Constitutional Court to rule on Lisbon treaty

The Czech Constitutional Court is expected to rule at a public hearing on Tuesday on whether the Lisbon treaty is in line with the Czech constitutional order. A positive ruling could unfreeze the ratification process in Parliament, while a negative result could seriously complicate matters, since Parliament would first need to change the constitution order. Even in the event of a positive ruling, the prime minister has expressed serious doubts that the treaty could be ratified in time for the Czech Republic’s EU presidency starting January 1st.