain other related laws (" Act 152 / 2023 Coll.'). It became valid 5. 6. 2023. The later Act No 349 / 2023 Coll. did not affect this legislation (i.e. the legislation effective since 1 July 2026), since the amendment of the Road Transport Act was the subject of the text effective before the date of entry into force of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll. (i.e. version effective until 31.12.2023). The contested legislation has therefore become effective on 1 January 2024 and will become ineffective on 30 June 2026.
21. The legislation which was the subject of an amendment under Article XXXII, paragraphs 42 and 43 of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll., is therefore currently in force and effective (up to 30 June 2026). According to Article 66 (1) of the Law on the Constitutional Court, as amended by Act No. 277 / 2019 Coll., the application for annulment of the statutory provision is deemed inadmissible if it was valid before it was served. In the case at hand, the condition of that provision was not fulfilled.
Proceedings before the Constitutional Court
22. The Constitutional Court, pursuant to Paragraph 69 (1) of the Law on the Constitutional Court, called upon the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, acting on behalf of Parliament (as a party to the proceedings) to comment on the application to initiate proceedings. Furthermore, according to Article 69 (2) and (3) of the Law on the Constitutional Court, as amended, he called on the Government and the Ombudsman to state within the statutory deadline whether they were entering the proceedings (as interveners) and, where appropriate, to comment on the proposal.
Observations of the Chamber of Deputies
23. The Chamber of Deputies, through its President Markéta Pekarova Adama, stated in its statement of 9 September 2024 that the bill No 349 / 2023 Coll. was submitted by the Government to the Chamber of Deputies in the 9th parliamentary term of 30 June 2023 as the House Press 488. The first reading of the draft law took place at the 71st session of the 12th to 14th July 2023, in which the press was ordered to discuss the Committee on Budgets as a Committee on Social Policy, Economic Committee, Constitutional Law Committee and the Committee on Public Administration and Regional Development. The Committee on Budgets has discussed the draft law and issued a resolution on 31 August 2023 with amendments to be made to Members as copies 488 / 4. The Committee on Social Policy discussed the proposal and issued a resolution delivered to Members as press 488 / 1 on 30 August 2023. The Economic Committee discussed the proposal and issued a resolution on 31.8.2023 with amendments to be made to Members as press 488 / 3. The Constitutional Legal Committee discussed the proposal and issued a resolution delivered to Members as press 488 / 6 on 1 September 2023. The Committee on Public Administration and Regional Development has discussed the proposal and issued 1 September 2023 resolutions to Members as press 488 / 5. The second reading of the bill took place at the 75th session of 7 September 2023, all the amendments tabled were processed as print 488 / 7. The second third reading of the bill took place at the 77th meeting of the Chamber of Deputies on 22 and 27 September 2023 and on 11 and 13 October 2023. The final vote (vote 88) of the 194 Members was in favour of 108 and 86. The bill has been passed. The bill was passed to the Senate on 16 October 2023, which he assigned to his 18th meeting on 8 November 2023. The Senate approved the bill. The law was delivered to the President of the Republic for signature on 9 November 2023. The president signed the bill on 22. 11. 2023. The law was declared 12. 12. 2023 in the Collection of Laws in the amount 163 under No. 349 / 2023 Coll. According to the Chamber of Deputies, the law has been passed by the necessary majority of Members, signed by the relevant constitutional authorities and duly declared, while the legislature has acted in the belief that the law adopted complies with the Constitution and our legal order.
Statement by the Senate
24. The Senate, through its President Miloš, pushed out in a statement of 3. 9. 2024 that the content of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll. was an amendment to laws that were intended to be directed towards savings or directly related streamlining in order to reduce the structural deficit of the state budget. In the framework of the measures adopted, the tax system has been amended and Act No. 186 / 2016 Coll., on Gambling, as amended, has been substantially amended or a number of directives have been transposed (inter alia, to introduce a sustainability report obligation). Many of the amendments adopted came into the legislative process through the so-called comprehensive amendment, which intervened in less than one third of the laws (including the Road Act), while several proposed amendments to the draft Act 349 / 2023 Coll. were completely excluded and replaced by amendments to six new laws (including the Accounting Act, the Law on Auditors and the Act on Enterprise in the Capital Market).
25. Draft Act No 349 / 2023 Coll. was referred to the Senate by the Chamber of Deputies on 16 October 2023 and discussed as Press No. 161 in the 14th term. The Organizing Committee ordered the draft law to three committees which discussed it on 1 November 2023. The Committee on Economic, Agriculture and Transport (Committee on Guarantee) has not adopted any resolution on the proposal. The Constitutional Legal Committee, by Resolution No 107, recommended the Senate to approve the draft law as referred to by the Chamber of Deputies. By Resolution 59, the Committee on Territorial Development, Public Administration and the Environment recommended that the Senate return the bill to the Chamber of Deputies with amendments.
26. The Senate dealt with the bill at its 18th meeting on 8. 11. 2023. The debate was mainly led to other parts of the proposal, but it also marginally touched on the topics covered by the proposal submitted to the Constitutional Court, in particular the issue of the link between the various parts of the draft law or so-called stickers. In particular, according to Senator Hana Korda Marvan, the draft also interferes with Act No. 341 / 2005 Coll., on Public Research Institutions, as amended, and "such a fundamental change has been brought into it only in the House," and because the process has been circumvented by the possibility of the amendment being discussed in a proper legislative process, the comprehensive amendment in this section meets all the parameters of the anti-constitutional adhesive. Likewise, Senators Martin Krsek, Jan Holásek, Marek Hilsher, Michael Canov and Petr Fiala considered such a procedure unacceptable. A part of the Senators (for example Jiří Drahoš, Miroslav Adámek, Petr Vícha) stated that some of the laws in the proposal had nothing to do with its purpose, pointing in particular to the comprehensive amendment to the Act on Gambling or the amendment to Act No. 85 / 1996 Coll., on the Lawyer, as amended. In this context, Senator Miroslav Plevý stated that "the proposal served as a carrier of the great amendment to the Gambling Act." A similar view that "it is not just an amendment to the Law on Advocacy, which is unrelated to the consolidation of public finances," was shared by Senator Vladislav Vilímek. Some senators also criticised changes in the budgetary determination of taxes to municipalities, namely that their share was to be reduced (especially Senator Michael Canov). The redistribution of the proceeds of gambling tax between the municipalities was discussed, namely Senator Hynek Hanza opposed that the proceeds of gambling tax should also have the municipalities that prohibited gambling in their territory, and Senator Miroslav Adámek gave his opinion. Following the conclusion of the general debate, the draft law referred to by the Chamber of Deputies was adopted to vote on the draft Constitutional Law Committee. Order No 7 voted in favour of Proposition 53, against which there were 10, and adopted. In conclusion, the Senate noted that it followed the Constitution's established competence and constitutional procedure when discussing the draft law.
Government observations
27. By letter of 6.9.2023, drawn up in cooperation with the Minister of Finance and the Ministry of Transport, the Government pointed out that the appellant did not contest the process of adopting Article XCV, paragraphs 17 and 18 of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll., and therefore, if the annulment of these provisions is sought, it is within the meaning of the case law of the Constitutional Court on a manifestly unfounded proposal [e.g. the findings of 8.10.1996 sp. (N 28 / 25 SbNU 215), of 12.3.2002 Sb.
28. On the proposal to abolish the contested provisions of the Gaming Tax Act, the Government stated that the purpose of the Act was to discourage a selected group of municipalities, which in its territory allows the operation of slot machines in a stone factory (the so-called land-based technical game). Although the amendment reduced revenue from the budgetary determination of taxes for around 250 municipalities, these were unjustifiably favoured at the expense of other municipalities, and on the contrary about 6 000 municipalities increased this income. Compared to the original situation, the income side of most municipalities was strengthened. All municipalities under other gambling activities operated by land-based (i.e. not via the Internet), such as odds in a stone betting office, live gambling in a casino, lottery, increased their share of revenues from 30% to 65%. This return will be divided in proportion to the corresponding division of corporate tax revenue. The national gross income of the tax on online gambling and games operated without authorisation will be the income of the state budget at 100%.
29. In the case of land-based technical games, the national gross income is divided by 55% being the income of the state budget and 45% being the income of the municipalities (half of which is divided by the coefficients for the technical game based on the number of authorised gaming positions in the municipality and the other half as the income of corporate tax). Therefore, part of these revenues will also be provided to all other municipalities, on the grounds that negative externalities are not only present at the site of gambling.
30. According to the Land-based Government, gambling operations are concentrated in certain locations and, therefore, it is legitimate for municipalities that allow these games to receive a larger part of the proceeds, on the contrary, the operation of internet games is not localized and the potential negative consequences will materialise across municipalities in an essentially equal manner. However, it would not be legitimate for the municipalities that allowed the technical game on their land-based territory to benefit more significantly from the tax on online gambling. At the same time, the government pointed out that the original situation, when part of the gross revenues of the technical game tax were spent on the budget only by those municipalities that allowed land-based games to operate, was unconceptual and undesirable, because some municipalities had multiple income per capita compared to other municipalities. As a rule, municipalities with a low population, where a large proportion of gambling participants were not citizens of such a municipality, and above-average revenues could not be used effectively to clean up the potential costs associated with the operation of such games.
