Senate of the Czech Republic

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The Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic (Czech: Senát Parlamentu České republiky, usually referred to as Senát) is the upper chamber of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The seat of the Senate is Wallenstein Palace in Prague.

1 Structure
2 Powers
3 History
4 Political parties
5 Senators
6 Presidents of the Senate
7 External links

[edit] Structure

The Senate has 81 members, elected for six years, every two years one third of them, in one-seat constituencies ^map through two rounds majority system (the second round is between two candidates with highest number of votes from the first round – if no candidate obtains 50+% majority in the first round). Candidate to the Senate does not need to be on a political party's ticket (unlike the lower chamber).

Senate has one President and four Vice-Presidents ^[1]. Its members participate in specialised committees ^[2] and commissions ^[3].

The Senate Chancellery has been created to provide professional, organisational and technical services. The Senate occupies several historical palaces in centre of Prague, in Malá Strana quarter ^map. Budget of the Senate was 561.2 million CZK in 2005.

[edit] Powers

The Senate can delay a proposed law approved by the Chamber of Deputies but this veto can be overridden by an absolute majority of all members of the Chamber of Deputies (i.e. 101 of 200) in a repeated vote.

Senators have, with others, the the right to take part in electing the President of the Republic and the judges of the Constitutional Court, and may propose new laws. However, the Senate does not get to vote on the state budget and is not expected to supervise the executive directly, unlike the Chamber.

The President [Speaker or Chairperson] of the Senate is the second-highest official of the Czech Republic, after President of the Republic, for ceremonial purposes, but without any real power.

[edit] History

Senate as a new political institution was established in constitution law of Czech National Council (ČNR) No. 1/1993 from December 16, 1992 ^[4]. Immediate reason for its creation was need to find a place for members of Federal Assembly, dissolved together with Czechoslovakia. Other reasons given were positioning of the Senate as a safety device ("pojistka") correcting laws endorsed by lower chamber and as a power ballancing tool against dominance of single party.

Due to opposition of Civic Democratic Alliance (who had members in ČNR, the new lower chamber, but not in the Federal Assembly) and those politicians fearing dilution of power the Senate was not set up. Only in 1996 the first Senate was elected.

In the meantime many political parties voiced their wish to abolish the institution; however they were not able to coordinate their effort and status quo was preserved. Disgusted Czech public saw the Senate as useless and as a place for retired politicians (low age limit for Senate members is 40 years, for the Chamber of Deputies it is 21 years).

First elections were held in 1996 with voting turnout around 30% (much lower then turnout into the lower chamber). Further elections were held in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006 with steadily decreasing turnout (the lowest ever was around 10%, in many constituencies bellow 20%). Prestige of the Senate was rather shattered when Vladimír Železný, often perceived as only seeking legal immunity against court proceeding, was elected in 2002.

[edit] Political parties

[discuss] – [edit]
**Senate of the Czech Republic** composition after the 2006 election
Voting parties and alliances	Seats
Civic Democratic Party (Občanská demokratická strana, ODS)	41
Czech Social Democratic Party (Česká strana sociálně demokratická, ČSSD)	12
Caucus of Christian Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party (includes 1 elected in 2002 as an independent candidate)	11
Caucus SNK (Senátorský klub SNK) comprises 7 senators elected for
SNK European Democrats (SNK Evropští demokraté) in 2002 (2) and 2004 (1)	3
Independents Movement (Hnutí NEZÁVISLÍ) in 2002 and 2004	2*
Movement of Independents for Harmonious Development of Municipalities and Towns (Hnutí nezávislých za harmonický rozvoj obcí a měst) in 2002	1
Independent Mayors for Region (Nezávislí starostové pro kraj) in 2006	1*
Caucus of Open Democracy (Klub otevřené demokracie) comprises 8 senators elected for
coalition of Freedom Union - Democratic Union (Unie svobody - Demokratická unie) and Civic Democratic Alliance (Občanská demokratická aliance) in 2004	1
Freedom Union - Democratic Union (Unie svobody - Demokratická unie) in 2002	1*
Green Party (Strana zelených) in 2004	1*
Liberal Reform Party (Liberální reformní strana) in 2002	1*
Path of Change (Cesta změny) in 2002	1*
Party for the Open Society (Strana pro otevřenou společnost) in 2006	1*
"United Democrats - Union of Independents (Spojení demokraté - Sdružení nezávislých)", actually European Democrats ticket in 2004	1*
an independent candidate in 2006	1
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy, KSČM) in 2002 and 2004; does not belong to any caucus	2
Total	81
Source: Czech Statistical Office, Senate. The electoral party (the party on whose label the senator ran) can be volatile, especially with senators elected for tiny parties, so caucuses are more relevant. * for senators from tiny electoral parties who are not their formal members