The Constitutional Court found No 344 / 2021 Coll.
The Constitutional Court found of 24 August 2021 sp. zn.
Valid
The Constitutional Tribunal found
Text versions:
24.09.2021
344
FIND
The Constitutional Court
On behalf of the Republic
On 24 August 2021, the Constitutional Court decided under sp. zn.
as follows:
Paragraph 33 (9) and § 33d of Act No. 111 / 2006 Coll., on aid in material distress, as amended, shall be deleted from the date of the publication of this finding in the Collection of Laws.
Reasons
Subject matter
1. On 6 December 2017, the Constitutional Court received a proposal from a group of 17 senators of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to as "the draftsman ') to repeal Sections 33 (9) and 33d of Act No. 111 / 2006 Coll., on aid in material distress, as amended, (hereinafter referred to as" the Act on aid in material distress').
2. On 27 April 2018, the Constitutional Court received a proposal from the Regional Court in Prague ("the Regional Court '), which also proposed the annulment of Sections 33 (9) and 33d of the Law on aid in material distress. This proposal was rejected because of litispendence (§ 35 (2) of Act No. 182 / 1993 Coll., on the Constitutional Court) by order of 29.5.2018 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 29 / 18, in conjunction with § 43 (1) (e) of the Law No. 182 / 1993 Coll., on the Constitutional Court, as amended (" the Law on the Constitutional Court'). The Constitutional Court will therefore address the question of the compliance of the contested provisions of the Law on aid in material need, the annulment of which was the essence of the rejected proposal, in the (previously initiated) proceedings for the appellant's proposal now under consideration, including in view of the arguments contained in the later draft Regional Court [cf. Thus, according to Article 35 (2) of the Law on the Constitutional Court, the Regional Court has the right to be an intervener in the proceedings for the proposal currently under consideration.
3. On 22 May 2018, the Constitutional Court received a proposal from the Statutory City of Kladna, on behalf of which Mgr. Milan Volf, the Mayor of the City, was acting on the grounds that it had a legal interest in the outcome of the proceedings, since it decided to use its legal authority and, by virtue of its office, requested the City of Kladna to issue general measures (hereinafter referred to as "PPE ') setting out an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events in the territory of the Statutory City of Kladna. The PPE was issued on 7 December 2017 under ref. The proposal was accompanied by the" Memorandum of Common Interest' of 17 May 2018, whose signatories are cities and municipalities that express their willingness to participate in the argument for maintaining the valid text of the Act on aid in material distress. That application to grant the status of intervener was rejected by the order of the Constitutional Court of 5.6.2018 sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 40 / 17 on the ground that the Law on the Constitutional Court is based on the principle of legality in respect of the definition of the parties and parties to the annulment of laws and other legislation, i.e. the competent bodies obtain such status directly from the law. This range of bodies must be respected because it was elected by the legislator to some extent to reflect the principles on which the constitutional order of the Czech Republic is built, namely, the principle of democratic legitimacy of the authorities of the state, the principle of division of power and protection of the minority, and to correspond to the very subject of the procedure, i.e. by assessing the compliance of legislation with the constitutional order of the Czech Republic. These principles are consistent with the legal definition of the heading of the parties to the annulment of laws and other legislation (Sections 64 and 69 of the Constitutional Court Act). In such cases, the status of intervener may not be granted to persons who merely show a legal interest in the outcome of the proceedings, even in accordance with Paragraph 28 (3) of the Law on the Constitutional Court. Therefore, in the past, the Constitutional Court has similarly refused to grant the status of intervener to interest groups, although they also have a legal interest in the outcome of the proceedings [cf. the finding of 20 October 2004 sp. zn. In addition, as the local court has also pointed out in the past, in the proceedings for the annulment of laws and other legislation, the Law on the Constitutional Court, except in the cases arising from the procedure laid down in Sections 35 (2) and 69 (2) and (3) of the same Law, the Institute of Intervention does not know [cf. Case N 92 / 41 SbNU 173; 419 / 2006 Coll.].
4. Decision of 15.3.2019 No 037816 / 2019 / KUSK The Regional Authority of the Central Bohemian Region of the PLO on the declaration of an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events in the territory of the statutory town of Kladna.
Attacked provisions of the Act on aid in material distress
Conditions for entitlement to a housing supplement
[...]
(9) The entitlement to a housing supplement shall not arise if an apartment, other than the living space referred to in the first sentence of paragraph 6 of the first sentence or the accommodation is located in an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events declared by a general measure pursuant to § 33d. The provisions of the first sentence shall not apply to cases where the property or the right of use of an apartment, other than a living space, referred to in paragraph 6 of the first sentence or the accommodation establishment has been established before a measure of a general nature is granted pursuant to § 33d.
[...]
Area with increased incidence of social adverse events
(1) A municipality in whose territory there are places where there are increased social adverse events may request an authorised municipal authority in whose territorial district they are located to issue measures of a general nature declaring an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events (hereinafter referred to as "measures of a general nature"). The application shall include:
(a) identification of places where social adverse events occur to an increased extent; and
(b) a justification showing an increased incidence of social adverse events; social adverse events are considered in particular violations of public policy, adverse effects on children, the presence of people under the influence of an addictive substance, etc.
(2) The competent municipal authority shall, upon request under paragraph 1, prepare a draft measure of a general nature. The competent municipal authority shall discuss a draft measure of a general nature with the Czech Police, if a measure of a general nature is to be issued because of an increased occurrence of disturbances in public order, with the municipal authority of the municipality with extended competence as a social protection body, if a measure of a general nature is to be issued because of an increased occurrence of adverse effects on children.
(3) Only owners of real estate situated in an area covered by a draft measure of a general nature may object to a draft measure of a general nature.
(4) If, on the basis of its own assessment, the entrusted municipal authority does not find, taking into account the results of the discussions with the authorities concerned, the comments received and the objections received to the effect that there are no socially undesirable effects in the places referred to in the draft measure of a general nature, it shall issue a measure of a general nature.
(5) The municipal authority responsible shall abolish measures of a general nature if the municipality which applied for it so requests.
(6) The requests referred to in paragraphs 1 and 5 are made by the municipality under separate jurisdiction.
Arguments of the appellant
5. In the introductory part of the proposal, the appellant refers to the legislative process, pointing out that the amendment introduced by the contested provisions in the law on aid in material need was adopted as a government bill. However, the contested provisions were not part of the original government proposal and were inserted into it as an amendment during the legislative process in the Chamber of Deputies. The proposal has been re-read. His written justification pointed to the need to engage in decision-making on the supplement for housing the municipality and described possible ways of using the chosen instrument. The oral justification was supported by the information provided by the promoter by the mayor of a municipality in the Pilsen Region of an intolerable condition, which has been in place for a long time in this municipality, when housing houses, originally belonging to a state holding, were bought by persons who leased them to people who were in fact exclusively applying for benefits of material emergency, namely a supplement to housing. This has caused an excessive concentration of social undesirable effects in a particular location and the municipality does not know how to deal with the situation. The promoter finds a solution in ensuring that the development of sites with an excessive concentration of socially undesirable effects is prevented by constructing the payment of benefits in a material emergency, in particular a housing supplement. In cooperation with the Association of Cities and Municipality of the Czech Republic, he therefore amended the original concept so that the entrusted municipal authorities would be authorised to issue PLO to declare an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events in which no additional housing fee will be paid to new applicants. The petitioner expressed the belief that his amendment was not contrary to the Constitution of the Czech Republic (hereinafter referred to as the Constitution). The Committee on Social Policy, the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs gave a positive opinion on this, which was justified by considerable problems in terms of administrative and constitutional law. The Chamber of Deputies then accepted and was published in the Collection of Laws under No. 98 / 2017 Coll. with effect from 1 June 2017.
6. In the light of the factual grounds of the proposal, the appellant points out that the contested provisions deny the principle of general equality pursuant to Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (hereinafter referred to as "the Charter ') and Article 3 (1) of the Charter in the exercise of the right to ensure fundamental living conditions under Article 30 (2) of the Charter, and are also contrary to the freedom of movement and residence provided for in Article 14 (1) of the Charter, preventing the cumulative use of those rights, thereby violating the principle of non-conditionality of human rights, interfering with the right to do business and denying the functional principles of the legal field of which they are part of and do not fulfil - despite the apparent limitation of rights and freedoms - the purpose to be fulfilled.
7. In order to infringe the principle of equality referred to in Articles 1 and 3 (1) of the Charter, the appellant points out that the contested provisions regulating the provision of a supplement to housing for persons in material need are part of the statutory social law regulation, which, despite the limitation of its enforceability under Article 41 (1) of the Charter as interpreted by the Constitutional Court as part of the constitutional order, draws its legitimacy from the need to protect human dignity. In this context it refers to the conclusions of the finding of 12 May 2015 sp. zn. It concludes that it is necessary to test, together with the constitutionality of the legal regulation of social rights, equality in access to them, in terms of the purpose of these rights, for all citizens to live in conditions that are dignified. The contested provisions of the Act on aid in material need, which lays down the conditions for granting a housing supplement, are then a tool for implementing at the level of the law the obligation of the State to the State, as foreseen in Article 30 (2) of the Charter, so that the assistance necessary to ensure basic living conditions can be granted to anyone in material need. The contested provisions deprive certain persons of the right to the supplement, even if they otherwise comply with the legal conditions, only because they live in an area which has been declared - without the possibility of their procedural participation - as an "area with an increased incidence of social adverse events', i.e. an officially sanctioned" ghetto 'or a poor area, the right to aid the State which is obliged to provide it under the conditions laid down. The objective fact, which may be caused by a poor policy of the municipality or state, will thus affect collectively poor persons who lose their right to help to maintain a minimum standard of human dignity. Such legislation, according to the author, is an unprecedented attack on human equality and dignity.
