President has to act without delay on minister issue, says head of Constitutional Court

The Czech Constitution dictates that the president is obliged to satisfy the prime minister’s request to recall a member of his government, the President of the Constitutional Court Pavel Rychetský told the daily Lidové noviny in an interview published on Sunday. The judge went on to say that while the specific date for the action is not stipulated in law, the president should act without delay. In such a situation, Dr. Rychetsky says, the presidential function is not that of an institution cooperating with the prime minister, but rather one that executes his decision.

President Miloš Zeman has recently come under criticism for his delay in accepting the resignation of Culture Minister Antonín Staněk and his unwillingness to accept the Social Democrat nominee for the position, Michal Šmarda. The Czech Senate voted in favour of a constitutional complaint against the president’s actions earlier this week and the complaint will now be subject to a vote in the lower house of Parliament before it can be reviewed by the Constitutional Court.