Lisbon Treaty in the hands of Constitutional Court

Ireland voted in favor of the Lisbon Treaty Oct. 2, leaving the fate of the controversial European Union accord in the hands of the Czech Constitutional Court and President Václav Klaus.

Prime Minister Jan Fischer said he expects Lisbon - meant to streamline EU decision-making - to be approved by the end of the year amid signs the Constitutional Court seeks a speedy ruling on a Sept. 29 challenge to the document filed by a group of Civic Democratic Party (ODS) senators.

While Constitutional Court spokesman Vlastimil Göttinger said judges are "not restricted by any deadline," it is clear the court is taking steps to expedite the process.

As is standard procedure, Klaus, Fischer and Chamber of Deputies Chairman Miroslav Vlček all received a letter from the Constitutional Court Oct. 2, prompting them for opinions on the case. Whereas the normal time they have in which to respond is four weeks, for this case, it has been reduced to two weeks, meaning that, by Oct. 16, the case will be fully in the hands of the judiciary. For the recent dispute over early parliamentary elections, the deadline to respond to the court's letter was only seven days.

Tomáš Langášek, the Constitutional Court's general secretary, said Klaus, Fischer and Vlček "have been asked for their consent not to hold an oral hearing in order to speed the process as much as possible. If they consent, one might expect the decision in a month."

However, a ruling on the Lisbon Treaty last year took much longer when another group of ODS senators challenged three key provisions of the treaty and filed their request April 30, 2008. A ruling did not follow until Nov. 26, 2008. At the time, the court ruled Lisbon met constitutional requirements.

The court's president, Pavel Rychetský, has indicated this latest challenge is rife with holes, saying the court "cannot provide its interpretations as the groups of senators expects it to do," according to the daily Právo. Rychetský went on Czech Radio Oct. 1 and said the mandate of the Constitutional Court does not fit with the way the senators have issued their challenge, adding, "The Czechoslovak Constitutional Court was the last court that had the power of providing such positions, ending in 1992."

European leaders have lessened pressure on the Czech Republic, following 67 percent of Irish voters approving Lisbon Oct. 2. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, currently holding the EU presidency, said pressure was counterproductive until a court ruling. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has made similar statements.

Fischer, Reinfeldt and Barroso are slated to meet in Brussels Oct. 7.

The UK Conservative Party opened its party congress Oct. 5 amid reports party head David Cameron would not push for a referendum in the United Kingdom next year if Lisbon had been approved by all 27 member states by then. This dulled the outcry that followed reports of a letter by Cameron to Klaus encouraging the Czech president to delay signing the treaty until the Conservatives could win a general election next May and then call a referendum.   

The German Embassy in Prague is playing down controversy that erupted since reports surfaced that new Ambassador Johannes Haindl met with Rychetský in Brno, leading to speculation he was interjecting on behalf of the Lisbon Treaty. Embassy spokesman Ulrich Ernst confirmed a meeting took place but refuted suggestions the Germans were exerting pressure and said it was part of the "normal business of an ambassador." He said Haindl also met with Jiří Oberfalzer, the ODS senator who is leading the constitutional challenge to Lisbon.

Rychetský is heading the Constitutional Court's deliberations, though the case was initially referred to Judge Jiří Mucha. Mucha is abroad on vacation, so the case was reassigned, Langášek said.

In a poll by the SANEP research center, 43 percent of Czechs want Klaus to sign the treaty immediately. About the same amount, 44 percent, thought delays to signing the document could damage the country's image abroad; 37 percent said it didn't, and 19 percent had no opinion. The same poll found 53 percent of Czechs would vote in favor of Lisbon if there were a referendum; 63 percent say EU accession in 2004 was a good move.

- Petr Cibulka Jr. contributed to this report.

Benjamin Cunningham can be reached at
bcunningham@praguepost.com