8. In order to infringe the freedom of movement and residence referred to in Article 14 (1) of the Charter, the appellant submits that the contested provisions are formulated in such a way that those who are a beneficiary of a housing supplement cannot - if they lose their entitlement to the supplement - choose the place of residence in an area declared "an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events'. It refers to the sense of freedom of residence, which is also a prerequisite for the protection of human dignity. While the freedom of residence is effectively limited by the financial possibilities of each person, it is not possible, in law, for it to be possible to live in a particular location only with a certain income or property status or belonging to a particular social group. Providing a benefit according to the appellant cannot include a condition the actual form of which is:" you must not live in this area, in the locality or in the municipality because you are poor. "Freedom of residence may be restricted by constitutional order, but the fact that someone is poor is not an admissible reason to restrict his or her freedom of residence, as this is not substitutable to the admissible grounds for restricting that right under Article 14 (3) of the Charter. The appellant points out that trying to prevent poor people from living in certain areas is a historical sign of phenomena that are contrary to the values on which the current democratic and legal order is built in terms of the development of European civilization.
9. The contention with the principle of non-conditionality of the exercise of rights by the appellant justifies the fact that the legislator gives the municipality the opportunity to create a situation in which the person concerned will be faced with the question of whether to choose a free place of residence and, in so doing, lose entitlement to assistance in a material need or whether to choose to be able to help in a material need, but to lose the freedom of the place of residence. Such a dilemma, according to the appellant, is inadmissible because the State cannot tell its citizens that it will provide them with a certain social right guaranteeing human dignity only if it takes away part of their freedom and prohibits them from living somewhere. On the contrary, individual rights without others have no meaning in themselves, because in the logic of "primum viver, deinde philosophari" the protection of fundamental rights, i.e. freedom of movement and residence, makes sense if the social status of a person who has basic rights to enjoy is not sufficiently saturated.
10. The appellant also points to infringement of the right to engage in business pursuant to Article 26 (1) of the Charter, however unrelated to the essential reasons for the proposal. According to its belief, the contested legislation goes beyond the limits of the regulation of the right to do business, as it is affected by all operators in the defined area, whether they behave ethically or not.
11. Finally, the appellant points out that its rationality [finding of 20 May 2008 sp. zn. ÚS 1 / 08 (N 91 / 49 SbNU 273; 251 / 2008 Coll.) is a traditional element of the test of the constitutionality of the contested standard.] The purpose of providing benefits in material distress is primarily to ensure a minimum standard of living for recipients of the benefit, the secondary objective may be to establish mechanisms that lead, motivate or otherwise accompany the beneficiary on the way of social emancipation so that he does not need State aid to achieve the standard of living. According to the appellant, the contested legislation is not inferior to any of the regulatory objectives, either primary or secondary, and does not fulfil any other possible legitimate objective. It draws attention to the development of socially excluded sites, to the progress of the municipalities that have started to push the emerging ghettos out of their territory, to which smaller municipalities have then paid for, where the persons concerned have had to move, and in the case under trial it sees an attempt to legalise the same through other means. However, setting a political or substantive goal, which is essential for poor people not to live in a region, does not lead to the prevention of "ghettos," but rather to their creation in other areas and in terms of social rehabilitation needs of less desirable places. The original problem, apart from moving in space, is deepening and not solving. On the contrary, meaningful social work and integration of an individual must be based on working with an individual and not on pushing it out of a particular location. For successful integration, it is often necessary that the person to be integrated may remain in a village where he has at least some social ties and background. In this context, the appellant merely notes that the original government bill contained the introduction of the Institute of Incentive Plan by coincidence under the same title § 33d (House Press No. 783 / 0, Parliament of the Czech Republic, Chamber of Deputies, VII. Election: Government Bill amending the Act on aid in material distress). Such instruments are considered by the appellant, contrary to the instruments of repression. The contested provisions are thus completely out of line with the constitutionally required rationality, as they pass for the purpose of the standard or area of law in which they were placed and even deepen the problem. Therefore, they cannot stand the rationality test.
Observations of the parties, interveners and observations requested by the Constitutional Court
12. The Constitutional Court pursuant to Article 69 (1), (2) and (3) of the Law on the Constitutional Court sent the proposal to the two chambers of Parliament of the Czech Republic and to the Government and the Ombudsman as bodies which are, or were, entitled to intervene as interveners. It also took note of the opinion of the Regional Court, which was granted the status of intervener, and, beyond that, requested the opinion of the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs and of the Minister for Local Development.
Observation of the chambers of Parliament of the Czech Republic
13. The Chamber of Deputies, in accordance with its established practice, has limited itself to a description of the progress of the legislative process which led to the adoption of an amendment to the Act on aid in material distress containing the contested provisions. She stated that the bill had passed a constitutional procedure before its declaration, that both chambers of Parliament had agreed to it, signed by the relevant constitutional authorities and duly declared. It left the Constitutional Court to examine the question of the unconstitutional nature of the contested provisions.
14. The Senate pointed out in its observations that the contested provisions came from an amendment to the Act on aid in material distress declared in the Collection of Laws under No 98 / 2017 Coll. The bill was referred by the Chamber of Deputies to the Senate on 13 February 2017. On 14 February 2017, the Senate Organizing Committee ordered it to discuss the Committee on Health and Social Policy and the Constitutional Law Committee. The proposal was also addressed by the Committee on Territorial Development, Public Administration and the Environment. On 22 February 2017, the Committee on Health and Social Policy adopted a resolution recommending the Senate to return the bill to the Chamber of Deputies with a comprehensive amendment. The adjustment was returned to the form submitted by the Government. On the same day, the Constitutional Legal Committee recommended that the Senate reject the bill. The Committee on Territorial Development, Public Administration and the Environment addressed the draft on 1 March 2017 and recommended that the Senate return the draft law to the Chamber of Deputies, as amended by the amendments, which were aimed at deleting the contested provisions of Sections 33 (9) and 33d of the Act on aid in material distress. The Senate discussed the bill at the 5th meeting on 8 March 2017. The debate was mainly about the conditions for entitlement to a housing supplement, maintaining the possibility of municipalities influencing this fact and the problem of creating areas with an uncontrollable increase in the occurrence of social adverse events. Senator JUDr. Miroslav Antl justified the recommendation of the Constitutional Legal Committee to reject the bill by "... the proposal has many major errors." Senator RNDr. Miloš Vyšl spoke about problems of payment of the housing supplement, where it is abused by the owner of the hostels, Vice-President of the Senate Mgr. Miloše Horská and Senator Mgr. Jiří Dienstbier expressed doubts about the constitutional conformity of the modification of the area with an increased incidence of social adverse events and stated the need for the adoption of the Social Housing Act. In his speech, Senator Mgr. Jiří Dienstbier recalled that it is not possible for a person in a situation when he is in material need to receive support and another person in the same situation to be entitled to support not only on the basis of where the municipality issues PPE. Senator Jaroslav Zeman said on this issue that anyone who wants to, who can, can work, constitutionality is no measure for him, let the Constitutional Court decide. After the debate, the Senate adopted Resolution 108 approving the bill as referred to by the Chamber of Deputies.
Statement by the Government of the Czech Republic
15. The Government indicated that, at its meeting held on 14. 3. 2018, after consulting the relevant material, it adopted Resolution 162, which decided not to exercise its right to intervene in the proceedings concerning the draft group of Senators.
Observations of the Public Protection Officer
16. The Ombudsman entered the proceedings as an intervener by application of 28 February 2018; its observations were forwarded to the Constitutional Court on 23 March 2018. In its introduction, the Ombudsman pointed out that, from her position, she regularly made comments on proposals for amendments to legislation on assistance in material distress. The contested provisions were incorporated into Law No 98 / 2017 Coll. by an amendment by Mr Vladislav Vilímce and were not the subject of a comment procedure, so that it could not express its reservations before its adoption. The law was adopted in the Chamber of Deputies by the necessary majority of Members, despite the disapproval of the Government and the doubts about the constitutional conformity of the proposal expressed by the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs. The Ombudsman shared and shared similar doubts that were not refuted by the practical application of the new Institute by municipalities and public authorities. The group of Senators has fully identified its proposal to repeal the contested provisions.
17. As the Ombudsman feared the adverse effects of the new legislation on the social situation of individuals in material need, she initiated communication with the authorities concerned and requested the regular transmission of up-to-date data on issued PPE. In several cases, the declared measure has already led to a loss of entitlement to a housing supplement for specific persons, but their amount will increase. The more important effect of the measure is its deterrent effect, as its publication discourages persons in material need from moving to the declared area and thus indirectly forces them to seek housing elsewhere. It points to a specific case of a client from the Moravian-Silesian Region, where the existence of the PLO prevented her from moving to a place where she had family ties and a promise of employment.
18. In particular, the Ombudsman pointed to the contradiction of the contested provisions with the right to aid in material distress necessary to ensure the basic living conditions under Article 30 (2) of the Charter, including a housing supplement which can be granted under statutory conditions for rent, ownership and other forms of housing (subletting or accommodation). With reference to the methodology for reviewing the constitutionality of intervention in social rights, it points to the specific impact of the contested provisions on the lives of people who are newly moving to a declared area with an increased incidence of social adverse events, which is the loss of the possibility of obtaining a housing benefit which compensates for either all or a substantial part of the costs. People in material need who move to a hostel in the declared area will thus lose their housing supplement as the only aid to the State to cover the cost of housing, persons in material need who move to an apartment in a declared area where they cannot apply for permanent residence, lose all the benefit of paying for housing costs and, as a result of the transfer of a person to an apartment in the declared area where they apply for permanent residence, is the loss of a housing supplement which can cover a substantial part of the housing costs.
