Discussion Papers 2001.
Role of the Regions in the Enlarging European Union 25-31. p.
Role of the Regions in the Enlarging European Union
Edited by Zoltan Gal, Pecs, Centre for Regional Studies, 2001
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE
CZECH REPUBLIC: TAKING
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT INTO
CONSIDERATION
Eugenie Triitzschler v. Falkenstein
Introduction
Decentralisation and regionalisation would appear to be magical words in the
last decade of the twentieth century. We have the feeling that these structures
did not exist before, as if they are something new and unusual. The European
Union promotes subsidiarity, which is supposed to make the policy coming
from Brussels clear for its citizens. People are searching for a solution to their
problems after decades of experience with central states, in particular, in former
socialist states, in their immediate surroundings, in their home countries, in
their regions. The continuing globalisation of our environment certainly con-
tributes to this. Practise will show whether the new regions meet the demands
imposed upon them. These self-governing units receive support mainly thanks
to the Charter for Communal Self-Government and the Charter for Regional
Self-Government, which already exists in a proposed form for formulating ju-
risdiction that they will have to adapt according to the experiences gained over
a period of time.
In view of the fact that national aspects play an important role in the ques-
tion of decentralisation and regionalisation we will also deal with them in this
lecture.
Juridical and historical development in the territory
of the Czech Republic
The historical Lands of the Czech Crown, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia have a
long tradition of decentralisation. As early as in the middle of the thirteenth
century 12 regions were created with their own penal law, police and adminis-
Eugenie Trützschler v. Falkenstein: Regional Development in the Czech Republic: Taking Historical
Development Into Consideration. In: Role of the Regions in the Enlarging European Union.
Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 2001. 25-31. p. Discussion Papers. Special
26
E. Triitzschler v. Falkenstein
trative jurisdiction. Courts consisting of the nobility and regional parliaments
supported these.
Under pressure from the ruling house this jurisdiction was constantly re-
stricted. For example, in 1528, it was decreed that parliaments were only al-
lowed to sit if the sovereign gave approval. Later on, also, the sheriff was ap-
pointed by the ruling house and not, as before, chosen from among the mem-
bers of the parliament. From 1750 administration in this sense was finally na-
tionalised.
The year of revolution, 1848, was supposed to bring a change with greater
autonomy. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Count Stadion, drew up ideas con-
cerning this. Despite the fact that on 31" July 1849 Minister Bach confirmed
the need for greater self-governing units in the regions this idea was abandoned
in the next decade, which became known, to history as `Bach's absolutism'. In
its place the state's interest turned to centralism, or to put it more correctly, the
merger of various administrative bodies. As the basis of this principle a su-
preme statute was issued on 25 th January 1853 concerning the activities of dis-
trict, regional and governors' offices and the judiciary. In order to implement
this statute committees made up of representatives of 'political offices' and
judicial and financial authorities were set up. The new organisation came into
existence on 12th May 1855. Judiciary in the regions was integrated into the
government through this reorganisation. Not until, a law was passed on 31'
August 1868 was the judicature separated from administration. The jurisdiction
of the regional authorities was further curtailed. They became the 'link' be-
tween the political authorities of the land and the political office of the first
chamber thus increasing the power of the governor. This meant that the re-
gional authorities were seen to be redundant. In Moravia they were dissolved
on 5 th June 1860, in Bohemia after the February Constitution in 1861 through a
statute passed on 5 th June 1862. After the restoration of constitutional life in the
monarchy the apparatus for political administration was founded on the basis of
the December constitution by law no. 44 passed on 19 th May 1868. This law
existed in principal until the downfall of the monarchy. It worked so well that
the First Republic took over its structure without practically any major changes.
The term 'political administration' meant all the jurisdiction of the land,
which was the responsibility of the Ministries of Internal Affairs, Culture, Edu-
cation and Defence. The jurisdiction of the governor was also redefined on 19 th
May 1868. In administration he became the first authority in the land. He was
responsible for matters concerning political administration, which for this pur-
pose was divided into national, district and communal areas and it was provided
with its own statutes for this purpose. A special law regulated the influence of
the governor in finance and trade. Instead of the regional authorities, which
were no longer restored during the period of the monarchy, the district execu-
Eugenie Trützschler v. Falkenstein: Regional Development in the Czech Republic: Taking Historical
Development Into Consideration. In: Role of the Regions in the Enlarging European Union.
Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 2001. 25-31. p. Discussion Papers. Special
Regional Development in the Czech Republic: Taking Historical Development...
27
tive became the main power with a sheriff at its head. In 1911 a commission
was set up to reform state administration, which was also to deal with the re-
establishment of the regional authorities. They were supposed to begin func-
tioning again on 1s1 January 1919.
Decentralisation and regionalisation in the First Republic
In October 1915 the 'Cleveland Agreement' was signed between Czech and
Slovak representatives. It consisted of five points. Point no. 2 dealt with the
federal division of the state. For Slovakia this meant that it would have its own
parliament and its own administration. The Cleveland Agreement was annulled
by the Pittsburgh Agreement. Here there was no mention of federalism; in its
place was the idea of a unified Czechoslovak nation.
The First Czechoslovak Republic took over the structure of the lower
authority as had existed at the end of the First World War. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs remained the higher authority as before. The jurisdiction of the
local authorities was regulated in the First Republic in February by the acts no.
75 and 76 Coll. Universal, secret elections were introduced for men and
women. The term of office for an elected representative was limited to 4 years,
in 1933 this was prolonged to 6 years. The principle that the election of a
mayor from among the representatives had to be confirmed either by the
Ministry of Internal Affairs or by the district authority (Act no. 122/1933 Coll.)
has to be seen as a restriction on autonomy. The introduction of a local
financial committee, which had the right to control all the expenses of a
municipality, was considered in socialist literature as a 'reactionary strike'
against the self-government of the municipalities.
The planned establishment of 15 regions, which was intended to remove the
duplication of administration, did not occur as a result of the so-called district
administration act of 29 th February 1920. From 1 5` January 1923 they only ex-
isted in Slovakia and only in a limited form. The Czechs feared that in certain
areas the Germans would have supremacy.
In 1927 political administration was reorganised by the act no. 125/1927
Coll. The body of the newly set up districts was the district authority, which
consisted, according to the number of inhabitants, of 2/3 elected representatives
and 1/3 experts. The district authority elected from among its members a dis-
trict committee that was presided over by a district administrator. The district
administrator was responsible to the regional president and the Ministry of In-
ternal Affairs but not to the district authority. The district authority was given
certain jurisdiction by law principally in economy. Among the other bodies of
the district authority it was compulsory to have a financial committee that was
Eugenie Trützschler v. Falkenstein: Regional Development in the Czech Republic: Taking Historical
Development Into Consideration. In: Role of the Regions in the Enlarging European Union.
Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 2001. 25-31. p. Discussion Papers. Special
28
E. Triitzsehler v. Falkenstein
made up equally of members of the district authority and experts. The highest
element of self-government was regional self-government. Despite the fact that
after the founding of the First Republic all the jurisdiction of the regional par-
liaments, which had existed up until that, time was transferred to the central
government, four regional units, Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, Slovakia and Sub-
Carpathia, were established by a public administration law in 1927. In each unit
bodies were set up which corresponded to those at district level.
`The Socialist State'
In its manifesto published on 4 th February 1845 the Slovak National Council
again demanded the federalisation of the state. However, during discussions
concerning the preparation of the Kogice programme they backed down. The
Kogice programme talks about the autonomous statute of the Slovak bodies, the
Slovak Council was recognised as a legislative representative of the Slovak
people which was to be responsible for national power in Slovakia. But due to
the fact that national bodies were also supposed to be Czech bodies at the same
time, the Czech Republic was not on an equal footing with Slovakia. The Slo-
vaks did not achieve their aim, namely the establishment of two federal states
with equal jurisdiction. This situation acquired the name 'asymmetrical solu-
tion' in Czechoslovakia. Through this phrase the Slovaks wanted mainly to
express their dissatisfaction with the situation that had arisen. However, in
comparison with the idea of Czechoslovakism, which was promoted during the
First Republic, the Kogice programme was successful. It was followed by the
`Prague Agreements'. In the third, on 28 th June 1946, while the existence of
Slovak bodies was again confirmed, the government in Prague gained practical
control over the directive activities of the Slovak National Council.