31. The Government recalls the case law of the Constitutional Court, according to which matters of optimal tax burden are typically among the so-called political issues, and this court is restrained in assessing the constitutionality of tax laws. The review of constitutionality is less intense and focuses on cases of extreme tax burden disproportionality, i.e. when the contested legislation distorts the principle of equality or has a "choking effect." In the case at hand, the law does not interfere with the right of municipalities to self-administration as it does not restrict the possibility of regulating gambling in its territory. The appellant has not demonstrated, nor has it been able to demonstrate, that the State is transferring the state administration's performance to municipalities, if it is about addressing the negative effects of gambling on their territory, as the State is carrying out this agenda through the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance (by operating the Register of excluded persons from gambling and the supervision of compliance with self-restrictive measures), the National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addictological Treatment is covered by public health insurance. All costs related to the authorisation of internet games, the management of information systems, tax collection, supervisory activities, etc., are borne by the State, the remediation of negative externalities of a health character is provided at the level of national and regional budgets. The cost of municipal infrastructure, security, public order, etc., incurred in connection with the playing of internet games with a comparable municipality with a permitted land-based technical game and without such permission, is also not different.
32. Moreover, the tax is unintended and incompatible with monetary performance, and it cannot be claimed that its revenue is used to finance a specific purpose. The contested provisions apply both to the operation of land-based gambling in a way as well as to the Internet, and the key to their division contained in Section 7 (6) of the Gaming Tax Act does not, although this should be the case in the spirit of the appellant's argument. The appellant's claim that municipalities have to pay from their own resources measures to reduce the negative effects of online games and unauthorised games is considered unsubstantiated by the Government, pointing out that even if they were involved, they do not do so themselves, but those measures are covered by the State budget.
33. As regards the appellant's reference to the finding in the sp. zn. The appellant's interpretation, when it comes to the content of the right to self-administration, refers to the legislator as a blank "determining the size of the purse '. According to the Government, there is no breach of Article 9 (1) and (3) of the European Charter of Local Government (Communication No. 181 / 1999 Coll.), on the contrary, the new legislation is more consistent and fairer to its Article 9 (5), although the Czech Republic has made a reservation on it and can therefore decide on which taxes and on the basis of which rules their distribution will be financed by municipalities and counties. The fact that this is not a constitutional issue was confirmed by the Constitutional Court in the decision of 20 November 2007 sp. zn. According to him, the legislation could interfere with the right to self-administration if the income of local authorities would fall below a level which would prevent the exercise of self-government. Article 11 of the Charter cannot be interpreted as constituting an unconstitutional reduction in the income of territorial authorities.
34. In conclusion, the Government pointed out that the repeal of the contested provisions would result in the application of a general standard according to which taxes are the income of the state budget [Paragraph 6 (1) (a) of Act No. 218 / 2000 Coll., on budgetary rules and on the amendment of certain related laws (budgetary rules)] and therefore the proposal cannot be achieved by the applicant.
35. If it is the alleged inconstitutionality of the legislative process, the Government has refused to be reduced to exercise its competence under Article 44 (1) of the Constitution. In addition, it stated that the draft Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll. as a set of amendments to 62 laws was approved at the hearing on 28 June 2023, forming the most important part of the measure to reduce the structural deficit of the state budget and to consolidate public finances. On the basis of the discussion at the Chamber of Deputies, a comprehensive amendment was prepared in close cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and other departments concerned, which was tabled by Mr Jiří Havránek and the other Committee on Budgets at its meeting on 30 August 2023, which recommended that the Chamber of Deputies agree to the bill as amended by the Comprehensive Amendment. Mr Jiří Havránek presented a comprehensive amendment at the meetings of other committees. The amendment was a proposal for a coalition, on the ground plan of the entire government, and was made after consultation with the departments concerned and was submitted by representatives of all the governmental parties. It was presented to the Committee on Budgets by Minister of Finance Zbynek Stanjura, who then discussed it with representatives of the opposition and the public. Thus, the amendment was tabled with its knowledge and publicly declared support, and therefore there was no breach of the division of power or the right to 'good lawmaking'.
36. On the objection to the absence of a regulatory impact assessment process (RIA), the Government stated that the aim of this process is to produce better quality legislation from the government's pen, not compliance with the caulators of the legislative process. The RIA must be distinguished from the final report on the impact assessment of regulation. A rational legislator always carries out an impact assessment of regulation because it seeks to address a particular problem and chooses an attainable path within the framework of a political arrangement. The final report from the impact assessment of regulation is a formal record of this process, the form of which is determined by a government resolution, and its absence has only political implications. The argument for submission of a proposal is easily traceable and revisable, albeit otherwise. In addition, this is an implementing regulation, the need and impact of which has been considered in the European legislative process, and the framework position has been discussed by the committees of both chambers of Parliament. However, Parliament did not request consultation or further information.
37. The fact that it was a comprehensive amendment, and therefore that some parts of the proposal were replaced as a whole by new ones, or that it was submitted as an extensive and thematic amendment of several laws, according to the Government, which refers to the findings of 15.2.2007 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 77 / 06 (N 30 / 44 CollU 349; 37 / 2007 Coll.) and of 31.1.2008 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 24 / 07 (N 26 / 48 CollNU 303; 88 / 2008 Coll.), does not constitute non-constitutionality. He points out that it was not an attempt by an individual Member to circumvent the legislative initiative, but the will of a parliamentary majority in which no constitutional rights of the opposition were violated. To the appellant's argument that the contested sustainability reporting provisions do not relate to the subject matter or purpose of the original proposal, the Government stated that there is a link, taking into account the positive effects on the business environment in the Czech Republic. While reporting may appear to be an administrative burden, it has positive effects on the internal functioning of the company, as it ensures a correct and timely risk and opportunity analysis, allowing for timely adaptation of the business strategy and business model, thereby enhancing competitiveness. Knowledge of risks and opportunities will enable market response and improved access to capital. This will enrich the whole Czech economy by making it more stable, healthier and less sensitive, thereby helping economic growth and stabilising public budgets.
38. In addition, this legislation was supplemented in the context of the uncontested part of the amendment to the Accounting Act by regulation of accounting in functional currency, which is closely linked to the consolidation of budgets. The Accounting Act had to be amended in this respect because of the obligation to fulfil obligations arising from membership of the European Union ("the EU ') and the legal certainty of the addressees of legislation, who had to fulfil obligations under the Directive across the EU on the same date. The deadline for transposition of the CSRD directive into the legal order expired on 6 July 2024, with the obligation to draw up a sustainability report for some entities from 1 January 2024. By early adoption of the sustainability reporting legislation, the amendment could have become effective on that date, thus averting the Czech Republic's liability. According to the Government, the direct link between this legislation and the consolidation of public budgets can be seen, at least in the sense that the Constitutional Court indicated in the decision of 9 January 2013 sp. pl. ÚS 6 / 12 (N 6 / 68 CollNU 103; 39 / 2013 Coll.), and the transposition steps which deterred the threat of sanctions for breach of the obligation of early transposition constitute a link, as well as the conformity of the object to the general objective of consolidating public budgets, which was the main object and content of the original draft law.
39. In the context of the appellant's objection that there had been no expert discussion, there was no comment procedure and the RIA and the bill was not properly discussed by Parliament, the Government stated that the contested legislation was transposed and therefore cannot be considered surprising. The draft CSRD directive has been discussed across EU Member States, which were able to participate in the undertakings concerned and the professional public. During the discussion, instructions were drawn up, which were subsequently distributed to the reminder procedure, and some aspects were consulted with the companies concerned, in the Czech Republic mainly through the Confederation of Industry and Transport of the Czech Republic. Although the RIA was not processed, this would not be necessary even if the contested legislation had undergone a complete legislative process. This is a minimalist transposition of the CSRD Directive, i.e. it does not go beyond its requirements and at the same time there is no room for discretion between Member States and is therefore in line with point 3.8. (i) The general principles for the assessment of regulatory impacts (RIA) do not make such an assessment. Its drafting would be irrelevant from a material point of view, even if the contested regulation was part of a government bill.
40. The Government added to the discrepancy in the transposition that, although the directives set out the objectives to be achieved at Member State level, they have the freedom to choose the appropriate means, but this principle manifests itself to a variety of levels, in particular, of their adaptation. In the section transposed by the contested legislation, the CSRD Directive is formulated in full detail, and in principle it does not give Member States the possibility to choose a different way of achieving its objective than taking its text into national law, nor does it contain any so-called discretionary provision (which depends on the Member State). The centre of gravity of the regulation is in the directly applicable standards for reporting on the sustainability adopted by the European Commission, which are directly linked to the CSRD Directive. The maximum degree of compliance of transposition national legislation with the Directive is a prerequisite for the applicability of these standards across Member States. An even wider technical discussion during the legislative process would not bring the appellant the expected results and its absence would not be in the quality of the contested legislation or the choice of how to achieve the objective of the CSRD Directive.