19. The Ombudsman considers the Charter to be part of the essential content of the right to assistance in material distress, as provided for in Article 30 (2) of the Charter, as well as the provision of affordable adequate housing. Withdrawal of a housing supplement as a single benefit or benefit contributing to the payment of a substantial part of the cost of housing as a result of the existence of PPE may, in a particular case, result in a de facto emptying of part of the right to assistance in a material emergency relating to housing security. The contested legislation thus unacceptably interferes with the essential content of the right to aid in material distress. The State does not at present provide persons in material need or in need of housing the right to adequate housing otherwise than by way of a housing supplement.
20. The Ombudsman also deals with the question of whether intervention in the essential content of the right to assistance in material distress is justified by the absolute exceptional nature of the current situation which would justify such intervention. The objective of limiting the fundamental right, which is seen in order to avoid an increased incidence of social adverse events, can generally be regarded as legitimate, but the question is whether the proposed measure is at all capable of achieving the intended effects. It is clear from the practical application of the contested institute that the PPE has rather a preventive effect so far, so that the approved legislation fulfils this objective. However, it is less obvious whether this deterrent effect will be achieved by the main objective pursued by the promoter, reducing the current occurrence of social adverse events and limiting the so-called poverty business, because instead of committing an offence or a crime that is one of the symptoms of these phenomena, it may not be the same as the perpetrator's residence. This may also affect a person who lives in a declared area but is not in material need, etc. The ability of PLO to achieve a reduction in the incidence of social adverse events by preventing the right to a housing supplement for newcomers in a material emergency has thus considerable doubts. The restriction of the so-called poverty business will then not be possible by issuing PLO in cities where apartments or hostels rented by socially excluded persons are located in different parts of the city, including areas where PLO does not fall. Thus, the contested adjustment will not stand even in the second step of the proportionality test.
21. According to the Ombudsman, the contested regulation will not, even in the third step of the proportionality test - the determination of the necessity (necessity) of the means under review of the restriction of the constitutional right, namely the assessment of whether the legislator could not choose another, equally effective but fundamental right of less restrictive means. It points out the objective of the government amendment to the Act on aid in material distress, which was later supplemented by the parliamentary amendment by the contested provisions and which, according to the explanatory memorandum, was followed by "a more detailed definition of the concept, the reasons for the special consideration ', which are necessary for a person in material need to be entitled to a supplement to housing in an area which is not collapsed for permanent housing' (in practice, it is mainly housing). This should, on the one hand, strengthen the legal certainty of applicants for this benefit and, on the other, prevent the concentration of people at risk of social exclusion in places where unemployment and property prices are high. The adoption of the government bill included a new provision of Paragraph 33c (2) in the Act on aid in material distress, according to which the concentration of the person with the municipality in which the person applies for a housing supplement is examined. Thus, there is already a means in the law on assistance in a material emergency in relation to the provision of a supplement for housing for persons who have no relation to the municipality in which they wish to live. The PLO is therefore not necessary in these cases, but is superfluous and duplicate.
22. In the Ombudsman's view, the contested legislation will not stand in the need test or in relation to the provision of a housing supplement, as it is possible to imagine a number of more friendly solutions aimed at reducing the dose support of persons who are not linked to the municipality where the benefit is requested in their homes. First of all, it is an increase in the actual availability of housing in the form of the establishment of a clear obligation on the state or public-law corporations to provide affordable adequate housing for persons in need (so-called social housing), as the absence of such housing is the main cause of the development of the so-called poverty business. The municipalities do not offer enough housing for people at risk of social exclusion and, if so, the method of allocating them often excludes low-income persons (e.g., the allocation through licitation). The Ombudsman believes that without a system of state-guaranteed social housing, a satisfactory solution to the poverty business cannot be reached. Another option is to introduce a ceiling on the amount of the housing supplement, e.g. through state-guaranteed "price maps" of the maximum rent to which the housing supplement could contribute.
23. In the opinion of the Ombudsman, the introduction of the PLO cannot solve the problem of "business with poverty," the chosen means of protecting public order and avoiding abuse of benefits is considered the least appropriate, and can bring a number of adverse consequences. The measure may also affect "old-timers' if they are moved to another apartment in the location. Another undesirable effect of PPE may be the domino effect, i.e. the movement of persons to other areas and cities, which, as a result of fear of increasing the concentration of persons at risk of social exclusion, will also issue PPE, thus gradually blocking batch assistance in all adjacent locations, e.g. in the territory of the region, thus providing complete or partial denial of batch assistance. A second adverse effect may then be the deterioration of relations between the municipalities themselves, which will contribute to the deterioration of social reconciliation and increased stigmatisation of people in material need.
24. If the Constitutional Court concludes that the contested provisions will stand up to the need test, then the question must be answered whether intervention in the right of an individual to aid in material distress is disproportionate in relation to the protection of public order and the public interest in preventing trade in poverty. In doing so, the Ombudsman finds the PLO to be disproportionate, i.e. in the impossibility of its individualisation, and in the fact that the State does not deal with the social situation of an individual through aid in material distress, but with restrictive measures which may, on the contrary, result in a deepening of its social exclusion, while the legislator may have chosen more moderate means of limiting the right to aid in material distress. In doing so, there is no requirement of an absolutely exceptional situation to justify intervention in the essential content of the right to aid in a material emergency.
25. The Ombudsman also draws attention to the adverse effects on the position of persons living in the declared territory, owns real estate or engaged in a business activity where the market value of real estate located in the site may be reduced, the "bad address" may have an impact on the business activities carried out in the declared area, and may also have a secondary impact on the development of the municipality as such. The very fact that a person lives at a "bad address" may mean that they are stigmatised in social relations. Those consequences may, according to their intensity, constitute an intervention in the right of ownership pursuant to Article 11 of the Charter, the right to engage in other economic activities pursuant to Article 26 (1) of the Charter, the right to human dignity, personal honor, reputation and protection of the name referred to in Article 10 (1) of the Charter or the right to protect against unauthorised interference in private and family life pursuant to Article 10 (2) of the Charter.
26. For the reasons set out above, the Ombudsman proposed that the Constitutional Court should abolish the contested provisions of the Act on aid in a material emergency.
Arguments of the Regional Court
27. The Regional Court, as an intervener, submitted a proposal for the annulment of the contested provisions of the Act on aid in material distress in connection with the proceedings brought before it under sp. ref. 54 A 30 / 2018 in the case of the appellant Mgr. Jan Kaspar, who, under part three of Title II of Act No. 150 / 2002 Coll., the administrative court order, as amended, sought the annulment of the PLO of the City of Kladna of 7. 12. 2017, No. OPR / 4883 / 17, which defined an area with an increased incidence of social undesirable phenomena throughout the territory of the city of Kladna. Mgr. Jan Kaspar, in his proposal, makes a comprehensive constitutional argument that identifies a contradiction of the contested PLO with constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms, with the freedom of movement and residence referred to in Article 14 (1) of the Charter, the right to ensure fundamental living conditions under Article 30 (2) of the Charter, the right to own and, on equal terms, to use property under Article 11 (1) of the Charter and to do business under Article 26 (1) of the Charter, all in combination with the right to equality of all people in their dignity under Article 1 of the Charter. This argument is largely overlapping with that put forward by the appellant (represented by the same lawyer). The Regional Court concluded that the provisions of the Law on aid in material need were contrary to the constitutional order and, in accordance with Article 95 (2) of the Constitution, submitted to the Constitutional Court a proposal for its annulment, referring to a proposal by the appellant with which it was substantially associated.
28. In addition to that framework, the Regional Court added that it is constitutionally problematic to consider the flat-rate impact of PLO on all potential applicants for a housing supplement, which is justified in the logic of Paragraph 33d (1) of the Law on aid in material distress by the occurrence of social adverse events in the area where they live, without any importance being given to whether or not they could influence the occurrence of social adverse events. Even if the regional court were to waive the claim of the other constitutional rights, from the point of view of the right to ensure the basic living needs referred to in Article 30 (2) of the Charter, in which the PPE is manifestly intervened (ultimately depriving its addressees of a roof over their heads as it withdraws the benefit of assistance in material distress, without which they are unable to bear in their social situation the costs associated with their own residence), the PPE, or the legislation on which it is based, must measure the so-called test of reason [the finding of 27.3.2018 sp. It already expresses doubts as to whether the contested legislation affects the very nature of the right to ensure basic living conditions. Homeless as a result of the inability to secure housing from its own resources without the possibility of obtaining aid in the form of a housing supplement is no longer, in the view of the Regional Court, a state in which the basic needs of a person are ensured, and the legislation should not open the door to its creation. The PLO clearly lacks rationality. According to the promoter of the proposal, its reason is to prevent the arrival of socially unadaptable persons requesting a housing supplement. However, the legislation adopted in this way does not correspond, as the restrictions laid down therein do not ensure that the measure adopted actually affects the cause of these social adverse events or at least prevents them from spreading further. On the contrary, it has significant potential to intervene to a large extent the victims of these adverse events or persons who have nothing to do with them. It is not possible to set an "automatic 'equator between applicants for a housing supplement and producers of social undesirable effects, as these groups overlap only partially. The applicants for a housing supplement are obviously elderly, single mothers, divorced parents with young children, disabled persons or caregivers, persons affected by domestic violence and other persons who represent an indispensable proportion of applicants for a housing supplement without having to have any part in the development of socially undesirable effects. However, it is not unrealistic, either, when, for example, an excluded site is located outside the city, and the illegal and criminal activity of the problematic part of the population of the site affects the adjacent city rather. The contested provision does not make any distinction between the local sources of social adverse events and the places of their expression. The origin of social adverse events are often not even the inhabitants of the affected site. This is the case, for example, in Kladno, as the PLO itself admits that 60% of the perpetrators of the offences are not at all the residents of the Member States, which in consequence means that they do not even claim a housing supplement.