The Constitution of 9 th May 1948 guarantees democratic principles provided
they serve the people. With regard to Slovakia, two basic rights (clause VIII
and clause IX) and the whole of section of 5 in the Constitution were devoted to
it. Outwardly the Slovak bodies were fully recognised. Their jurisdiction, how-
ever, was restricted by the jurisdiction of the ministerial chairman (§ 102 a §
110).
Regions with their own national committees were set up by act the no. 280
of 21' December 1948 in the Czechoslovak Republic. By constitutional acts
nos. 12, 13, 14 Coll. on national committees, passed on 3 rd March 1954, their
operation was extended to regional, district, municipal and local committees
and their duties subsequently defined: 'National committees are local bodies of
state power, they govern the economic and cultural structure of socialism ac-
cording to government guidelines and the laws of the republic. (§ 1 of constitu-
Eugenie Trützschler v. Falkenstein: Regional Development in the Czech Republic: Taking Historical
Development Into Consideration. In: Role of the Regions in the Enlarging European Union.
Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 2001. 25-31. p. Discussion Papers. Special
Regional Development in the Czech Republic: Taking Historical Development...
29
tional the act no. 12 Coll. of 3 th March 1954). The numbers of regions in what
is today the Czech Republic were reduced from thirteen to eight by reform in
1960.
In 1956 it was found that in view of the socialist reforms, which had oc-
curred the state, had to decentralised. This finding resulted from the 20 th Con-
gress of the Soviet Communist Party, which denounced the previous period as
the period of 'personality worship'. Constitutional amendment no. 33 of 31 st
July 1956 gave the Slovak bodies the powers that they had had before the Con-
stitution of 9 th May 1948 became valid. Paragraph 102 was amended in such a
way that the government conceded its powers towards the Slovak National
Council, its convocation, transferral or dissolution. But just three years later in
1960 the new socialist constitution annulled these concessions. As justification
for this it was said that the amendment had not been thought over or prepared
sufficiently. Just as the Communist Party had claimed in the 1950's that Slova-
kia must be governed centrally so that it could be better helped, now it was
declared that Slovakia had reached such a high level that it did not need its own
governing bodies. Clause no. 41 (2) of 11 th July 1960 entitled the National As-
sembly to revoke the laws, which the Slovak National Council had passed. Af-
ter the session of the central committee of the Slovak Communist Party on 3 rd
th
-4
April 1963 at which those Slovaks who during the fifties had been
denounced as 'nationalists' were rehabilitated, there arose a new situation
which forced the Slovak Communist Party to give Slovak bodies, specifically
the Slovak National Council, greater powers. In a party document issued in
May 1964 an expansion of powers was agreed upon between the central
committees of the Czech and Slovak Communist parties.
In the Czech Communist Party's resolution of 28 th January 1968 a new con-
stitution was called for. It was to include a new solution to the relations be-
tween the Czechs and the Slovaks. The Slovak bodies were to be constructed
according to the Kogice programme. The National Assembly reacted on 27 th
February 1968 with an amendment to constitutional clause no. 91. This made
Bratislava the capital of Slovakia.
On 27 th March the central committee of the Slovak Communist Party issued
a communiqué in which it promised its citizens greater rights and freedoms.
The Communist Party promised the full use of the asymmetrical model and the
separation of legislature from the executive in Slovak bodies. An action pro-
gramme of 5 th April 1968 speaks openly about federalism and dualism.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic
constitutional act no. 143/1968 Coll. was revoked. This was maybe only to put
off the decision concerning important matters of jurisdiction. It must be viewed
in connection with the arrival of foreign troops. So an exact solution was not
found, for example, for the division of powers between the federation and the
Eugenie Trützschler v. Falkenstein: Regional Development in the Czech Republic: Taking Historical
Development Into Consideration. In: Role of the Regions in the Enlarging European Union.
Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 2001. 25-31. p. Discussion Papers. Special
30
E. Triitzschler v. Falkenstein
individual states. This situation — mainly the unwillingness to give up the lead-
ing role of the Communist Party and democratic centralism — did not give the
federalisation of the republic any chance.
Decentralisation and regionalisation after 1989
During this period there were many controversial discussions about decentrali-
sation and regionalisation. Czechs and Slovaks could not come to an under-
standing regarding decentralisation. In 1993 the state divided in two.