41. On the proposal for the annulment of Article XXXII, points 42 and 43 of Law No 349 / 2023 Coll. and Article 30 (3) of the Road Act, the Government stated that the subject of the amendment points was the terminology changes related to the reclassification of the building law, in which the new building law was adopted (Act No. 283 / 2021 Coll.), but also the accompanying law (Act No. 284 / 2021 Coll., amending certain laws in connection with the adoption of the building law), and other laws adopted in the Legissac period of the new building law. It was a very complex process, when the various legislative proposals contained a number of comprehensive diverse changes.
42. The first intention of the legislator was to align terminology in the Road Act with the new construction law. Act No 284 / 2021 Coll. amended Paragraph 30 (1) of the Road Act to include the concept of "built-up territory," with effect from 1.1.2024 (originally established effectiveness from 1.7.2023 was amended by Act No 152 / 2023 Coll.). Subsequently, Law 152 / 2023 was adopted, which completely deleted the definition of the built-up territory of the municipality contained in Section 30 (3) of the Road Act, with effect from 1 July 2026, so that from that date it will be based on Act No. 283 / 2021 Coll., Construction Act, as amended, ("the Construction Act '). In the light of the explanatory memorandum to this law, the Government also considers that the legislator's intention was to leave the road protection zone to be determined by 1 July 2026 under the existing rules laid down in the Road Law.
43. The legislator responded to the terminology discrepancy between Sections 30 (1) and 30 (3) of the Road Code by means of Act No 349 / 2023 Coll., and thus, with effect from 1.1.2024, both provisions contain the term "built-up territory." If the appellant considers that this is a fundamental and appreciable change, because the ambiguous definition contained in Section 30 (3) of the Road Law is to be used, the Government does not understand the issue in its entirety. The contested amendment respects the intention of the legislator to base the definition of a built-in area on the definition contained in the construction law, from 1 July 2026. It was therefore a purely terminal change which did not require analysis as it did not cause any effects.
44. In order to intervene in the right of municipalities to define the built-up territory and also the rights of individuals, the Government stated that the procedure for defining the built-up area under the building law was not affected, since the special arrangements did not interfere with it, and the problem regulated by the Road Law only concerns the road protection zone for which the definition of built-up area under the construction law was not used. That's not until 1 July 2026. It added that if the construction law were to be based on it before that date, it would be the burden of municipalities which do not have the territory yet built, so that there would be an enormous increase in the scope of the road protection zone.
45. As regards the objection that it is a legislative amendment, the Government stated that there is a close relationship between (government) draft Law No 349 / 2023 Coll. and the relevant amendment. The stated purpose of the original draft law is very broad, as is also demonstrated by its scope, and it is in this context that the so-called Germaneness Rule must be assessed. Removal of interpretation problems could prevent legal disputes and the resulting financial losses of the State, municipalities and natural and legal persons.
The Ombudsman's observations
46. The Ombudsman informed the Constitutional Court by letter dated 23 July 2024 that he would not exercise his procedural right under Paragraph 69 (3) of the Law on the Constitutional Court, as amended, and would not apply and enter the proceedings.
Replication of the appellant
47. The Constitutional Court sent the observations of the party and the intervener to a possible reply by the appellant who made use of this possibility.
48. In response to the Government's amendment to the Gaming Tax Act, the appellant stated that the State had overlooked that the negative effects of Internet games are inextricably linked to the territory of the municipalities and are only municipalities exposed to these effects in the first sequence. The previously distributed income represented compensation to municipalities, which must pay exclusively for their own effects. The aim of the previous adjustment was to entrust all municipalities with part of the public contributions from online betting for the purpose of providing social and similar services (addictology services, psychotherapeutic assistance centres) and to remedy the negative effects on municipalities. It rejects relativism or even denial of the role of municipalities in dealing with the effects of gambling, while there is no summary record of the amount of money spent, but that it relies on the President of the Union of Cities and Municipality of the Czech Republic and on the opinion of the Association of Local Government of 18 March 2024. It also points out that the municipalities do not have any tools to prevent the availability of online betting on their territory.
49. If the government justifies an increase in the share of all municipalities from the proceeds of other land-based gambling games by allowing or operating them to have an impact on the surrounding municipalities and the region in question, according to the appellant, such a share should be granted to them from online gambling, as it affects virtually all municipalities. It is intended to be a similar situation as in the case of a mineral mining charge [Section 33n of Act No. 44 / 1988 Coll., on the Protection and Use of Mineral Wealth (Mining Act), as amended, hereinafter referred to as "the Mining Act ']. If the State authorises a certain activity, with which there are generally significant negative impacts on the territory and budgets of municipalities, it is legitimate for the State to share the proceeds of the special public contributions with the municipal authorities, such as completely legitimate, that municipalities that have allowed gambling in its territory suffer the distribution of direct debits between other municipalities and the State. Denying the proceeds of online games is therefore contrary to the principle of proportionality. It is not substantiated by the Government's assertion that Internet games are not related to the performance of self-administration (which is to be confirmed by the appellant's continued decision-making line of the Constitutional Court), and its reasoning that the rehabilitation of negative externalities of a health nature will be provided primarily at the level of the state and regional budgets is not substantiated.
50. The Government's argument that the tax is non-profit-making and non-equivalent and cannot be claimed to be used for a specific purpose, the appellant rejects the fact that the relationship between the State and the local authorities shows a number of specifics, with the assessment of the direction of certain compensation or share of public contributions to the authorities being a regular part of the legislation adopted and, from the point of view of constitutional law, whether it is a tax or a charge.
51. According to the appellant, the legislator's practice is contrary to the principles of the democratic rule of law and the right to self-administration. This calls for the State to direct part of the specific public contributions as a substitute for the municipal authorities for the special effects that the activity allowed them has brought. While the local authorities may not claim a share of any public contribution, given the specific situation referred to above, the State cannot, without an appropriate argument, abolish the proportion of the public administration fully and without compensation, unless there is another significant reason which it did not state, or any of the reasons for that, on the contrary, the Government recognises that the effects of playing on the Internet are not linked to the site. The negative effects of playing online games will be reflected in the expenditure of municipalities whose own income is intended to secure matters which are in the interest of the municipality and its citizens. The adoption of the contested provisions is at the expense of the municipality's own property, contrary to the constitutional protection provided for in Article 101 (3) of the Constitution. This is not about "the size of the state purse," but about a fair compensation for public corporations, which the legislator has undertaken to protect from the effects of the legislator's decisions.
52. At the same time, the appellant does not consider the case-law references of the Government to be appropriate, since the decisions of the Constitutional Court (inter alia, the finding of sp. zn.
53. In addition, it adds that it is aware that it does not "revitalise" the earlier rule by any deregation of the part concerned, but it cannot choose any other petit, and assumes that Parliament will respect its proportionality ratio in case of satisfactory finding.
54. According to the appellant, the Government confirms that the obligations introduced by the Accounting Act, the Auditors Act and the Capital Market Enterprise Act are not related to the consolidation of public budgets, and the draft amendments to those laws have not been passed through the ordinary legislative process. Its assertion of positive effects on the business environment is described as "nothing" and points out that the government holds the view despite the lack of expert discussion, reminder management and assessment of the impact of the regulation. The appellant also rejects the argument that the transposition obligations of the CSRD directive had already been published on 14 December 2022, and that the legislator had sufficient time to transpose the directive because it failed to comply with that obligation is not a reason to circumvent the law. With reference to the finding sp. zn.
55. The appellant points out that the government has confirmed its role in the preparation and processing of the comprehensive amendment and asks why the amendment did not contain the consolidation package, with the government setting up a new rule on the way in which core laws are adopted when it makes proposals in the least conflicting form possible and subsequently extending its proposal with comprehensive amendments. Although the Constitutional Court has in the past ruled that the adoption of comprehensive amendments is not contrary to constitutional order, it can still be unconstitutional if its purpose is to enforce the adoption of a law which, if it were to be dealt with separately, would face excessive debate and would thus threaten not to accept it, whereas as a package of large amounts of legislative changes, it will be easily lost and more easily enforced.
56. At the same time, the draftsman draws attention to the practice in which amendments appear in the internal system of the Chamber of Deputies only in the evening, without being discussed in the relevant committees, and that the Constitutional Court has the opportunity to define itself against such a procedure and to make it clear that circumvention, bending or infringement of the law is not acceptable even in the legislative process.
Complement of the Government's proposal and observations
57. The appellant supplemented her application with a submission of 20.12.2024, with regard to the issue of the Constitutional Court's finding of 4.12.2024 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 41 / 23 (427 / 2024 Coll.). In it, it stated that, when Law No 349 / 2023 Coll. was adopted at second reading on 7 September 2023, a general debate was held, followed by a detailed debate, an amendment (as print 488 / 7) was circulated to Members up to 8.9.2023 at 15.54 pm. In addition, he was prepared at least a week before the end of the second reading, no later than 30 August 2023, and nothing prevented him from discussing 7 September 2023. The contested provisions could only be discussed in the third reading, although the committees of the Chamber of Deputies are used to discuss the draft laws properly, particularly when there are extensive amendments changing the material of the draft law under discussion. In fact, the amendment was a disguised new legislative initiative (Article 41 of the Constitution), which has its rules, and its circumvention is an unconstitutional violation of the legislative process. According to the appellant, there was also a breach of the principles of the democratic rule of law, namely the requirement of clarity and transparency of the legislative process, due to the absence of proper and logical justification, and even a reasoned report.
