Basic notions and sources of law
Public and private law
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Public law - is the area of law governing the
relationship between individuals (citizens,
companies) and the state – constitutional,
administrative, criminal, financial law
Private law - is the area of law in a society
that affects the relationships between
individuals or groups without the intervention
of the state or government – civil,
commercial, family, labor law
Substantive and procedural law
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Substantive law - is the area of law that governs
rights and obligations of those who are subject to it.
Substantive law defines the legal relationship of
people with other people or between them and the
state.
Procedural law - comprises the rule by which a
court hears and determines what happens in civil
lawsuit, criminal or administrative proceedings. The
rules are designed to ensure a fair and consistent
application of due process to all cases that come
before a court.
International and domestic law
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Public international law - governs the relationship
between states and international organizations
Private international law or conflict of laws concerns the questions of which jurisdiction should
be permitted to hear a legal dispute between private
parties, and which jurisdiction's law should be
applied
Domestic law - internal law of a sovereign state not only law at the national level, but law at the
provincial, territorial, regional or local levels
Sources of law
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Material sources – social events, historical
events, economic events
Formal sources – normative acts, normative
agreements, precedents, customs, legal
science
Written and unwritten sources
Normative acts (legal enactments)
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They are created by competent authorities of
the state
They represent general rules for the
particular branch of law
They are applied by courts and
administrative authorities – individual
decisions
Competent authorities in Czech republic
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Parliament
Government
Ministries (departments)
Czech central bank
Authorities of territorial self-governing units
(municipalities and regions)
Constitutional court
Primary normative acts
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Constitutional laws (acts of parliament)
(Ordinary) laws (acts of parliament)
Codes
Legislative measures of Senate (Chamber of
Deputies is dissolved)
Decisions of Constitutional Court (the nullification of
laws or their individual provisions if they are in
contradiction with a constitutional law)
Secondary normative acts
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Governmental decrees (for the execution of a
law and within its limits)
Regulations of ministries (on the basis and
within the limits of law, if authorized so by
law)
Decrees and regulations of municipalities
and regions
Normative agreements I.
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Art. 10: „Promulgated international
agreements, the ratification of which has been
approved by the Parliament and which are
binding on the Czech Republic, shall constitute a
part of the legal order; should an international
agreement make provision contrary to a law, the
international agreement shall be applied.“
Treaties must be self-executing – they provide
adequate rules by which given rights may be
enjoyed or imposed duties may be enforced.
Normative agreements II.
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Collective agreement - agreement between
an employer and employees' representatives
(labor unions) covering terms and conditions
of employment
Administrative agreement - agreement
between administrative authorities covering
specific questions
Precedent I.
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It is a legal case establishing a principle or rule that a court or
other judicial body utilizes when deciding subsequent cases
with similar issues or facts
Precedent that must be applied or followed is known as
binding precedent
Precedent that is not mandatory but which is useful or relevant
is known as persuasive precedent
Ratio decidendi is the point in a case which determines the
judgment or the principle which the case establishes
Obiter dictum is a remark or observation made by a judge that,
although included in the body of the court's opinion, does not
form a necessary part of the court's decision
Precedent II.
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In Czech legal system it is officially not a
source of law
Decision of a higher court is binding only in
individual case
Leading decisions of Supreme (Supreme
administrative, Constitutional) court should
be followed by lower courts generally
Customary law
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Custom can be described as the established
patterns of behavior that can be objectively
verified within a particular social setting
Customary law exists where:
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a certain legal practice is observed
the relevant actors consider it to be law
customary rule is enforced
The oldest source of law
Legal science (literature)
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Today it is not a source of law
In ancient Rome and medieval England
works of the most respected lawyers were
considered binding
In Czech legal system it can influence the
decision of judges