29. Thus, the Regional Court considers that the contested provisions of the Law on aid in material distress cannot stand in the test of rationality by limiting the right to ensure essential living needs. While the legislation limiting this right can be imagined, it would have to be targeted towards the agents of social adverse events and not have the nature of a "unaimed mass destruction missile" directed at an area that is affected by social adverse events, affecting both innocent and particularly vulnerable victims.
30. In its observations on the proposal of a group of Senators and on the comments of the participants, interveners and ministers, the Regional Court referred in particular to the observations of the Public Protection Service, which, on the basis of a detailed analysis, reached the same conclusion. On the contrary, he did not agree with the arguments of the Ministry of Local Development (see below IV / f), which he considered to be wrong if he considered that the housing allowance or other social benefits different from the housing supplement would sufficiently eliminate the unacceptable effects of the adoption of the contested measure. The standard housing costs as defined in Section 26 of Act No. 117 / 1995 Coll., on State social aid, as amended, from which the amount of the housing allowance depends, cannot be identified with the locally customary rent prices as they are not determined according to the local conditions of the municipality, but by one amount for all municipalities of a certain size (according to the population). Nor can it be ignored that the conclusion of a lease contract with persons at risk of exclusion is linked, for example, to the lessee's significantly higher risk of insolvency. Although such increased rent cannot achieve absurd amounts, it is an economically rational procedure, which can also explain why, even in standard situations, the amount of housing allowance is not sufficient to achieve and maintain housing. The Regional Court then acknowledges a number of ways to address the problems in social housing that the Ombudsman mentions. The fact that the Labour Office of the Czech Republic (the "Labour Office '), which decides on the granting of a housing supplement, does not carry out its activities properly in this context, is not yet sufficient to argue why not use such a much more friendly solution and not focus on improving it instead of radical action. In addition to the above, the Regional Court referred to a further application for the abolition of the PLO in the territory of the town of Salná, which is being discussed with it. This procedure was suspended until the end of the proceedings before the Constitutional Court.
Statement by the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs
31. The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs pointed out that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (hereinafter referred to as "MPSV") had already drawn attention to the legal risks of the proposal and gave a negative opinion on the two contested provisions. The municipality may ask the municipal authority to issue a PPE declaring an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events. As a result, there will be no entitlement to a housing supplement in this area to persons who have acquired the right of ownership or the right to use an apartment (other than a residential accommodation) after the date on which the PPE was issued. In particular, violations of public policy, adverse effects on children, the presence of people under the influence of addictive substances, etc. It should be an increased incidence of these events. Such a definition is very vague according to the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and could occur (led ad absurdum) in the situation that the supplement for housing will be excluded in all accommodation facilities and other than residential areas or apartments in the whole Czech Republic. In practice, there has already been a case where a measure of a general nature has been declared for the whole municipality (Kladno). The MPSV Department guaranteeing the social protection of children is of the opinion that it is not possible to define cases of situations in this area, which are examples of negative effects on children relevant for defining the area as socially excluded sites and the issue of PPE.
32. In accordance with the Act on aid in material distress, the issuing of PPE has been undertaken by the entrusted municipal authorities to a greater extent since the beginning of 2018, as evidenced by the Minister by the statistical overview of the issued PPE, broken down by region, together with information on the number of rejected applications for a housing supplement due to the existence of the issued PPE. This summary, the source of which is the data of the Labour Office, then the MPSV added in January 2021: 101 PLO was effective, 28 PLO proposals were assessed and 651 applications for a housing supplement were rejected. The number of unrecognised benefits shall cover only cases where administrative proceedings have taken place following an application for a housing supplement. Many people, however, are aware of the unnecessary application for a housing supplement in a site with issued PPE, did not do this at all. In assessing entitlement to a housing supplement, the Labour Office first examines whether or not PPE is issued for the area concerned, further ascertains from when a person uses an apartment (other than a living space or accommodation) on the basis of a legal title or ownership and whether such use was made prior to the issue of the PPE. It will thus determine whether it can assess further conditions for entitlement to the housing supplement or whether it is not entitled to this benefit. MPSV leads by methodology to the fact that, when it comes to extending rental contracts (or other legal title) for the use of an apartment (other than accommodation, accommodation), and the extension date begins after the date of issue of the PPE, this right was created by the recipient of the housing supplement by an initial contract, which is only extended by a new contract or supplement. In such cases, claims for additional housing payments shall remain retained. Similarly, the job is to be carried out in cases where the recipient of the benefit continues to use the same apartment (other than accommodation, accommodation), but the lessor has changed and thus the legal title for use may have changed. For the applicant and the recipient of the benefit, the issue of PPE in practice means that a supplementary housing fee cannot be granted in cases where the legal title is obtained only after the PPE is issued. In this situation, applicants from the Labour Office are warned that they should look for housing outside the places where PPE is declared if they are in a situation which they are forced to deal with by the application for a housing supplement. This situation affects everyone without exception, i.e. long-term residents of the site (including, for example, the transition from asylum homes to standard housing).
33. The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs added, for the sake of completeness, that the contested legislation does not in any way affect the benefit from the State Social Aid Scheme in the form of a housing allowance, which can also be provided in areas with an increased incidence of social adverse events where PPE has been declared. However, the housing allowance does not cover housing costs up to the usual level and does not belong to persons who are not reported for permanent residence in the area (apartment) for whom the housing allowance is requested.
34. The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs has expressed the belief that the instrument which contains the regulation is non-discriminatory. Persons living in excluded locations live there mainly because of the availability of housing, including (but not exclusively) the availability of prices. If they are unable to secure affordable housing, this can lead to living on the streets, placing children in children's homes, increasing the level of crime and other socially undesirable effects. The benefit is paid to a particular person and should not be disadvantaged depending on the area in which he lives, provided that the legal conditions for entitlement are met. The contested provisions are designed as if anyone who wants to live in the location where PPE was issued was a potential source of social undesirable effects, without individual examination. Freedom of movement and residence should not be opposed to the right to aid in material distress, virtually one should not be forced to vote between these rights. The regulation also makes it impossible to fully exploit the property owners' ownership rights in an area with social adverse events. Their defence is the possibility of objecting to the entrusted municipal office within 30 days of the publication of the PPE proposal under the Act on aid in material distress. However, no appeal may be made against the decision on objections or any decomposition.
35. In the light of the above, it can be concluded, in the opinion of the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, that the regulation on the basis of which the payment of the housing supplement is limited by way of a non-discriminatory provision in certain locations results in social law enshrined in Article 30 (2) and (3) of the Charter not being guaranteed by law in detail. The new legislation has reduced the implementation of a constitutionally guaranteed standard of social benefits to the practical impossibility of their implementation. In fact, discrimination is due to the fact that it does not unjustifiably ensure that persons who, for any reason, have acquired a legal title to live in a specific space in the site after the PPE has been issued are entitled to the right to reside in the same location before the PPE has been issued. Some may be entitled to benefit and others may not be entitled to benefit even if they live here longer and have all social ties.
Observations of the Minister for Local Development
36. The Minister for Regional Development opposed the appellant's argument, which degrades that instrument of municipalities from a kind of official recognition of the social "ghetto" or the poor quarter. In fact, the contested provisions aim exactly the opposite of preventing social adverse events, so-called excluded sites arising without the fault of the municipalities. In fact, municipalities are not able to fulfil their obligations under Act No. 128 / 2000 Coll., on municipalities (municipal establishment), as amended, i.e. to care in accordance with local assumptions and practices on creating conditions for the development of social care and for meeting the needs of their inhabitants. In the past, the municipalities were taken away from the labour authorities an important tool by which they themselves decided to grant or not to grant a housing supplement, when the knowledge of the terrain and their inhabitants was decided on the basis of individual investigations. However, the social work of the Labour Office is not carried out to the extent necessary, the granting of additional allowances for housing is decided "automatically," without knowledge and distinction of individual conditions.
37. The Minister for Local Development considers that the proposed instrument cannot be rejected simply because it is not used correctly in some cases. The release of PPE is subject to procedural rules of administrative procedure with all means of defence, despite prior discussions with the Czech Police and the institution of social and legal protection of children up to the possibility of objecting to the property owners concerned. The purpose of providing a housing supplement is to help pay for housing costs which exceed the amount recognised by the State Social Aid Act as the so-called housing allowance. The amounts recognised under this Act reflect locally customary rental prices and services or accommodation payments. The housing supplement therefore takes into account situations which go beyond the normal circumstances. It is a paradox of the fact that it is a zone where rent is usually higher than in unaffected parts of the municipalities. It is therefore necessary to reject the appellant's argument, which objects to undue interference with the right to engage in business, since neither under Act No. 526 / 1990 Coll., on prices, as amended, nor under other standards of the law can the view that the right to do business is a right to disproportionate profits, more unmeasured by what the State is willing to pay on social benefits. There is no way to support situations that abuse law or use the weaker party above the legal level. Following the adoption of the amendment to the Act on aid in material distress, as a result of the impossibility for municipalities to intervene in any way, this phenomenon has gained unprecedented proportions. However, it affects the citizens of the whole community, and it is certainly not responsible or financially responsible for those owners of real estate who benefited from it. The appellant argues with poor people who are allegedly prevented from freedom of movement, and does not realise that by straightening the housing market conditions, even those citizens in need of assistance can achieve decent housing under local conditions. It is the responsibility of the problem site that carries a certain segregation. The PPE is designed to help motivate the individual to get out of these established negative links. According to the Minister for Local Development, the appellant's argument that poverty is an inadmissible reason for restricting freedom of movement is based on misunderstandings. Poverty is a source of abuse in the current system and possible PPE eliminates abuse. In order to meet the legal conditions, tenants do not lose their potential rights to housing allowance or other benefits of state social assistance and material emergency, which the Minister believes must always be seen in full context and complementary to each other.
