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Democracy and state governed by law: harmony or conflict?
Jícha, Martin ; Ondřejková, Jana (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Democracy and state governed by law: harmony or conflict? Abstract The aim of this thesis is to define the concept of the state governed by law and the concept of democracy and to describe the relationship between them. The author of the thesis first reviewed literature defining the state governed by law and democracy and then compared different authors' concepts. These concepts are fundamentally different, therefore they cannot be included in a single definition. With regard to it, both concepts, democracy and the state governed by law, are divided into several subcategories: procedural and substantive democracy, legalistic, formal and material state governed by law. Conccurently, the author of this thesis considers the material state governed by law to be so distinctive that it is inappropriate to call it state governed by law. He chose the term constitutional liberalism for it. The relationship between democracy and the state governed by law is determined by concepts of democracy and concepts of the state governed by law, therefore this part of the thesis is also divided into chapters dealing with the relationship between the state governed by law and democracy, depending on how they are understood. The method is similar as in the first part of the thesis, so the author first researched literature and...
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Limits of demokracy
Folková, Zsófia ; Kysela, Jan (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
The central themes of the thesis are the limits of democracy, the qualities that distinguish it from other political regimes, the criteria necessary for its existence, and the character of the regimes that arise if one or more of these criteria are not met. The first part of the thesis presents fundamental concepts and theories that deal with these questions, the goal of the second part is to apply these theoretical considerations to a particular case, namely Hungary. The first part focuses primarily on the definition of democracy and non-democracy, on the functioning and characteristics of regimes in the "grey area" between democracy and authoritarianism, on the definitions of relevant terms and on the ways in which various theories of democracy, authoritarianism and hybrid regimes approach these concepts and definitions. The first chapter presents the theories of democracy that are relevant to the discussion about hybrid regimes: the minimalist concept, the procedural minimum and the extended procedural minimum. The second chapter focuses on the definition of the opposite of democracy, the third chapter presents a cognitive-linguistic approach to the links between democracy and authoritarianism. The last two chapters of the first part offer a brief overview of the theories of hybrid regimes and...
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Legal regulation of the position of political parties in the Czech Republic
Pilař, Jan ; Pithart, Petr (advisor) ; Ondřejková, Jana (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to explore and evaluate legal position of political parties in the Czech Republic and its historical development. This thesis deals with political party law in a narrow sense, particularly with constitutional arrangement and the Political Parties Act. According to the Constitution of the Czech Republic our political system is based on a competition of political parties, despite this fact not enough attention is usually devoted to their position in a legal system. This text uses an interdisciplinary approach combining mainly legal and political science. The thesis contains seven chapters and moves from general to specific. The first chapter deals with the term political party. Firstly it observes it from the prism of social sciences then it moves to political science definitions and in the end it extracts legal definitions and characterizes a private law nature of parties. Second chapter is about functions of political parties both in general and according to the law. The third chapter describes in detail the development of legal position of political parties from the year 1852 to the present time. The fourth chapter analyses current Political Parties Act its creation and amendments. The fifth chapter examines conditions of creating parties. The sixth chapter is about...
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Constitutional aspects of the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Federation
Šnajdaufová, Eva ; Gronský, Ján (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Constitutional aspects of the dissolution of the Czechoslovak Federation Abstract The Czechoslovak Federation was a Czechoslovak state, which originated in 1918 based on the nation's right to self-determination. Through the natural and historical law, Slovakia was incorporated into the historical territory of the Lands of the Czech Crown, and Czechoslovakia was formed. A Czechoslovak nation had not previously existed. It was created out of people on the Czech territory and people on the Slovak territory as a fiction that helped to defend the state-forming idea. A Czechoslovak state was created as a national state, but was, in fact, a multinational state. Unsolved national and ethnic issues were one of the major causes of the end of the Czechoslovak state. The Czech and Slovak relations were re- evaluated with every social-wide change. Even prior to the formation of the state, Slovaks were assured of certain autonomy within Czechoslovakia. The failure to fulfill the assurances wound like a red thread through the entire history of the Czechoslovak state. Czechs, who began identifying with the Czechoslovak statehood practically immediately, were not too aware of their somewhat dismissive attitude toward Slovakian demands. It is likely that the concept of a unanimous Czechoslovak nation state led to its...
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The phenomenon of presidential elections. The development of elections of Czechoslovak and Czech Presidents 1918-2008
Kočicová, Anna ; Pithart, Petr (advisor) ; Havel, Tomáš (referee)
The Phenomenon of Presidential Elections. The development of the elections of Czechslovak and Czech presidents 1918-2008. The topic of this thesis is an analysis of the development of the elections of the president of Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic from 1918 to 2008 in the context of a distinctive understanding of the role of the president in the collective memory of the Czech nation. The reason for the connection the analysis of presidential elections in the specified time period with the Czech experience of the perception of the president's role in the political system of the Czech Republic is the inseparable close link between the two topics within which the specific perception of a president in the eyes of Czech public influences the development of the institute of presidential elections and has the potential to successfully interpret it. The presidential election can therefore be considered a phenomenon within this meaning: it has specific historical, cultural and sociological features of the perception of the president's role in the collective memory of the Czech nation which were essential in the course of the functioning of the institute of the presidential election in Czech lands for further shaping of the form of this institute and these features have also made it a...
