Mimoprávní vlivy na rozhodování českého Ústavního soudu

Smekal, Hubert; Benák, Jaroslav; Hanych, Monika; Vyhnánek, Ladislav; Janků, Štěpán

doi:10.5817/cz.muni.m210-9884-2021

Cited by 9 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…These observations are in line with the existing literature on political fragmentation. 67 Furthermore, the Czech technocratic populism of Andrej Babiš differs substantially from the ethnopopulism of Viktor Orbán or Jarosław Kaczyński. Hungarian and Polish versions of populism, with their significant nationalist emphasis and portrayal of various external enemies, has a higher mobilisation potential than general boilerplate about corruption and state-management by experts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Through selective activism towards greater resilience: the Czech Constitutional Court's interventions into high politics in the age of populism

Smekal¹,

Benák²,

Vyhnánek³

2023

Judicial Activism in an Age of Populism

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With technocratic populist Andrej Babiš leading the Czech government coalition, the country has experienced some democratic backsliding. In contrast to its Hungarian and Polish counterparts, however, the Czech Constitutional Court has been spared from executive capture. This article argues that resilient constitutional courts may act as one of the key safeguards against illiberal populism. We demonstrate that resilient constitutional courts are products of an institutional framework, which prevents court-packing by loyal allies of populist leaders, and of courts' activities that increase their reputation with the public, thus making political attacks against them overly costly. We argue that the Czech Constitutional Court has exercised an approach of selective judicial activism that focuses on keeping political competition fair while avoiding involvement in controversial socially transformative judicial decision-making which would outrage large parts of the population. Moreover, by acting as a guardian of fair political competition, the Court contributed to the further fragmentation of the political landscape, which in turn prevented the accumulation of political power, and hence the Court shielded itself from political attacks.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%