Chambers

The judges at the Supreme Administrative Court discharge their judicial duties in chambers. Each chamber consists of a three or four judges deciding on appeals on points of law, depending on the workload. There are currently ten chambers at the SAC.

Seven-Member Chamber for the Maters of Competence Complaints

This chamber decides on matters arising between two state authorities, state authority and self-governing body (e.g. municipality) or between two self-governing bodies. Find out more here.

Seven-Member Chamber for the Electoral Matters, Referenda and Political Parties

This chamber adjudicates electoral matters regarding lists of eligible constituents, registration of candidates, motions to nullify elections, and cessation of mandate and decides on cassation complaints regarding local referenda. The chamber has also jurisdiction over political parties (registration and dissolution). Find out more here and here.

Seven-Member Grand Chamber

The grand chamber decides matter referred to it by the ordinary chambers of the Supreme Administrative Courts, either if particular chamber wants to derogate from previous case-law or there is a contradiction in the case-law bringing about a legal question that needs to be solved.

Nine-Member Grand Chamber

This chamber adjudicates on matters referred to it by the seven-member grand chamber.

Chamber for Setting the Limitation Period to Issue a Procedural Act

This chamber decides on the motions to set the limitation period to perform procedural act by the regional court or Supreme Administrative Court pursuant to the Section 174a of the Act No. 6/2002 Coll., on Courts and Judges.

Special Chamber for Matters of Jurisdictional Conflicts

This chamber adjudicates on competence matters under the Act No. 131/2002 Coll., on Competence Matters. This chamber would typically deal with questions whether particular action should be lodged with administrative court or civil court or whether a case should be decided by the state authority or court. Therefore, this chamber consists of three Supreme Court judges and three Supreme Administrative Court judges. Find out more here and here.

Since 1 October 2008 the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) has become a disciplinary court for judges and state prosecutors under the Act No. 314/2008 Coll., which amended the Act on Courts and Judges (No. 6/2002 Coll.) and the Act on Proceedings in Matters of Judges and State Prosecutors (No. 7/2002 Coll.). As for judges, the disciplinary proceedings are brought by the President of the Czech Republic, Minister of Justice or by the president of a respective court (District, Regional, High, Supreme and Supreme Administrative Court). The proceedings against court officials can be brought by the President of the Czech Republic, Minister of Justice, the Ombudsman and by officials against their underlings. The President of the SAC can bring the proceeding against an official for administrative matters of Regional Court. As for the prosecutors, the proceedings are brought by the Minister of Justice and by the Prosecutor General in regards to any prosecutor. The lower instances have this power only within their office and over even lower instances, i.e. The High Prosecuting Attorney’s Office can start the proceedings against its prosecutor or the prosecutor of Regional Prosecutor's Office or the District Prosecutor's Office.

Under Act No. 183/2009 Coll. (Amendment to the Enforcement Code) the SAC has also become a disciplinary court for enforcement agents since 26 June 2009. Disciplinary chambers that deal with disciplinary matters of judges are supposed to also deal with these disciplinary matters. Under the transitional provisions of the Act, the SAC should also decide the cases not resolved by 26 June 2009 by the Disciplinary Committee (a dissolved body of the Enforcement Agents Chamber) as well as cases in which the committee had taken a decision but failed to produce a written decision and to send it to the agent charged with a disciplinary offense. Shortly after this amendment, the regulation of the disciplinary procedure in matters of enforcement agents changed again and according to Act No. 286/2009 Coll. (Amendment to the Enforcement Code), as from 1 November 2009, a Disciplinary Court for Enforcement Agents was established at the SAC.