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Non-political politics. Destiny of the concept and practice in the Czech lands (from K.H.B and T.G.M. through Vaclav Havel to presence)
Šmíd, Šimon ; Pithart, Petr (advisor) ; Urban, Michal (referee)
Although a lot of people are not familiar with the term non-political politics, it has its indisputable place in the Czech history. It has evolved from thoughts of Karel Havlíček Borovský as a solution to the nation which was facing lack of its independence and was based upon awareness of national culture and self-governance. This conception was later adopted by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who implemented the idea into its own political programme aimed at free and educated society. His non-political approach reflected intellectual and steady attitude with a manifest perspective which made him a leading person in establishing an independent state of Czechs and Slovaks. In 1970s, Václav Havel restored non-political idea and designed it for the purpose of the confrontation with the communist regime. Owing to his authority, non-political politics became again one of the main mechanisms leading to political pluralism. The topic of non-political politics, which is often perceived as the legacy of Václav Havel, is still present in the days of growing scepticism towards a democratic system with political parties. This thesis aims at description of non-political approach of K.H.B., T.G.M. and Václav Havel. It also attempts to ascertain if there is some similarity and continuity among the attitudes using the...
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State governed by the rule of law and Democracy
Pelán, Marek ; Kysela, Jan (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Democracy and a state governed by the rule of law The diploma thesis deals with the topics of democracy, the rule of law and their interaction. It is focused on both themes in the context of their historical development and other ideas that have influenced one or the other phenomenon. For this reason, the reader encounters primarily the issues of an ancient understanding of democracy, ideas of republicanism, liberalism, constitutionalism, or the Anglo-American concept of government. In this diploma paper, democracy and the rule of law are analyzed as concepts that have a general, i.e., global, meaning. Examples of elements typical of democracy and the rule of law are, however, the provisions of the Czech law. The aim of the diploma thesis is to point out the influence of historical experience on the development of ideas about democracy and the rule of law, and to emphasize the phenomena that are being studied, how they differ and how they interact. In conclusion, the historical development of both phenomena has led to a fundamental change in their understanding. Both terms are limiting and balancing each other. At present, democracy is seen as a universal value and, together with the modern concept of the rule of law, creates a liberal democratic system of governance. At the same time, however,...
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Modern states and genocides : the fate of Turkish Armenians and European Jews
Šeferna, Václav ; Kosek, Jan (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Modern states and genocides: the fate of Turkish Armenians and European Jews This thesis primarily explores the relationship between modernity, modern thinking and modern state on one hand and the Holocaust, Armenian genocide or other genocides, on the other. The purpose of my thesis is to answer the question whether a modern state can be considered a perpetrator of both these tragedies. Furthermore, in my thesis I investigate the causes of these genocides and mainly the influence of nationalism, bureaucracy and racism. The first part of the thesis is devoted to genocide and implementation this concept in international criminal law. I deal with the emergence of this concept and its subsequent development as an independent crime under international law. In the second part I deal with the classification of genocides. First, I deal with the typology of genocides by individual authors. I also examine the differences between traditional massacres and modern genocide, name the pivotal features of modern genocide and try to answer the question of whether it makes sense to use the term "traditional genocide" at all. In the next chapter I focus on the Armenian genocide. This part begins with a short introduction of the Armenians, a quick overview of their history and a description of the Armenian situation in the...
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The prohibition of the parties-theory and discourse
Chytil, Matěj ; Wintr, Jan (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Banning Political Parties - Theory and Discourse The political regime change of the Velvet revolution in 1989 brought to light many questions, that the Czech politics and law had not to answer until then. Arguments about the legitimacy of the post-revoutionary Czech communist party marked the early years of the free competition of political parties. There being no precedent in the decision-making of Czech courts, the Supreme Administrative Court had to decide many substantial questions when dealing with the case of Dělnická strana (The Workers' Party) in 2010. Some of those were elaborated by the European Court of Human Rights, other were more of a political and philosophical nature. The history and experience of pre-war Czechoslovakia and dissolution of German national-socialist parties in 1933 also influenced the debate. The Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic changed in the decison of Dělnická strana the nature of Czech political discourse and brought it out of the post-communist context to the contemporary European level. Using the concept of self-defending or military democracy, that is also used by the ECHR, it created a shared framework of both Czech and European debate on the limits of political rights and freedoms of association. The concept will be contested in the future, but its...
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