58. The appellant also recalls the case law of the Constitutional Court, according to which the amendment is an adhesive, unless it is closely related to the subject matter or purpose of the original draft law. Law 349 / 2023 Coll. was adopted in order to reduce the structural deficit of the state budget and to consolidate public finances, but, as the Government stated, the purpose of adopting the contested provisions of the Accounting Act, the Auditors Act and the Capital Market Enterprise Act was to fulfil the obligation to transpose the CSRD Directive.
59. When it comes to the Road Act, the purpose of the amendment was to specify the terminology setting out "built-up territory." It follows from the original draft law and from Act No 152 / 2023 Coll. the intention to exclude from the legislation a special definition of the built-up area under the Road Act (and thus to define the built-up area by the construction law). Therefore, the alleged purpose of Act No 349 / 2023 Coll was not fulfilled.
60. The appellant summarises that the contents of the original proposal were regulations directly related to the State Budget, but the contested provisions do not apply to this subject. At the same time, it points out that the non-governmental points of comment expressed a fundamental opposition to the legislative procedure applied, in particular to the mere transposition of the European directives, and that it turned to the senators and the authorities of the Senate with its opinions which could not be applied in the ordinary legislative process.
61. According to the appellant, it was not possible to heal these defects with the so-called broad consensus, since 108 Members voted in favour of the draft law and it cannot be said that there is a reason for the legal certainty to prevail over the standards which have been violated by the adhesive. It considers that, in addition to circumventing the legislative initiative, there has been a breach of the rule of law - the prohibition of abuse of law, transparency and rationality of the legislative process. It adds that if the original legislation "revives' as a result of a derogation finding, there would be no breach of constitutional principles, on the contrary the state of recovery would correspond to the long-term situation prior to the adoption of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll.
62. The Chamber of Deputies stated that it did not consider it necessary to comment on this amendment. The Senate stated that there had been no content change regarding the recap of the Senate legislative process, so it referred to its previous observations.
63. The Government stated that it did not consider the reference to the finding of sp. zn. In particular, it mentioned, for example, the arguments concerning the 'admissibility' of the comprehensive amendment and the timetable for the adoption of the proposal in the Chamber of Deputies, as well as the communication that it based the proposal on the comments and recommendations of the NERV Group as a professional public. In view of the recommendation for a resolution of the Committee on Budgets of 30.8.2023 and the discussion of the Economic Committee on the following day, the appellant rejected the applicant's reservation that the proposal had not been discussed in the committees and that a parliamentary, public or professional debate had been suppressed.
64. The Government also rejected that the amendment was only made available on the basis of press No 488 / 7, which only contained a summary of the amendments. The amendment was already available during the general and detailed debate on the second reading and was discussed by committees before the second reading. In her view, it is clear that the procedure was not surprising for the opposition, that its right to be familiar with the proposals, to express itself and to take an opinion on them was maintained.
65. The Government also stated that when legislators adopt legislative proposals in the sense of transposing European legislation to prevent sanctions from being imposed by the EU, such a procedure is a public finance investigation and thus a close relationship can be found with the content and purpose of the contested legislation and the law consolidating public finances. It cannot wait with the transformation even until the infringement procedure is initiated by the European Commission. It also stated that, even if a breach of the legislative procedure had been found, the interest in maintaining legal certainty and confidence in the law would have outweighed such a shortcoming, and refused that if it had "revived" the previous legislation, there would have been no breach of constitutional principles, with reference to the statement in the section on the existence and duration of the obligation to draw up sustainability reports (referring to the finding of the Constitutional Court, sp. point Pl. ÚS 21 / 14).
66. The Constitutional Court has no longer sent such observations to the appellant, since they reiterate this or refer to what the party and the intervener have already indicated in the previous observations, and argues with a different opinion on the finding of the sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 41 / 23, which is known to the appellant, as it itself argues.
67. In addition, the appellant pointed out that the Chamber of Deputies, despite the finding of the sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 41 / 23, continues the "adhesive practice," as evidenced by the process of approving the draft law "Lex Ukraine" (House Press 727), in which an amendment to the Penal Code was inserted at second reading on the basis of the amendment. This amendment was not sent to the party and intervener by the Constitutional Court because the Constitutional Court did not rule on whether or not the legislative process in question was affected by a constitutionally relevant defect, nor could it prejudge such a decision.
Abandonment of oral proceedings
68. The Constitutional Court concluded that further clarification of the case could not be expected from oral proceedings, and therefore, in accordance with § 44 of the First Law on the Constitutional Court, as amended, abandoned it.
69. It then followed (as required by Article 68 (1) of the Law on the Constitutional Court) to assess whether the contested legal provisions are in accordance with the constitutional order, i.e. (a) the contested legislation was adopted and issued within the limits of the Constitution of the Constitutional Court, (b) the constitutionally prescribed method of its adoption or extradition, and (c) the contested legislation is in accordance with the constitutional order in terms of content (§ 68 (2) of the Law on the Constitutional Court, as amended by Law No 48 / 2002 Coll.).
Progress of the legislative process and assessment of its constitutional conformity
70. If there is a process of approving Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll., the Constitutional Court came mainly from the observations submitted by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, as well as from publicly available sources (the stenograms of the meetings of the two chambers of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, the resolutions and the House and Senate prints freely available on https: / / www.psp.cz and https: / / www.senat.cz), since the author does not contest the facts and the Constitutional Court otherwise found no reason to doubt their credibility.
71. The Constitutional Court notes, first of all, that Law No 349 / 2023 Coll. was adopted and issued within the limits of the Constitution established competence. Moreover, the appellant raises no reservations in this respect either, its arguments focusing on the alleged constitutional deficit of the legislative process, namely that the contested provisions of that law, which amended the Road Law, the Accounting Act, the Auditor Act and the Capital Market Enterprise Act, have the nature of so-called legislative stickers. Since the appellant did not raise any other reservations and the Constitutional Court, prima facie, did not find that the legislative process could be affected by any other defect, it took the view that this objection was justified.
72. In contrast to the contested provisions of Act No 349 / 2023 Coll., which amended the Gaming Tax Act, the appellant did not identify any defect in the legislative process. Since the Constitutional Court did not find that the legislative process had been affected by any constitutionally relevant defect, it could not consider the proposal to abolish these provisions to be justified.
General considerations
1.
Legislative process
73. In order to assess the constitutionality of the legislative process in the procedure for the annulment of laws and other legislation pursuant to § 64 et seq. of the Law on the Constitutional Court, as amended, the numerous caselaw of the Constitutional Court, which summarises the finding of 13.9.2022 sp. zn. The Constitutional Court, based on this finding, recalls that, on the one hand, the requirement to comply with the procedural (procedural) rules in order to achieve a proper (constitutional) decision [finding of 2.10.2002 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 5 / 02 (N 117 / 28 SbNU 25; 476 / 2002 Sb.)], on the other hand, that formal defects in the legislative process can only be established by the unconstitutional law of the Act under review if there is a direct and material breach of its rules (whether in the level of the Constitution and the constitutional order or in the subconstitutional law), and at the same time such doubts reach the constitutional dimension [the finding of 1.3.3.2011 sp. It is not the role of the Constitutional Court to defend the "mere" legality of parliamentary procedure [cf. the finding of 7.4.2020 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 30 / 16 (N 67 / 99 CollNU 258; 254 / 2020 Coll.), paragraph 40]; the independence of the Constitutional Court in the legislative process is justified, in particular, by the protection of free competition between political parties (Article 5 of the Constitution) and political forces (Article 22 of the Charter) and the protection of minorities (Article 6 of the Constitution), typically the parliamentary opposition (finding of 18.5.2021 sp. zn. The defect of the legislative process already having the character of unconstitutionality can also be due to the accumulation of several partial formal errors [cf. the finding of 27.11.2012 sp. zn. ÚS 1 / 12 (N 195 / 67 CollU 333; 437 / 2012 Coll.), paragraph 208].
74. The Constitutional Court also notes that the rules of the legislative process are contained in various sources (parliamentary) of law, which include, in particular, the Constitution, the Rules of Procedure of the two chambers of Parliament (i.e. Act No 90 / 1995 Coll., on the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies, as amended, (hereinafter referred to as the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies) and Act No 107 / 1999 Coll., on the Rules of Procedure of the Senate, as amended) and individual resolutions of individual chambers of Parliament issued pursuant to Article 1 (2) of their Rules of Procedure (so-called autonomous resolution); The established practice of the Parliamentary Chamber and its bodies is also important, if it can be regarded as consistent with the principles of law-making, democratic political system, etc. (find sp. zn. The Constitutional Court considers these sources of parliamentary law to be an expression of Parliament's autonomy (paragraph 64). Therefore, the requirements for the legislative process are not only relatively certain procedural rules laid down by the Constitution, but also some constitutional principles, which only take place at the level of the law, i.e. the Rules of Procedure of the two chambers. In addition to the democratic principle arising from Article 1 (1) of the Constitution, which is one of the essential elements of the democratic rule of law and which does not apply to the mere majority decision of the democratically elected Members and Members or Senators and Senators, but also to the manner (s) in which the draft law is to be discussed, constitutional relevance may also be granted to other principles, in particular the prohibition of arbitrage, the principle of the protection of minorities in the adoption of political decisions, the requirement of democratic control, both by Members and Members or Senators and by the public, as well as the principle of free competition of political forces [decision of 19 April 2011 sp.