38. The applicant refers to the contradiction with Article 30 (2) of the Charter. However, current legislation cannot be seen as constitutionally unconformal from the point of view of the alleged violation of the principle of non-conditionality. Article 30 (3) The Charter explicitly refers to a law which will provide for further details. In order to be able to express the view that the right to aid to ensure basic living conditions is being denied by the current legislation, it would have to be concluded, on the ground, that the loss of the housing supplement, as a result, excludes the satisfaction of living conditions and that assistance in material distress to this extent is indispensable, existentially necessary. If the current § 34 (note: correctly Article 33c) of the Law on aid in material need allows for individual consideration by the Labour Office of whether or not it will grant an additional housing charge, it cannot be concluded that entitlement to the housing supplement would become a claim of "automatic 'if the contested provisions were to be revoked, but where the applicant's proposal and wish appear to be erroneously targeted. For the reasons described, the Minister for Local Development has proposed that the Constitutional Court reject the proposal completely.
Replication of the appellant
39. The observations of the parties and the interveners and the opinions of the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs and the Minister for Local Development were sent to the appellant, who responded by reply. It stated that both chambers of Parliament had made themselves quite formally without substantive controversy and, since it does not consider the procedure for adopting the law, it has nothing to add. She identified the argument of the county court. It also pointed out that the Ombudsman, unlike her, was already able to respond to some of the effects of the contested legislation, which further intensify and begin to significantly interfere with the rights and opportunities of specific persons. In theory, PPE can be challenged in a general court pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Administrative Court, which happened in the case of the cities of Kladna and Slatná. It is clear from the proposal of the Regional Court that the courts also share the view of the unconstitutionality of the contested standard. In view of the impact of the declared PPE (their chains, domino effect) and the territorial scope, it requested a rapid discussion of the proposal.
40. In relation to the opinions of both ministries, the appellant pointed out their contradictions, which shows that the constitutional conformity of the contested regulation is undoubtedly questionable. She identified herself with the position of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. The opinion of the Minister for Regional Development has been found incorrect and intimately illogical when it does not mislead the proposal. If the Minister sees as a problem the level of benefit, the appellant adds that the employment office grants the benefit to anyone who fulfils the legal conditions. It is difficult for the appellant to understand the defence of the contested provisions, as the Minister rejects the area, but at the same time advocates a solution which has nothing to do with individualisation when it has purely surface effects. If it is of the opinion that the housing supplement is not an instrument for protecting the right to aid in material distress under Article 30 (2) of the Charter, since it is not a claim, it is an absolute failure to understand the law. The fact that a public authority is obliged to assess whether someone is poor and receives a benefit, or whether they are not poor and not given it, is a procedural statement of the idea that the poor should be helped, as presupposes of constitutional order, rather than a precondition for 'indiscriminate'. The Minister denies the functionality of the protection of social rights. Flat-rate prohibitions with the segregation impact they defend can hardly solve the complex problem of social inclusion. It is the Ministry of Local Development that is responsible for the regulatory and budgetary adjustment of social housing policy and it is possible to ask why the state does not establish the basic rules for public housing policy, why the social housing law is missing, etc.
Oral proceedings
41. The Constitutional Court concluded that further clarification of the case could not be expected from oral proceedings and therefore, in accordance with Paragraph 44 of the Constitutional Court Act, it decided on the case without its regulation.
Assessment of the competence and constitutional conformity of the legislative process
42. The Constitutional Court notes that it is competent to consider an application for annulment of the contested legal provisions, which was submitted by the authorised appellant [Paragraph 64 (1) (b) of the Law on the Constitutional Court], the application is admissible and fulfils all the statutory requirements. He was therefore able to make a substantive review of the contested provisions and, in accordance with Article 68 (2) of the Law on the Constitutional Court, as amended by Act No 48 / 2002 Coll., he first addressed the question of whether it was adopted and issued in a constitutionally prescribed manner and within the limits of the Constitution established competence.
43. According to Article 68 (2) of the Law on the Constitutional Court, as amended by Act No. 48 / 2002 Coll., the assessment of the constitutionality of the law with a constitutional order consists of answering three questions: whether it was given within the limits of the Constitution laid down in the jurisdiction, whether it was adopted in a constitutionally prescribed manner and whether its content is in accordance with constitutional law.
44. The Constitutional Court considers that the findings obtained from the observations of the parties and the interveners as well as from the observations addressed by the ministries are sufficient to conclude that the contested provisions have been supplemented by an amendment to the law on aid in material need, which has been issued within the limits of the constitutional competence laid down and adopted in a constitutional manner. Although the adoption of an amendment to the parliamentary motion without standard comment and discussion in the Legislative Council of the Government does not call into question the constitutionality of the approved amendments to the law, the legitimacy of the contested provisions weakens, however, as their impact on human rights was not subject to greater attention in the approval process. The Constitutional Court took into account that neither the appellant nor the interveners questioned the constitutionality of the adoption and publication of this law. It therefore did not prevent him from making a substantive assessment of the constitutionality of the contested provisions.
Meritorious review of the proposal
45. In the present case, it is the subject of a review of the constitutionality of the regulation of the provision of one of the benefits in material distress, namely the housing supplement. The appellant sees a contradiction between the rules in question and the constitutional order, in particular, in that the contested provisions deny certain persons, in a material need, the right to a housing supplement, in a discriminatory manner. In her view, legislation that takes away the right to ensure a minimum standard of basic living conditions is an unprecedented attack on human dignity and equality.
46. The Ratio of Decidendi which abolishes the operative part of this finding is based, against the background of the settled case-law of the Constitutional Court, on the title of the Fourth Charter, on the determination of the constitutional limits of the limitation of the right to aid in material distress enshrined in Article 30 (2) of the Charter (VIII / a). Although this finding may already be sufficient to answer whether the contested provisions are compatible with the constitutional order, the Constitutional Court could not - to the extent that their adoption was justified by the protection of public order in the municipality - justify the need to answer the question whether the definition of the jurisdiction of the municipality as a local authority in the care of the public good and the resulting liability to its citizens can justify the legitimacy of the limitation of the right to aid in material distress or, on the contrary, whether the involvement in the right to provide such aid is incompatible with the unconditional nature of that law (VIII / b). The Constitutional Court therefore also examined the eligibility of the contested provisions to achieve the objective pursued by them (preventing the creation of new and expanding existing socially excluded sites, limiting the "poverty business') by means of a comprehensive reduction of the individual standard of access to the social benefit of aid in a material emergency, only on the basis of housing such defined group of recipients of the supplement at a specific location (VIII / c).
Judgments of the Constitutional Court on Social Rights
47. The Charter guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms which are different in nature. First of all, these are fundamental human rights and freedoms under the section of the first Title of the Second, which arise directly from human existence, and only this is the basis for defining their constitutional dimension, essential to the preservation of human integrity and ensuring its dignity, such as the right to life, the integrity of a person and personal freedom. Obligations relating to their application may be imposed only on the basis and within the limits of the law and only with respect to fundamental rights and freedoms (Article 4 (1)) whose limits may be adjusted under the conditions laid down in the Charter and only by law (Article 4 (2)). The same applies also to restrictions on the rights and freedoms contained in Title Four as "Economic, Social and Cultural Rights', the exercise of which, however, depends on the economic and social level of the State and the associated standard of living, and which can therefore only be claimed within the limits of the laws implementing those rights (Article 41 (1)) [cf. When restricting all fundamental rights and freedoms, equal treatment (Article 4 (3)) must then be taken into account and there must be no" emptying 'of such rights - deprivation of substance and meaning (Article 4 (4)).
48. The difference in the nature of the anchoring of economic, social and cultural rights under the title of the Fourth Charter compared to the fundamental human rights and freedoms was pointed out by the Constitutional Court - although it had not yet had the opportunity to do so specifically in relation to aid in material distress pursuant to Article 30 (2) of the Charter in the form of a supplement to housing - already found in sp. zn. It interpreted the constitutional right of citizens under Article 33 (2) The Charter "can hardly be considered to be compatible with the investigation of the limits of fundamental rights and freedoms by the legal exception of the contested inconditionality of the right to free basic and secondary education ', which was adopted by the clause amended by Article 4 (1) of Act No. 29 / 1984 Coll., on the system of primary schools, secondary schools and higher vocational schools (the Education Act), as amended," unless otherwise provided for by this Act'. The Constitutional Court now adds that such an exception acted not as a reservation of the law - a mere reference to the implementing regulation, but had an effect on contra constitutionon, as a challenge to the guarantee of the independence of primary and secondary education in terms of its substance and purpose. It could have led to the emptying of the essential content of the right to free education, if it exceeded the constitutionally permissible limits of its exercise - the possibility to claim that right only on a "ground plan 'of the Charter, and did not take into account its substance and meaning, as required by Article 4 (4) of the Charter, of the universal availability of education of that type. In addition to this" ground plan', the statutory preconditions for access to education (completion of a certain age for compulsory basic education, successful entrance examinations for secondary education, etc.) made it possible to rule out its validity and replace it by charging. It allowed, in competition with another fundamental right (owned pursuant to Article 11 (1) of the Charter), a restriction on the availability of education, in direct violation of Article 33 (2) of the Charter, the constituent of which is the normative purpose of which is to facilitate its availability. The savings of public budgets associated with the flat-rate payment of individual participation in the education process had no causal relationship to its individual entitlement to access to education (after fulfilling the statutory conditions) and therefore the result of the State's efforts to achieve such savings, i.e. the charging of education, could not be the subject of an implementing law on the right to education within the meaning of Article 41 (1) of the Charter.