Self-government is guaranteed by clause no. 8 of the Constitution of 16 th
December 1992. In section VII the concept, powers and rights of self-governing
units are defined. The Czech Republic is divided into regions, districts and
municipalities.
In 1990 an act was passed on municipalities in the territory of what is today
the Czech Republic (Act no. 367/1990 Coll., 4 th September 1990), the model
for which was the Charter for Communal Self-Government. According to this
act 6,590 municipalities act independently in their tasks, among which are the
economic, social and cultural development of the municipality (clause no. 13 of
the act). Municipalities can unite with other municipalities in a larger forma-
tion. So, for example, they can become members of cross-border communal
working groups such as Euroregion Egrensis. It is important for municipalities
that they can collect taxes independently, on the other hand they are supported
by the state.
The national committees in the regions were dissolved in 1991. Since then
there has been a lot of discussion about the territorial and administrative divi-
sion of the republic. The government, which was elected on 27 th June 1996,
pointed out the need in a government declaration for the introduction of re-
gional autonomy (see part of the coalition agreement of 28 th June 1996 S. 3.
Part 7, State administration and self-government). For the first time a separate
department was set up for the development of regions, towns and municipali-
ties. The Ministry for Local Development began functioning on 1S t November
1996.
On 23 rd October 1997 parliament passed a constitutional act on the creation
of higher territorial units and an amendment to the constitutional act of the
Czech National Council no. 1/1993 Coll., the constitution of the Czech Repub-
lic (see Constitutional Act no. 347/1997 Coll., of 3rd December 1997). Accord-
ing to this act 14 regions should be formed with effect from 1 st January 2000.
Their powers should be allocated by the appropriate laws. Until that time all
powers, which are not within the exclusive jurisdiction of, the municipalities
Eugenie Trützschler v. Falkenstein: Regional Development in the Czech Republic: Taking Historical
Development Into Consideration. In: Role of the Regions in the Enlarging European Union.
Pécs, Centre for Regional Studies, 2001. 25-31. p. Discussion Papers. Special
Regional Development in the Czech Republic: Taking Historical Development...
31
(see the Municipalities Act) come under state administration (see Czech Na-
tional Council act no. 425 Coll., of 9th October 1990 on district authorities).
Powers exist which can bring communal self-government under the supervi-
sion of district authorities. In these cases the district authority takes over the
controlling function (clause no. 5 of the District Authorities Act). District
authorities can double-check a municipality's financial situation if a munici-
pality requests it (see the District Authorities Act, clause no. 5 and clause no.
20 on municipal self-government).
Amongst other things, district authorities are responsible for health, culture,
sport, local transport, roads, education (as far as the buildings are concerned).
The head of a district authority is appointed according to the suggestion made
by the Minister for Internal Affairs (see clause no. 8 of the District Authorities
Act, identical regulation also exists in Slovakia).
A district assembly that must be convened within 60 days of local elections
can be considered a self-governing body (see part 6 of the District Authorities
Act). The district authority must determine the number of members within 10
days of the elections. Members are voted for in secret elections. A district as-
sembly can approve the distribution of funds to individual municipalities, and
approve and control the budgets of district authorities, but it does not the right
to alter the amount of funds (§ 18b). Because an assembly has the right (§ 18c)
to issue tasks within its authorisation to the head of the district authority, it has
an influence, for example, on the number of personnel in a district authority and
the amount of individual material and staffing expenditures (§ 16). In this way
the head of the district authority is answerable to the assembly even though he
or she is appointed by the central state.
Understandably (according to the Charter for European regions) self-
governing powers can be held primarily by those regions, which are of a certain
size both in terms of area and number of inhabitants. According to the EU the
regions formed by the constitutional act of 3 rd December 1997 are not
particularly suitable. For this reason the European Union has asked the Czech
Republic to form regional structures which correspond to the needs of
recallable operational units (NUTS II) necessary for 'Regional Funds'. In the
Czech government resolution no. 417 of 17 th June 1998 the decision was taken
to create a pilot project in the Ustecko and Karlovarsko regions. On this basis
(NUTS II) the country would be divided into eight regions, not fourteen.
Because the constitutional act of 3rd December 1997 is still valid and the
necessary acts for its implementation still have to be drawn up, at the moment
there exist and should continue to exist two types of region, 'EU regions' and
`national' regions.