2.
The issue of so-called legislative stickers
75. The so-called legislative stickers (hereinafter referred to as "the appendage") are proposals which, in the course of the legislative process, have been "glued" to the original draft law, but do not share the same subject matter and purpose. It is therefore in relation to the present Act on the matter and teleologically unrelated proposals, which are amendments only formally, seemingly, in fact a new draft law within the meaning of Article 41 et seq. of the Constitution (Ref. The annex therefore constitutes a disguised legislative initiative (point 57).
76. Although the Constitution does not explicitly regulate the existence or the course of the triple reading of legislative proposals, including the submission of amendments (except in Article 47 of the Constitution), and, unlike in some other states, it does not expressly prohibit unrelated amendments (stickers), "adhesive practice" in its consequences and in specific cases may undermine certain constitutional principles, values and rules. It may, for example, jeopardise the democratic principle - unduly restrict the proper parliamentary debate to the proposal and allow sufficient room for expression to the parliamentary minority. It may also intervene in the division of power and constitutional guarantees so-called brakes and balances within the powers of law and between the various powers (in the sp. zn. Finally, it may constitute an inadmissible circumvention of the legislative initiative (Article 41 of the Constitution).
77. The Constitutional Court, in the recent finding of sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 41 / 23, assessed its case law on legislative stickers (paragraphs 90 to 105) and found no reason to deviate from it. According to this finding, an amendment that does not have a close relationship with the purpose or subject matter of the original draft law is an adhesive, and at the same time, a broad consensus on its adoption has not been reached in the House. Such an adhesive must be assessed by the intensity in which it affects constitutional rules and principles, which will vary from one adhesive to another, and, consequently, by considering whether other conflicting constitutional values are predominant over the violated constitutional rules and principles, for which it is appropriate not to interfere.
78. When the Constitutional Court examines a close relationship in terms of subject matter, it addresses the question of what was the content of the original bill and what was the content of the amendment and whether there is a close relationship between these contents. The starting point is the original proposal, i.e. the legislative initiative (amending the law) under Article 41 of the Constitution, not the law which is the subject of the initiative (amended law); It is therefore necessary to examine the link between the content of the original draft law and the content of the amendment, not in isolation whether the original proposal and the amendment relate to the amendment of the same or other laws.
79. Furthermore, if the Constitutional Court considers a close relationship in terms of purpose, it deals with what followed the original bill and the amendment. It is therefore an objective consideration of what the purpose of the originally proposed amendment and the purpose of the amendment introduced by the provisions was and of whether there is a close relationship between them. The subjective view of the promoter of the original bill or of the amendment to the purpose of the standards proposed by them can only be of supportive importance.
80. Thus, the nature of the adhesive does not have an amendment which proposes, by the subject (content) of a comparable regulation, to enter into a different law than that originally intended to be amended, even if this amendment pursues a different purpose, or which imposes in another law a different regulation if it pursues a comparable purpose. At the same time, the fact that the original bill and the amendment concern the amendment of the same law does not mean that there is a close relationship between them in terms of object or purpose.
81. Although the amendment fulfils the characteristics of the adhesive, there may be a situation where there was a broad consensus in the Chamber of Deputies regarding the need for such an amendment. That fact legitimises and increases the shortcomings that are otherwise linked to such a procedure, and the Constitutional Court cannot qualify the proposed amendment as a (non-constitutional) affiliation. A broad consensus means at least a majority that is comparable to the majority required to adopt a constitutional law involving not a small part of the opposition. At the very least, a constitutional majority must be reached in the final vote on the bill containing the amendment at the end of the third reading in the Chamber of Deputies; However, it is also relevant what kind of support the adoption of the amendment itself had.
82. Finally, the Constitutional Court assesses whether conflicting constitutional principles, rules and values prevail over those affected by the adhesive. In particular, the principle of legal certainty will be contradictory, but it may also be other constitutional values or principles, in particular concerning the material rule of law or the effective protection of constitutionality (Articles 1 (1), 83 of the Constitution).
83. The Constitutional Court summarises and complements that, in the finding of the sp. zn. In view of Parliament's broad autonomy, when it comes to establishing rules on law-making and dealing with procedural issues, and the effectiveness of the law-making process itself, this rule cannot be understood as "formalistic" and thus require the submission of a new bill to the Chamber of Deputies instead of a comprehensive amendment. It must be taken into account that Members (usually) may, at second and third reading, discuss such a proposal in plenary and work on any changes.
84. In the opinion of the Constitutional Court, therefore, the scope and content of the amendment should be taken into account when assessing the constitutionality of the legislative process in terms of the extent to which it transforms the original draft law and the specific conditions and circumstances of the draft law. The Constitutional Court consistently takes the view that a breach of the Rules of Procedure as a sub-constitutional right "automatically 'does not carry with it a breach of constitutionality, but it cannot be ruled out that, in certain circumstances, such infringement may achieve constitutional legal quality.
85. At the same time, Parliament and its institutions can be expected (and requested) to apply the Rules of Procedure wisely, not to circumvent or abuse them. In so doing, not every incorrect incorporation and application of the Rules of Procedure (as a sub-constitutional law) can be considered relevant from the point of view of constitutionality. However, arbitrary violations and purposeful circumvention of the Rules of Procedure (here specifically its provisions governing the material of amendments), which lead to a breach of the transparency and openness of the legislative process, exclude or severely restrict political discourse in Parliament and any public debate, at the expense of the rights of individual Members and Members, or the parliamentary opposition. It adds that the constitutional order for transparency is based on a democratic principle (Article 1 (1) of the Constitution) and its function is to ensure that every citizen has the opportunity to monitor the process of law in Parliament.
Application of general considerations to the case under assessment
1.
Road law
86. The original draft law No 349 / 2023 Coll. did not contain the contested provision of the Road Act. This happened only on the basis of a comprehensive amendment to the Committee on Budgets (Resolution of 31.8.2023, delivered to Members as press 488 / 2 and 488 / 4 respectively). On 7 September 2023, as part of the second reading, the Chamber of Deputies passed the Bill No. 349 / 2023 Coll. by general and detailed debate, the third reading took place on 22 and 27 September, 11 and 13 October 2023. The amendment could therefore be brought to the attention of Members before the second reading, while the overall time-frame for understanding its content and discussing it in the Chamber of Deputies and for any possible professional discussion was more than a month.
87. However, rather extensive amendments to the Road Law were included in the original proposal. As a result of the explanatory memorandum, the main objective of the amendments to the Road Act, as well as the related amendments to Act No 56 / 2001 Coll., on the conditions for the operation of vehicles on the road, as amended, and Act No 634 / 2004 Coll., on administrative charges, as amended, was to transpose Directive (EU) 2022 / 362 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 February 2022 amending Directives 1999 / 62 / EC, 1999 / 37 / EC and (EU) 2019 / 520 on the collection of charges on vehicles for the use of certain roads. The legislator's intention (by introducing a fourth component of tolls to be imposed for the purpose of recovering CO2 emissions from vehicles operating in an electronic road toll system) was to motivate carriers to purchase and operate more environmentally friendly vehicles, thereby improving the environment.
88. In addition to the transposition of the Union directive, the proposal, according to the explanatory memorandum, should include further changes to existing legislation, based on the requirements of application practice. The new delimitation of the border of the protection zone in § 30 (2) (a) and Article 30 (4) of the Road Act in the original draft law (House Press 488) can be considered as an amendment to existing legislation responding to the requirements of the application practice. The reasons for the amendment of the contested provision on the basis of a comprehensive amendment should have been legislative and technical, since, on the basis of Article XXVII (12) of Law No 284 / 2021 Coll. inter alia, from Paragraph 30 (1) of the Road Act, the word "continuous' was deleted without, however, this amendment being made in Article 30 (3) of the same law, and this inconsistency could trigger application problems in the terms used.
89. It follows from the above that the purpose of the original draft amendment to the Road Law was not only to transpose European law into our legal order, but the legislator considered it necessary to make certain amendments to that law on the basis of requirements that came from application practice. The comprehensive amendment at the contested point did not go beyond that framework, as it was subject to a change in legislation, which can be characterised as legislative and technical in terms of scale as only minor.
90. In the opinion of the Constitutional Court, therefore, a close relationship was established between the purpose of the original draft Law No 349 / 2023 Coll. and the (complex) amendment, since their aim was to eliminate some shortcomings in the existing road law. There is also a close relationship in their subject matter, as they both concerned the modification of the road protection zone, even if any other aspect thereof. A comprehensive amendment cannot therefore be qualified as an attachment on this point.
2.