49. The Constitutional Court also contributed to the definition of the nature of economic, social and cultural rights, which in the case of social rights pointed out their conceptual character, which is "the fact that they do not have an unconditional nature [see: immediate, i.e. directly applicable legal standards] and can only be sought within the limits of the laws [Article 41 (1) of the Charter...]. This provision gives the legislator the power to lay down specific conditions for the implementation of social rights. However, the legal implementation must not be contrary to constitutional principles, in other words, the relevant laws must not deny or annul constitutionally guaranteed social rights... The level of their provision reflects not only the economic and social development of the state, but also the relationship between the state and the citizen, based on mutual responsibility and recognition of the principle of solidarity. The extent to which the principle of responsibility and solidarity manifests itself in the rule of law of that State also determines the nature of that State (e.g. as a social state)... the specific nature of social rights in no way means that the legislator is not bound by it. The anchoring of their existence in the Charter means that a minimum standard of these social rights must be maintained in the course of legal regulation. Therefore, there must in no way be a de facto denial of which social law, since the principles laid down in the Charter must also be complied with. The extent to which they are complied with must be assessed in each individual case by statutory regulation."
50. In the sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 31 / 09 of 9.1.2013 (N 5 / 68 SbNU 89; 42 / 2013 Coll.) The Constitutional Court stated that "in its findings, it is usually held in restraint to the implementation of the social rights enshrined in the title of the fourth Charter, as it is aware that the scope of social rights... is limited by the possibilities of the state budget based on the results of the state's management. It is only within these possibilities that the limits given by the relevant Articles of the Charter governing social rights apply. The assessment of the question of the effectiveness and appropriateness of the rule of law in this field leaves the Constitutional Court to the legislature whose activities the Constitutional Court cannot interfere with except in cases of established inconstitutionality. These questions are essentially political... [see the findings of the Constitutional Court sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 8 / 07 of 23.3.2010 (N 61 / 56 SbNU 653; 135 / 2010 Coll.), sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 2 / 08 of 23.4.2008 (N 73 / 49 SbNU 85; 166 / 2008 Coll.)] '.
51. The above bases of the Constitutional Court have been summarised in sp. zn. The Charter is given more scope to review the constitutionality of the laws containing the regulation of social rights than the first generation [and also the rights contained in Titles III and V of the Charter - cf. the finding of sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 8 / 07 of 23.3.2010 (N 61 / 56 of the CollNU 653; 135 / 2010 Coll.)], and the anchoring of their existence in the Charter means (taking into account Article 4 (4) of the Charter) that a minimum standard (i.e. there is a certain lower limit to the restriction, essential content) of social law must be maintained in the legislation. Otherwise, the specific balance of the liberal and social aspect is laid down in principle by the parliamentary majority [Constitutional Court therefore, in point 45 of the found sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 54 / 10 of 24 April 2012 (N 84 / 65 SbNU 121; 186 / 2012 Coll.), the Constitutional Court stated that, under Article 41 (1) of the Charter... the conviction of the legislator that the regulation of social rights is a legitimate subject of political backlash (i.e. is primarily in the hands of the legislator) and that, only secondary and to a limited extent, the constitutional guarantee of social rights can be regarded as a judicial issue. '] Deciding on the scope of social rights is one of the major political issues that are primarily the subject of an election competition, and, in the end, elected representatives in the legislature decide on it. Social rights can be categorized as so-called, intrinsically questionable or debatable concepts', the deepest importance of which is being pursued across society by a stormy public debate and political debate '. In their review, the Constitutional Court is bound by Article 41 (1) of the Charter and therefore is also more restrained from the democratic majority of the legislator, which should reflect the current will of the company.
52. The Constitutional Court further stated that "[in] compliance with the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court, which constitutes an important source of inspiration in the light of the doctrine of elaboration, is of fundamental importance for establishing the minimum standard of individual fundamental rights of human dignity (Article 1 (1) of the Basic Law or Article 1 of the Charter and also the preamble of the Constitution). From the value of human dignity, the Federal Constitutional Court imposes a constitutional legal claim to the fulfillment of a performance consisting of guaranteeing the human dignity of an existential minimum, which includes both the physical existence of man, namely the nutrition, clothing, household facilities, shelter, heating, hygiene and health, as well as the provision of the possibility to cultivate interpersonal relations and the minimum degree of participation in social, cultural and political life, since a person as a person necessarily exists in social ties' [cf. paragraph 135 of the judgment 1 BvL 1, 3, 4 / 09 - Harz IV, a different opinion of Judge Jan Musil on the finding of Sp. Pl. Pol. ÚS 8 / 07; cf. Similarly to the interpretation of the fundamental right of the right to be fulfilled, i.e. in the case of social rights In: Wagner, E., Šimělek, V., Langášek, T., Pospíšil, I. et al., Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. Comment. Praha: Wolters Kluwer ČR, a. s., 2012, p. 17. In other words, to decide on the level of solidarity necessary for individuals to be able to implement their rights and freedoms in a real way is primarily a matter for the legislator, but its discretion is subject to certain limits resulting from the highest constitutional value, which is human dignity.] 'All that remains to be said is that the accent on human dignity is already implicitly contained in the catalogue of social rights of the title of the Fourth Charter (1991), so the emphasis on it - unlike the German Basic Law (1949) - needs not be specifically mentioned in that context.
53. On the basis of what has just been stated, it can therefore be concluded that the condition of entitlement to a housing supplement by the absence of an increased incidence of social adverse events at the place of residence of the beneficiary lacks any reasonable relationship to the objective declared by the contested provisions, which cannot be achieved in order to abolish the proposed legislation. The causal link between a particular location and the phenomena that the legislator wants to eliminate does not apply. The legislators here are not "because" someone is poor, but "when" is poor, without further, but poverty is not (direct) a source of these phenomena. The right to a housing supplement to the absence of a location designated as being socially excluded, which does not have a personal (individual) basis, is completely outside the scope of the "ground plan 'of the conditions for the exercise of the right of assistance in material distress resulting from Article 30 (2) of the Charter and the possibility of their legal limitation within the meaning of Article 41 (1) of the Charter, thereby being a constitutionally inadmissible interference with the fundamental law, contrary to Article 1 (1) of the Constitution and Article 1 of the Charter.
Constitutional limits on the legal authorisation of the municipality to regulate social adverse events, taking into account the impossibility of limiting the right to assistance in material emergencies
54. The municipalities, on the basis of whose application to the municipal authorities for the issue of PPE under delegation, are regulated by the range of recipients of housing supplements from the institution of aid in material distress (employment office) under the contested provisions, justify their legal responsibility in meeting the needs of their citizens in the field of public policy, arising from their separate competence. The purpose of establishing this addition to the Act on aid in material distress was to make the possibility of municipalities effectively facing an increased incidence of social pathology phenomena on their territory, and to encourage the State to support housing only in satisfactory conditions (Beck, P., Gruner, I., Pavelková, M. Act on aid in material distress. The Law of Life and Existence. Practical comment. Issue 2. Praha: Wolters Kluwer, 2018, p. 153). Articles 8 and 100 (1) The Constitution refers to the self-administration of municipalities as a constitutionally guaranteed right, defined by their nature by the local community of citizens. The involvement of citizens with a specific territorial definition is a formative element of the municipal administration. However, the sharing of local (local) identity is not supported by the legal definition of the status of citizenship of the municipality, but is based only on the registered principle of permanent residence notification [Paragraph 16 (1) (b) of Act No. 128 / 2000 Coll., on municipalities (municipal establishment)], the implementation of which falls under the municipal authorities as the carrier of the delegation; The municipal administration has no influence on the registration of permanent residence and therefore on the number of persons with the status of citizenship of the municipality. The belonging of "fellow citizens" suffers from a certain social disintegration of society, which is a accompanying (but not inevitable) manifestation of the development of its economic life in an international context (cf. Pospíšil, I. In: Rychetský, P., Langášek, T., Herc, T., Mlsna, P. et al. Constitution of the Czech Republic. Constitutional Law on Security of the Czech Republic. Comment. Praha: Wolters Kluwer, 2015, p. 1048 to 1049). The weakening or emptying of this belonging creates scope for the emergence of a phenomenon of social exclusion, and the efforts of municipalities, at least on a local scale, to prevent this by deploying instruments of their own competence are, in itself, constitutionally conformistic. However, the means and procedures used for this must also be constitutional. However, the Constitutional Court is aware of the fact that the jurisdiction of the municipality in the regulation of social adverse events could be subject to its review in relation to the contested provisions only if such regulatory measures fall within the scope of the nature of the right to aid in material need of its own aspects, such as the definition of the individual conditions for entitlement to the supplement. The fact that this is not the case, i.e. that there is no reason for the provision of aid in the form of a housing supplement to be linked to the state (absence) of the occurrence of social adverse events at the place of residence of the beneficiary of the supplement, however, deserves the attention of the Constitutional Court.
55. However, at least the general framework of content did not provide for the separate competence of the municipalities. The constitutionality of its performance, including the instrumental used, may be assessed only on the basis of the general principles and values of the democratic rule of law (Article 1 (1) of the Constitution, Article 2 (1) of the Charter). Therefore, when Article 35 (2) of the municipal constitution of municipalities places the concern "in accordance with local conditions and local practices on the creation of conditions for the development of social care and for the fulfilment of the needs of their citizens'," [j] de chiefly to satisfy the need for housing... and the protection of public order ', the interpretation thereof does not constitute the regulatory competence of the municipality, leading to the denial of a housing supplement for citizens in a material emergency, constitutionally conformal, since it breaks the requirement to preserve the substance and the meaning of this social law under Article 30 (2) of the Charter (see the preceding section), which does not constitute a back-up for such a procedure and cannot therefore be a source of implementing measure in the form of the contested provisions. The appellant's objection may be accepted that such a constitutionally unconformal measure of the municipality is being applied in an unequal manner - the denial of payment affects only persons who have acquired the right of permanent residence in the excluded area of the municipality after the date of publication of the PLO, whereas for equally socially needed citizens with permanent residence in the region prior to its declaration or residing outside that area the entitlement to the supplement remains (see Section VIII / c). The Constitutional Court therefore adds that such an unrationally unequal interpretation of the standards governing the jurisdiction of the municipality, which treats persons in the same position (living in an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events) differently on the basis of a random phenomenon (the moment when the title is acquired), deepens the inconstitutionality of the contested provisions. The legal regime for such treatment therefore imposes a constitutionally incompatible restriction on the right to aid in material distress within the meaning of Article 41 (1) of the Charter.
56. The case law of the Constitutional Court on the regulation of certain activities in the form of generally binding decrees pursuant to Article 10 (a) of the municipal establishment requires a sufficiently specific specification of specific places where there is a potential risk or already an intervention in the public law of a protected property. This is a criterion of compliance with the principle of proportionality [cf. sp. zn. Pl. ÚS 35 / 06 of 22.4.2008 (N 72 / 49 SbNU 67; 286 / 2008 Coll.)], which should be applied all the more to the adoption of measures in such a socially sensitive situation as a material emergency, where the declaration of the measure would have to be subject to the identification (personalisation) of behaviour capable of distorting public order in a municipality whose effects would have to be strictly and directionally individualised, which the form of PPE does not allow. The application of any general (insufficiently addressed) approach to the definition of areas with an increased incidence of social adverse events under the contested provisions is unacceptable from the point of view of the application of this principle (see point VIII / c) and the exercise of the municipality's separate competence associated with it is not constitutionally defensible.
57. The effects of PLO on non-citizens of the municipality, i.e. persons in material need seeking accommodation in accommodation facilities that are not intended for permanent housing under the regulations of the building law, are a source of homelessness and other forms of unparalleled status of these persons and can be considered as a challenge to the municipalities in the exercise of their constitutionally guaranteed self-government in order to meet the needs of their - "majority" - residents in the field of public order protection pursuant to § 35 (2) in fine municipal establishment. The contested provisions do not allow municipalities to make full use of, or allow them to circumvent, their constitutionally guaranteed independent competence, which is at the subconstitutional level of cooperation with the Labour Office in determining the conditions with which the Law on aid in material need links the creation of a right for such persons to provide a supplement to housing 'in cases of special consideration' under § 33c. In assessing the condition of contact with the municipality, the municipality may influence the decision of the Labour Office by its recommendation or by the entrusted municipal authority by providing information (§ 33 (6)), thereby facilitating the distinction between the factors of social adverse events and other inhabitants of the municipality, which is key to preventing the creation of excluded sites. Thus, by excluding entitlement to the supplement, PPE is missed with a view to the declared adoption of the contested provisions, at the expense of a constitutionally compatible means of exercising the municipal administration.
58. It is not a matter of judicial reasoning but of political agreement, both in the search for systemic redress by the state and in defining the role of the municipality in social housing policy at community level by appropriate instruments and by using the field work with "outsiders" effectively and preventive reduction - in the interests of all the inhabitants of the municipality and not just one of the groups - the risk of the creation of zones (communities) occupied by socially excluded persons. Therefore, the constitutional judicial review of the contested provisions could not have resulted in a further partial conclusion that the absence of a positive legal definition of the status of citizenship of the municipality by binding to the place of residence cannot be superseded by a negative definition, in fact (in fact, indirectly - economic pressure) emptying the right of assistance necessary to secure housing in the municipality as one of the basic living conditions under Article 30 (2) of the Charter. Therefore, the legal authorisation for such implementation of the jurisdiction of the municipality under the contested provisions is constitutionally incompatible.
The question of the discriminatory nature of the contested provisions
59. The Constitutional Court accepted the appellant's objection to the review of the contested provisions, taking into account the different treatment of the different categories of recipients of the housing supplement in terms of their place of residence and the moment when the exploitation or ownership title was acquired at a particular location, the PPE is designated as an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events.
60. Part of the essential content (core) of the right to aid in material distress (its purpose and essence) is, as can be concluded from Article 30 (2) of the Charter, the satisfaction of the basic need for housing, the fulfilment of which is necessary to ensure basic living conditions. Such an understanding of that right also corresponds to Article 11 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, under which: "States, Contracting Parties to the Covenant, recognise the right of each individual to an adequate standard of living for him and his family, including adequate nutrition, clothing, apartment and constant improvement of living conditions. The Contracting States shall take appropriate steps to ensure that this right is implemented, recognising the fundamental importance of international cooperation, based on free consent, in order to achieve this objective. 'A similar commitment by the State results from Article 27 (3) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (published under No 104 / 1991 Coll.), Article 14 (2) (h) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (published under No 62 / 1987 Coll.) and Article 28 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (published under No 10 / 2010 Coll. s.). According to Article 16 of the European Social Charter (published under No 14 / 2000 Coll. s.), the Parties are to" promote the economic, legal and social protection of family life', inter alia, by providing "housing for families', but this does not mean" right to housing 'as enshrined in Article 31 of the revised text, which the Czech Republic has not ratified. The manner in which the State should comply with that commitment is not addressed at the constitutional level by ensuring the possibility of housing directly or only by means of the reimbursement of housing costs associated with public budget benefits. The State currently provides directly, or through public corporations or other entities, for persons in need of housing satisfaction only by means of benefits, which include a supplement to housing as either a single benefit or as a benefit contributing to the payment of a substantial part of the housing costs. If it is denied for arbitral reasons, as is the case under the contested provisions, this also affects the fulfilment of those international obligations of the Czech Republic (Article 1 (2) of the Constitution).
61. According to the general section of the explanatory memorandum to Act No. 98 / 2017 Coll. social benefits provided for housing are intended to help citizens to cover the justified costs associated with the payment of rent, ownership or other form of housing (subletting, hostel). At present, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs manages two benefits, namely the housing allowance in the State Social Support Scheme and the additional housing allowance in the system of assistance in material distress. If the owner or any other person who uses an apartment (other than a living space, accommodation) fulfils the statutory conditions, he shall be entitled to a housing supplement by law. The purpose of these batch schemes is to enable persons to pay for adequate housing and not to lose it solely for reasons of financial inadequacy, as the loss of housing poses a significant risk of social exclusion.
62. The appellant can be found to be in agreement with the fact that the Act on aid in material need (Paragraph 2) sets out the property, income and other criteria which give rise to entitlement to the housing supplement, thereby establishing the need for the supplement, its amount and the purpose pursued by Article 30 (2) of the Charter. In this context, the Minister for Local Development, expressed in her opinion on the proposal that the benefit of the housing supplement is not an instrument for protecting the right to aid in material distress under the provision of the Charter, when the employment office may not admit that benefit under Paragraph 34 of the Law on aid in material distress and is therefore not a claim. The view of the administrative authority as to whether the substantive conditions of compliance are given is not a denial of the constitutional basis of the law conferred but merely a test of the claim in terms of legal criteria.
63. However, the contested provisions deny the right to a housing supplement to certain persons who otherwise meet the legal criteria for providing it, only because they wish to reside in an area which has been declared an "area with an increased incidence of social adverse events', and only the owners of the properties concerned may object to the PPE which is no longer subject to control by an independent court. Thus, there is a difference in treatment of persons under the criterion of irrational inequality (see paragraph 55) which is contrary to Articles 3 (1) and 4 (3) of the Charter. It is also constitutionally incompatible that the treatment of the recipients of the housing supplement is different only on the basis of the fact that the ownership or the right of use of the apartment on the site was created prior to or after the issue of the PLO (Section 33 (9) of the Law on aid in material distress), which is the circumstance from the point of view of the recipient of the supplement (unaffected). Withdrawal of a housing supplement as a single benefit (people who move into an apartment other than rental or ownership form of housing or who live in a rental form without the possibility of applying for permanent residence) or benefits contributing to the payment of a substantial part of the housing costs (people who live in a rental relationship in an apartment where they are registered for permanent residence) as a result of the declared PPE in particular cases may lead to the de facto emptying of this component of the right of assistance in a material need necessary to ensure the basic living conditions of Article 30 (2) of the Charter in a way which, in addition, contradicts the fundamental democratic values on which the State is founded, protected in Article 2 (1) of the Charter. The breach of the constitutional principle of equality as the third partial conclusion of the analysis carried out is evident.