Accounting Act, Auditor Act and Capital Market Enterprise Act
91. The contested provisions of the Act on Accounting, the Act on Auditors and the Act on Enterprise in the Capital Market did not contain the original draft of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll. did so only on the basis of a comprehensive amendment to the Budget Committee (Resolution of 31.8.2023, delivered to Members as Press 488 / 2 and 488 / 4 respectively). On 7 September 2023, as part of the second reading, the Chamber of Deputies passed the Bill No. 349 / 2023 Coll. by general and detailed debate, the third reading took place on 22 and 27 September, 11 and 13 October 2023. Thus, Members could have been familiar with the amendment before the second reading, while the overall time-frame for understanding its content and discussion in the Chamber of Deputies and for any professional discussion was more than a month.
92. It follows from the explanatory memorandum to the original (government) draft law that its content should have been the adoption of measures, in particular on the expenditure side of the state budget, which will be accompanied by measures on the revenue side of public budgets, with an emphasis on the state budget. The aim was to reduce the structural deficit of the state budget and consolidate public finances. In terms of its nature, this proposal constituted a so-called assembly amendment, but it did not contain the same or similar legislation as the amendment, and the proposed amendments did not, moreover, concern the Accounting Act, the Auditor Act or the Capital Market Enterprise Act.
93. The Constitutional Court therefore examined whether the amendment followed a comparable purpose to (the original) draft Act No 349 / 2023 Coll. Proposers - Members of the Government Coalition submitted it in order to fulfil the obligations of the Czech Republic as an EU Member State to transpose the CSRD Directive into national law in a timely manner. In order to assess this issue, it is essential what purpose the CSRD Directive itself has pursued. According to the ideas of the European Parliament and the Council, sustainability reports are intended to provide relevant information that will benefit all citizens (as the economic system will be stable, sustainable and inclusive), as well as investors or asset managers (as they will better understand the risks and opportunities posed by sustainability issues for their investments and the impact of these investments on people and the environment), trade unions and employers' representatives (as they can better engage in social dialogue), as well as civil society, business partners and businesses themselves (see point 9 of the Introductory Part). It is intended to be one of the measures under the EU's strategy for growth and transformation, the Green Agreement for Europe, whose objectives are environmental, social and economic, such as competitiveness, economic growth and stability (see point 1 of the introductory part).
94. In short, the purpose of the original draft law No 349 / 2023 Coll. was to consolidate state finances or improve the state's management, an amendment to amend the Accounting Act, the Auditors Act and the Capital Market Enterprise Act followed the improvement of the business environment, the conservation of nature and the improvement of the conditions of life in society. Although possible economic growth and stability in the Czech Republic and the EU may also be positive in the fiscal sector as a result of the change in these laws and thus contribute to the consolidation of the state budget, this link is remote, or only mediated, and therefore it cannot be concluded that there is a close relationship between the purpose of the original bill and the amendment.
95. The Constitutional Court could not even conclude that there would be a broad consensus across the political spectrum in the Chamber of Deputies to "legitimise" the process. The Constitutional Court can only come out of the final vote on the bill as a whole in this regard, namely that there were 108 votes in favour and 86 votes against.
96. Although the amendment formally bears the emblem, the intensity of violations of constitutional principles does not go beyond what is necessary for the exertion of the Constitutional Court. Although the amendment was made in the Committee on Budgets and, formally speaking, it was a proposal from a group of Members, it nevertheless happened on the basis of the agreement of the parties to the Government Coalition and with the support and contribution of the Government or the relevant ministries. From a factual point of view, it was a government proposal, but the labelling is not essential, it is essential that the government was clearly not shortened on its right to comment on all draft laws (Article 44 of the Constitution).
97. Since the draft law did not go through the "standard" legislative process, which foresees three reading, the Constitutional Court focused on whether (nevertheless) the process was transparent and open, so that all parties concerned had an adequate opportunity to comment and that the resolution was adopted on the basis of sufficient information and after public debate.
98. The appellant argues, in short, that the CSRD directive could have been transposed into another, less burdensome form for the operators concerned. The Government refers to this transposition as "minimalist," arguing that, in view of the content of this directive, the legislator had virtually no discretion over the particular form of the law. The Constitutional Court cannot identify with these opinions. The bill was presented in a given form and it was up to the legislator to approve it. It is not so important if the legislator or the appellant considered that, in view of the content of the CSRD directive, they had room for some other solution or not. The Constitutional Court considers it necessary to add that, in the case of transposition of European rules, even where the discretion of the legislator appears to be minimal, the legislative process is not subject to any constitutional standards other than those of other laws.
99. The Constitutional Court also recalls that the comprehensive amendment of the Committee on Budgets (as a resolution of 31.8.2023) was contained in the 488 / 4 press, which was distributed to Members at 16.13 hours before the second reading of the draft law. It should be added that in print 488 / 7, which was sent out on 8 September 2023 at 15.54 hours and to which the applicant points out, all amendments were (only) processed. The bill passed a general and detailed debate in the second reading on 7 September 2023, the third reading took place on 22 and 27 September, 11 and 13 October 2023. This created sufficient time for the parliamentary opposition and, where appropriate, the professional public to comment on the transposition of the CSRD Directive. Moreover, stenographic records show that this issue has not been discussed at all, and it cannot be inferred from anything that Members themselves feel they have the right to comment on the amendment of the Accounting Act, the Auditor Act and the Capital Market Enterprise Act, contained in the comprehensive amendment, have been shortened in this respect.
100. In the light of the above, the Constitutional Court notes that, although the contested amendment had the characteristics of a sticker that may affect the transparency and openness of the legislative process, it has borne the mark. However, this did not happen in the present case, because Members and Members were actually able to express their proposed legislation in both committees and in plenary of the Chamber of Deputies, to discuss it or to continue working on it, including in the light of any public initiatives. In addition, it should be taken into account that the reason for such a procedure was a temporary distress, when it comes to fulfilling the obligation of the Czech Republic to transpose the CSRD Directive into national law, and although the government is likely to be in this situation as a result of its failure to act, this cannot be considered to be arbitrary violations or purposeful circumvention of the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies, which would significantly affect the above-mentioned principles, thereby calling into question the confidence of political actors or citizens in a democratic rule of law.
A substantive review of the constitutionality of the contested provisions
101. As mentioned above, the appellant seeks the annulment of both the amending provisions of Act No 349 / 2023 Coll., as well as the amended provisions of the Act on Gambling Tax, the Act on Road Transport, the Act on Accounting, the Act on Auditors and the Act on Capital Market Enterprise. However, the objection to the inconstitutionality of the legislation is based only on the Gaming Tax Act and the Road Act. In the remainder, the Constitutional Court therefore considers the application to be unfounded.
Gaming Tax Act
102. The appellant submits that the contested provisions of the Gaming Tax Act are contrary to the right of municipalities to self-government under Articles 8, 100 (1) and 101 (3) of the Constitution. The reason for this is that the amendment of the Gaming Tax Act by Act No 349 / 2023 Coll. was unjustifiably and unequivocally removed from the municipalities the share of the proceeds from online gambling and from unauthorised gambling, and thus they are not able to carry out independently the public tasks entrusted to them, which specifically consist in the remediation of the negative effects of playing these games. Their ownership rights guaranteed by Article 11 (1) of the Charter should also be infringed.
General considerations
103. From Articles 8, 100 (1), 101 (1) and 104 (2) The Constitution is based on the fact that "the right of the local authorities to take decisions on their own responsibility and at the same time of public interest, in the framework of decentralised autonomous areas, defined by the constitutional order and the laws of the local authorities, on their matters within their territory and for their decisions to bear public liability '[the finding of 12 May 2020 sp. zn. III. ÚS 709 / 19 (N 90 / 100 CollNU 87), paragraph 26; likewise Philip, J. In Bahěľová, L., Philip, J., J., Molek, P., Podhrazký, M., Suchánek, R., Šimek, V., Zeměnek, L. Constitution of the Czech Republic. Comment. Praha: Linde, 2010, p. 1106 et seq.].
104. The State may only intervene in this field by its authorities pursuant to Article 101 (4) of the Constitution if the protection of the law so requires (that is to say, if the law is infringed) by the legal means and procedures laid down by law (cf. Article 2 (3) in conjunction with Articles 78, 79 (1) and (3), 91 (2) of the Constitution). Only the law (the so-called reservation of the law) is entrusted with defining a range of matters which the State decentralizes and which are separately managed by the local authorities. The legislation by which such a law may be implemented may not interfere with that law in the reserved areas; otherwise it is a manifestation of the state's insolence or desire in relation to the local authorities. Respect for Territorial Authority is then a necessary part of the rule of law and an irreplaceable component of democracy [cf. Found on 19.11.1996 sp. zn. ÚS 1 / 96 (N 120 / 6 CollNU 369; 294 / 1996 Coll.)]. Therefore, the constitutional definition of this concept cannot be dependent solely on the rule of law, because it could lead to the lusts of the legislator and the intrinsic nature of the principle of territorial self-government, which is one of the fundamental values of the democratic rule of law and which must enjoy constitutional protection as a constitutional principle.