64. The negative effects of the contested provisions on the personal sphere of recipients of aid in material distress are still highlighted, as is being made from the opinion of the Minister for Labour and Social Affairs and the Ombudsman, who also dealt with the application of the contested provisions in practical terms, and from an overview of the PPE produced by MPSV, the fact that the employment office only records cases where an administrative procedure has taken place following an application for a housing supplement. However, many people, aware of the "zero chance" of handling the application in a location covered by PPE, did not do this at all. However, if the main objective was to reduce the incidence of social adverse events (crime, residence of people under the influence of addictive substances), when the legislator assumed that they were caused by persons in material need, it should be noted that in the case of criminal or criminal activity, the place of action may not be the same as the place of residence of the perpetrator, or the perpetrator may be the person who lives in the declared area but is not in material need. The PPE therefore did not deter such a person from moving to the declared area. Zones with an increased incidence of social adverse events are not declared only in places where only persons in material distress are concentrated, but often blocks of streets are defined, where they live next to each other in rental apartments, both newly moved persons in material distress and "old-timers," so that the suitability and need of the contested provisions can be made to achieve a reduction in the incidence of social adverse events by preventing entitlement to a housing supplement for newcomers. The restriction of the so-called poverty business will then not be possible by issuing PLO in cities where the housing of so-called poverty traders is also situated in areas where the PLO is not affected.
Conclusions
65. According to the Constitutional Court, the main problem of the contested provisions, as referred to in Section VIII (a) above, is the suspension of the housing supplement by the "extra 'objective of maintaining public order in the site. This conclusion is reinforced by the general nature of the PPE and its flat-rate effect on all potential applicants for a housing supplement, since the negative consequences of the measure are always borne by persons other than those referred to as so-called non-adaptable, who are not in the same position in terms of the objective declared by the contested provisions and are still treated in the same way. In practice, there have already been cases where PPE has been declared throughout the city. Many people living in the declared area do not have an impact on the occurrence of social adverse events, but are affected by the contested legislation because, by law, if they are not able to receive a housing supplement, this can lead them to live" on the street, "placing children in children's homes, increased levels of crime and other socially undesirable phenomena. In fact, the legislature has constructed objective responsibility for the occurrence of social adverse events in a designated location, with the sole liberal reason that they have a valid legal title in the area concerned for the use of the apartment, the origin of which is prior to the date of issue of the PPE.
66. According to the Constitutional Court, the contested provisions will not, according to the criteria for the necessity and proportionality of the means under review, be capable of limiting the constitutional right. It is appropriate to point out the objective of the government amendment to the Act on aid in material distress, which, according to the relevant explanatory memorandum, was to define the concept of "grounds worthy of special consideration ', since this indefinite legal concept must be fulfilled in order for a person in material need to be entitled to a supplement to housing in an area which is not approved for permanent housing (in practice it is mainly a hostel). The finalisation of the law was intended, on the one hand, to strengthen the legal certainty of the applicants, and, on the other, to prevent the concentration of people at risk of social exclusion in places where unemployment and property prices are high, i.e. places where the so-called poverty business operates to a greater extent.
67. The adoption of the government bill included a new provision of Paragraph 33c (2) in the Act on aid in material need, according to which the Labour Office examines the concentration of a person with a municipality in which he applies for a supplement to housing. Thus, in relation to the provision of this benefit to persons on premises defined by the PPE, the law on assistance in material distress provides for a means of limiting the entitlement to a housing supplement for those who have no relation to the municipality in which they wish to reside. The PLO is thus redundant in these cases, while § 33c (2) already seeks to achieve similar objectives - as already mentioned above - on the basis of an individual approach of the Labour Office to take into account information from social workers of the competent municipal authority and the recommendations of the municipality in whose cadastral territory the accommodation is located (§ 33 (6)).
68. The Constitutional Court found that the contested legislation could not stand even in terms of granting a housing supplement, since there are more efficient solutions to limit benefits to persons who are not linked to the municipality where they apply for the benefit. It is primarily the duty of the State and the municipalities, as public bodies, to promote the satisfaction of the basic needs of living in a material emergency. The creation of a system of state-guaranteed support for the basic needs of housing may give effect to the fulfilment of the right of assistance in material distress provided for in Article 30 (2) of the Charter, the conditions of which, and not the contested repressive measures, will be within the limits of the implementing act within the meaning of Article 41 (1) of the Charter. Within this framework, municipalities can gain direct control of compliance with the housing conditions associated with this form of housing they are calling for, including the possibility of effective intervention in the event of degradation ("housing ') of residential property. However, the introduction of the PLO on the declaration of areas with an increased incidence of social adverse events cannot, in a constitutionally consistent manner, resolve this problem.
69. The Constitutional Court notes that the intervention in question in the right to aid in material distress is - as an objective of the contested provisions - not only constitutionally inadmissible but as a means of protecting public order and preventing abuse of benefits is not even appropriate and may in the future bring about a number of adverse consequences, including restrictions on internal migration within the municipality, leading to the violation of the contested provisions on freedom of residence referred to in Article 14 (1) in conjunction with Article 3 (3) of the Charter. For example, the PPE may also affect low-income "old-timers" of the municipality, if it decides to move to an apartment which is located in an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events, which is no longer covered by the amendment of Paragraph 33 (9) of the Second Act on aid in material distress to exclude "old-timers" from the impact of PPE. Another undesirable effect of the PLO may be the domino effect, i.e. an involuntary, constitutional freedom of residence limiting the movement of persons who would otherwise reside in an area with an increased incidence of social adverse events, to other cities or municipalities, which subsequently, for fear of increasing the concentration of so-called non-compliant persons, will also issue PPE, thereby gradually denying dose aid to persons in material distress in the region or microregion with which they are associated. A secondary effect may be the deterioration of relations between municipalities that thus transfer the problem of increased concentration of people at risk of social exclusion. From publicly available sources, it is clear that other cities are considering the expansion of areas with an increased incidence of social adverse events, others even acceded to the inadequate and unjustified declaration of PLO throughout their territory (e.g. Kladno, whose decision to accept PLO by the Regional Authority of the Central Bohemia Region on 15 March 2019 was cancelled).
70. Nor can any other adverse effects be omitted on persons living in the declared area, who own real estate or do business here, whose "compensation" may have a positive effect on the position of other persons (if there is indeed a decrease in the occurrence of social adverse events), but is not acceptable from a constitutional point of view. In view of the fact that information on the areas declared is being published, the sites thus designated may be viewed negatively by the public as a so-called bad address which harms the treatment of persons from such sites in normal professional and other situations. There may be a decrease in the market value of the real estate, thereby intervening in the right of its owners protected by Article 11 (1) of the Charter. As a result, indirect interference with the right to engage in business or to engage in other economic activities pursuant to Article 26 (1) of the Charter in the area declared, or a negative impact on the development of the municipality itself.
71. The waiver of the right to a housing supplement to persons intending to move into the declared area (Section 33 (9) of the Act on aid in material need) is therefore also a disproportionate measure in relation to the protection of public order and public interest in order to prevent so-called poverty trade. Socially excluded persons often remain on the site even without a housing supplement, the loss of which is often sought to compensate in ways rather strengthening the already existing increased incidence of social adverse events. The inadequacy is deepened - in addition to the said area of PPE (the impossibility of individualising its effects), excluding the examination of whether the persons affected by the measure actually have a share in the increased incidence of social adverse events - by depriving the State of an important tool to deal with the social situation of an individual by increasing the differentiation of aid in material distress in favour of a restrictive instrument which can further increase social exclusion. The issue of PPE therefore does not lead to the prevention of the emergence of socially excluded areas, but to their transfer to other places.
72. The contested provisions of the Act on aid in material distress constitute an unconstitutional interference with the right to ensure the basic living conditions in the area of housing as provided for in Article 30 (2) of the Charter, which cannot stand even in terms of the limits allowed to invoke that right within the meaning of Article 41 (1) of the Charter. This is only a non-systemic response without more permanent effects on the long-term unsatisfactory problem of social exclusion. Its constitutional inadmissibility is due to the discrepancy of the consequences of the application of the contested provisions, with the principle of equality in dignity referred to in Article 1 (1) of the Charter, when it does not allow for an individualised differentiation between the actual agents of social undesirable phenomena (associated with social tourism), the concentration of which the contested provisions are intended to prevent, and others, with a community linked to the population, located as "victims' of these phenomena. Instead of a stronger motivation for municipal authorities to cooperate with the employment office in providing a housing supplement, the contested provisions eliminate the scope for it. Contrary to Article 3 (3) The Charter is detrimental to the right to assistance in material distress referred to in Article 30 (2) of the Charter to persons who exercise their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of residence pursuant to Article 14 (1) of the Charter, or to those who prefer a housing supplement to use such freedom. Although the Constitutional Court understands - in the absence of a social housing law - the feelings of the citizens of the municipalities who, without their own fault, are now" unstoppable "in solving the problems of the socially excluded locations of their municipalities, the issue cannot be addressed at the expense of the prospect of social emancipation of people in material need and civil cohesion (social reconciliation) in the municipality.
73. As the contested provisions are incompatible with the constitutional order, the Constitutional Court annulled them on the date of the publication of this finding in the Collection of Laws.
President of the Constitutional Court:
JUDr. Rychetský v. r.
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Regulation Information
| Citation | The Constitutional Court found no 344 / 2021 Coll., on the application for annulment of § 33 paragraph 9 and § 33d of Act No. 111 / 2006 Coll., on aid in material distress, as amended |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | The Constitutional Tribunal found |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 24.09.2021 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | - |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
Public Contracts 1
DODATEK Č. 1 Smlouvy o dílo, na akci: „Vyhodnocení disponibility zdrojů pro první napouštění jezer p...
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