105. If they represent the local authorities of the citizens' territorial community, they must be free to decide, through the autonomous decision-making of their representative bodies, how they will dispose of the funds they are equipped to carry out the tasks of the self-government (if they are not assigned in a specific case). It is the management of its property separately on its own account and its own responsibility is an attribute of self-government. Therefore, the existence of own and sufficient financial and property resources [finding of 9.7.2003 sp. zn. The ownership of the property and the existence of own income are therefore a key economic precondition for the territorial administration, which is also highlighted by the European Charter of Local Government [cf. Marková, H. Public law corporations and their financial resources. In Pupil Krzyžanková, K. a kol. Right as a multidimensional phenomenon. A tribute to Ales Gerloch for his 65th birthday. Plzen: Aleš Čeněk, 2020, p. 726, 731-732; find of 18.5.2021 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 97 / 20 (N 98 / 106 CollNU 123; 241 / 2021 Coll.), paragraph 27. Currently, the financial resources of municipalities are mainly income from their assets, income from local taxes and taxes and subsidies. However, the Constitution does not guarantee municipalities the right to their own resources, to the State of Independent Resources, and such a commitment does not result from the international commitments taken over by the Czech Republic as it has applied a reservation to Article 9 (3) to (5) of the European Charter of Local Government.
106. At the same time, the Constitutional Court generally bases itself on the review of tax laws on restraint; In particular, it points out in the long term that, in view of the principle of judicial self-restraint, "it cannot assess the optimisation of the tax system or assess tax laws from the point of view of the fulfilment of the basic functions of taxes' [see, for example, the finding of 28.6.2016 sp. zn. If the Constitutional Court had acceded to it, it would have entered into the field of individual policies whose rationality cannot be well assessed from the point of view of constitutionality" [the finding of 21 April 2009 sp. zl. ÚS 29 / 08 (N 89 / 53 SbNU 125; 181 / 2009 Coll.), paragraph 60].
107. The Constitutional Court therefore does not call into question the wide degree of discretion enjoyed by the legislator in determining the tax liability [cf. the finding of 19 April 2011 sp. zn. Article 11 (5) of the Charter contains the constitutional authorisation of Parliament to determine taxes and charges, with the issue of the need for tax precisely to a certain extent being a matter of a political nature, the solution of which is solely the legislator's responsibility [cf. the finding of 10 July 2014 sp. zn. Therefore, in assessing the degree of intervention in the property rights of taxable entities, the tenancy of the Constitutional Court in the field of tax laws is reflected in the lower intensity of the review of tax laws [cf. the finding of 28.6.2016 sp. zn.
108. These conclusions relate not only to the laws by which natural and legal persons are subject to their own tax or charge obligations, but also to the laws which provide for the distribution of income from the tax and charges imposed between the State and the local authorities. As is apparent from the finding of the Constitutional Court of 20 November 2007 sp. zn.
109. Therefore, the scope for the deregation of the Constitutional Court to intervene in such a law could only be opened "if it was found and demonstrated that the legislation in question practically imposes [...] certain categories of municipalities [...] on their self-administration, i.e. that their income would fall below the level which would prevent the exercise of self-governing powers within the meaning of Article 8 of the Constitution '(page 5 of the ÚS 50 / 06, paragraph 27). It should be noted that, although the assessment here was the subject of an alleged unequal treatment, which was intended to constitute an infringement of Articles 1 and 3 (1) of the Charter and which was intended to consist in the distribution of funds on the basis of the size of the municipality, the considerations set out above are, however, generally valid and may also be relied on in the present case.
110. The Constitutional Court concludes from that that the determination of revenue from taxes and local charges and the determination of the key to their division between the local authorities is fully in the hands of the legislator. At the same time, the laws that the constitutionally enshrined right of municipalities to territorial self-government cannot defuse or effectively eliminate the substance of that right in its material concept. In the context of the present case, it is therefore of legal relevance whether, as a result of the contested provisions, the material conditions of the municipalities have changed to the extent that the municipalities are unable to fulfil the tasks assigned to them by law.
Application of general considerations to the case under assessment
111. In the light of the foregoing, the Constitutional Court has examined whether the change in the budgetary determination of gambling taxes affects the very nature of the municipality's right to self-administration. By Act No 349 / 2023 Coll. the budgetary determination of the revenue from the sub-tax on internet games and unauthorised games was changed by becoming 100% of the revenue of the state budget, whereas until then the revenue was divided between municipalities and the State at 30: 70.
112. The fact that there has been a failure in the sub-segment of income does not indicate any real impact on the overall management of the municipalities and, consequently, on the exercise of their right to local authorities, let alone that this impact would be so crucial that it would threaten the municipalities with a financial collapse that would in practice make it impossible or significantly restrict the performance of local authorities. The appellant is known to the case-law of the Constitutional Court on the assumptions for its possible deregulation, but did not state any relevant facts in that regard and did not raise any evidence.
113. In particular, according to the Constitutional Court, the reduction in the income of municipalities in a particular segment, and not even the reduction in the total income of municipalities from the previous period, cannot be linked without any constitutional provisions. As to how the proceeds of gambling taxes are to be used by municipalities, the law does not determine, and the strengthening of State revenue itself in order to restore state finances through the so-called consolidation package, even at the expense of the municipal budget, is clearly a political issue to which it is not for the Constitutional Court to comment (see paragraph 106 et seq.).
114. The Constitutional Court adds that according to the report of the Ministry of Finance of 9 June 2023 changes in gambling taxation were to bring more than CZK 4.2 billion per year to the state budget compared to the previous state. However, it cannot be concluded that, as a result of the change in the budgetary determination of gambling taxes, the income of municipalities would be reduced by this amount, as the overall tax burden on taxpayers or the increase in tax revenues, including for the benefit of municipalities, was also increased. The legislative changes in the so-called consolidation package were set to maintain the total amount of tax revenue for municipalities compared to the previous year (see the observations of the Minister of Finance when discussing Bill 349 / 2023 Coll. at the third reading on 27 September 2023).
115. If the appellant argues that the legislature is an unpredictable and disproportional intervention which constitutes a breach of legal certainty, property law or so-called legitimate expectations, the Constitutional Court recalls that it is a matter for the legislator to divide the tax revenue and, in the same way, it is fully within its competence to amend the one rule laid down, acting in a constitutional manner. Therefore, if the legislator is to change the rules on the tax (or other) income of municipalities, such a step cannot be considered unconstitutional since, in general terms, the "inconsistency 'of such rules is not guaranteed by constitutional order [cf., for example, the finding of 15.5.2012 sp. zn. ÚS 17 / 11 (N 102 / 65 CollNU 367; 220 / 2012 Coll.], paragraphs 77 and 85].
116. The Constitutional Court further recalls that Article 11 of the Charter protects the right of ownership of existing, established and not claimed rights [see, for example, the finding of 28.6.1995 sp. zn. I. ÚS 115 / 94 (N 41 / 3 SbNU 293)]. If the municipalities did not raise funds in their assets which corresponded to a share of the proceeds of the partial gambling tax and could not obtain it because the law did not grant them such a share, they could not reasonably rely on protection under their ownership law. A breach of the so-called legitimate expectation (that certain assets would be acquired) or the principle of legal certainty (which would be manifested here in the prohibition of retroactivity) could be considered in a situation where, by law, municipalities would be entitled to a specific amount of funds and then the legislator would withdraw such a right. This was not the case in the proposal, nor was the Constitutional Court found that such a situation would arise in the present case, since the effectiveness of Law No 349 / 2023 Coll. took place up to 1 January 2024 and operates, if it is to divide the gross proceeds of gambling tax, for futuro.
117. If the appellant contends that "extreme discrimination 'between the rights and obligations of the State and the municipality, namely that all income from the taxes on online gambling and gambling operated without the necessary basic authorisation or declaration, while municipalities bear the costs of recovering the negative effects of playing such games, the Constitutional Court considers that such a measure cannot be carried out in the present case. This would be taken into account where the State would impose on a particular municipality or group (category) of municipalities in excess of their normal activity a certain obligation or where, for reasons of public interest, the municipality would have to bear a higher burden than other municipalities without providing it with an appropriate material base or compensation. In general, in order to make such an assessment - in terms of possible (dis) proportionality - it would have to be known both the amount of funds for such a purpose and the amount of necessary expenditure from the municipal budget (s) on it.
118. The funds allocated to municipalities in the form of proceeds from online gambling or unauthorised gambling are not assigned to this remediation. The appellants of the problems referred to, such as vandalism, petty crime or "non-payment ', are not only of origin in the gaming of those gambling, nor are they affected by certain municipalities, the degree of severity of which may vary between municipalities. The parties concerned (vandalism or" non-payment') are not only municipalities but also their citizens and other natural and legal persons. Municipality as a local public-law corporation often solves some problems (e.g. by ensuring order in the municipality or protecting property) in the interests of its citizens, but this is usually within the normal agenda or can take up the solution (e.g. by social work, by providing additive advice, etc.). The precise quantification of all the costs incurred by the municipality (and all the municipalities combined) for the remediation of the negative effects of playing online and unauthorised games is not realistic. Given that, on the income side, the funds resulting from gambling taxes to municipalities do not have a purpose, and even on the spending side, the cost of remediing the negative effects of gambling online cannot be quantified or quantified by the author, its claim of "extreme discrimination" has no basis. It may be added that, on the contrary, the legislator's attempt was to remove the considerable disproportion between the revenues of municipalities authorised in their territory and those not authorised.
119. The appellant's note on § 33n of the Mining Act is not appropriate, as part of the revenue from the remuneration provided there is the income of the budget (precisely) of the municipalities in whose territory the mining of minerals takes place (i.e. the municipalities which immediately feel the effects of mining). Similarly, under the subsidy programmes, the State supports the sustainable development of municipalities located in national parks, thereby compensating for the restrictions imposed on them by the announcement of national parks.
120. The Constitutional Court does not dispute that municipalities also face the negative effects of gambling and are themselves actively trying to address them at the expense of the municipal budget. At the same time, however, the Constitutional Court considers that a significant contribution to the resolution of these problems lies with the State or its institutions, institutions and bodies which are financed by the State budget. It is not, therefore, a situation where the State - quite clearly or fundamentally - would transfer the negative effects of playing online gambling to municipalities and, on its own, benefit from the proceeds of the tax in question, with a more detailed assessment of the alleged disproportionality within a single segment of municipal income and expenditure for the reasons already mentioned.
121. The Constitutional Court has no choice but to state that, in the present proceedings, it has not been established (established) that, as a result of the contested legal provisions alone or in conjunction with other rules adopted in the context of the consolidation package as a whole, municipalities have been reduced financially to such a degree as to make it completely impossible or significantly restrict the exercise of the territorial authority, nor that the recognition of the proceeds of gambling or unauthorised gambling would lead to "extreme discrimination" between their rights and obligations. The appellant's objection that there has been a conflict with the right to self-administration, as enshrined in Articles 8 and 100 (1) and 101 (3) of the Constitution, cannot therefore be attributed.
Road law
122. The appellant argues that the amendment of Paragraph 30 (3) of the Road Code was not only formal but entails practical consequences in the understanding and definition of the road protection zone. Paragraph 30 (1) of the same Law contained the method of determining the protection zone which was linked to the concept of "built-up territory 'as defined by the construction law. However, in Paragraph 30 (3) of the same Act, the amendment defined this concept (again) specifically, i.e. without any link to the building law, which denies the intention of the legislator to link terminology with the building law, as is the result of Act No. 284 / 2021 Coll., which amends certain laws in connection with the adoption of the building law, as amended. The appellant considers this definition - contrary to the definition of" built-up territory "in the construction law - to be ambiguous. The change in the determination of the protection zone is essential, since the built-up area under the construction law constitutes a different part of the area than that laid down in the contested provision. In doing so, there is a substantial or total ban on activities, including construction and landscaping, or on the exercise of property rights, which should have been a reason to carry out a thorough analysis.
123. For these reasons, the appellant considers that the contested provision has been affected by the right of municipalities to self-government, namely the right to define the built-up area pursuant to § 19 (1) in conjunction with § 25 and § 27 (1) of the Building Act, which provides municipalities with the concept of their own development. Indeed, the extent of the built-up territory of municipalities has changed and in most cases the protection zone has been extended to the detriment of the built-up territory of municipalities. The guideline is to extend the field of responsibility of the Road Authority to the detriment of the municipalities and to their detriment. The change also significantly affects the rights and freedoms of individuals, primarily property law and secondary law, for example. The ambiguity of the definition of the established territory of the municipality will lead to litigation, create legal uncertainty for the addressees of the legal standard and create an area for corruption.
General considerations
124. The Constitutional Court, in its decision of 8.7.2010 sp. zn. At the same time, he outlined that the lack had to be addressed by a constitutional interpretation, pointing out that the finding of 3.2.1999 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 19 / 98 (N 19 / 13 CollNU 131; 38 / 1999 Coll.), under which "the obligation of the courts to find the right does not only seek direct, specific and explicit guidance in the legal text, but also the obligation to identify and formulate what is a specific law even where the interpretation of abstract standards, constitutional principles, provisions of the Charter [...] and obligations arising from international treaties is concerned. The scope of such interpretation and its importance is undoubtedly greater where the application of legal regulations is concerned, which are no longer entirely satisfactory, but are not in principle even unconstitutional. Of the many conceivable interpretations of the law, only one that respects constitutional principles (if such an interpretation is possible) must be used, and the repeal of the provisions of the law on non-constitutionality is only, if the provision in question cannot be applied without violating the constitutionality (principle of minimisation of intervention)." The indeterminity of a provision of legislation must therefore be regarded as contradictory to the requirement of legal certainty and thus also to the rule of law (Article 1 (1) of the Constitution), only if the intensity of such uncertainty excludes the possibility of determining its normative content by means of normal interpretative procedures [e.g. the finding of 13.3.2007 sp. zn. ÚS 10 / 06 (N 47 / 44 CollU 603; 163 / 2007 Coll.]].
125. In other words, the principle of the primacy of the constitutional interpretation of a law or of an individual provision prior to their deregulation by the Constitutional Court, linked to the obligation of all public authorities to interpret and apply the right, taking into account the requirement to protect fundamental rights and freedoms (Article 1 (1) and Article 4 of the Constitution) [e.g. the finding of 30 June 2015 sp. zl. ÚS 21 / 14 (N 122 / 77 SbNU 759; 199 / 2015 Coll.], paragraph 169. This deregulation is considered if (constitutionally conformal) interpretation and application is in principle not possible and as a result the underlying state of legal uncertainty is incompatible with constitutional order.
Application of general considerations to the case under assessment
126. The appellant first of all assumes that the amendment of Paragraph 30 (3) of the Road Act by Law No 349 / 2023 Coll. creates a state of legal uncertainty. The Constitutional Court does not share this view for the following reasons. Act No 284 / 2021 Coll. amended, with effect from 1 January 2024, Section 30 (1) of the Road Act, inter alia, by replacing the term "concurrently built area of municipalities" by "built territory of municipalities." As can be seen from the explanatory memorandum to this law, it should have been a legislative-technical change aimed at bringing the terminology of the road law into line with the terminology of the construction law. Act No 349 / 2023 Coll. also amended Paragraph 30 (3) of the Road Act with effect from 1.1.2024. There is no reason to believe that there should also be a legislative-technical change made for the same purpose. The fact that the legislator did not intend to "leave" the construction law to the road protection zone by that date to the definition of the established territory of the municipality (i) for the purposes of determining the road protection zone also demonstrates that it did so with effect from 1 July 2026 through Act No 152 / 2023 Coll., when it amended Paragraph 30 (3) of the Road Transport Act by deleting that definition entirely from it (see also the explanatory note to the Act). In the light of the foregoing, the Constitutional Court considers that the contested provisions have only changed terminology, not the alleged change in the rights and obligations of the parties concerned as a result of the different definitions of the established territory of the municipality in the Road and Construction Act. Such a change is to take place only with effect of Paragraph 30 (3) of the Road Act as amended by Act No 152 / 2023 Coll., from 1 July 2026.
127. In other words, the determination of the built-up territory of the municipality was continuously subject to the Road Law and will be subject to it until 30 June 2026. If the appellant deduces from the amendment of the Road Act by Act No 284 / 2021 Coll., that the legislator intended to subject them to the regime of the construction law, such an intention is not apparent from the explanatory report to that law. The legislator subsequently removed any ambiguities by adopting Act No. 152 / 2023 Coll., since it clearly implies that this should be the case only with effect from 1 July 2026. If the appellant contests the contested provision on the "ambiguities' arising from changes in the legislation and, consequently, on the legal uncertainty of the parties concerned, it cannot be attested to it because Law No 349 / 2023 Coll. could not have caused such a situation by unifying the terms.
128. Although it follows from the explanatory memorandum to this law that that provision, as it is currently in force and effective, is causing difficulties in practice, this fact itself, as explained above, does not create its inconstitutionality, despite the fact that the legislator has already responded to it by adopting Act 152 / 2023 Coll. If the appellant invokes the right to self-administration, ownership and, consequently, the right to do business, the lawful establishment of road protection zones may affect (and often affect) the rights and legitimate interests of natural and legal persons (including territorial authorities), but this does not mean that this is an unconstitutional intervention. The proposal does not contain any specific argument as to why this should be the case in the present case (currently applicable and effective legislation). Nor can it be relevant in this respect that the Road Law defines the built-up territory of the municipality in an effective version other than the construction law (whose definition of the built-up area will apply only from 1.7.2026). It is up to the legislator to decide whether or not to change existing legislation. It should be added that, if the appellant had reservations about existing (i.e. effective) legislation, it should have applied them in the proposal. The Constitutional Court has no choice but to state that, at this point, there is no evidence of any conflict of laws with the constitutional order.
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Regulation Information
| Citation | The Constitutional Court found No 257 / 2025 Coll., sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 22 / 24 on the application for annulment of certain provisions of Act No. 349 / 2023 Coll., amending certain laws in connection with the consolidation of public budgets, virtually Act No. 187 / 2016 Coll., on gambling tax, as amended, Act No. 13 / 1997 Coll., on road transport, as amended, Act No. 563 / 1991 Coll., on accounting, as amended, Act No. 93 / 2009 Coll., on auditors and amending certain laws (Act on Auditors), as amended, and Act No. 256 / 2004 Coll. |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | The Constitutional Tribunal found |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 29.07.2025 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | - |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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