Name of the institution : Nejvyšší správní soud (Supreme Administrative Court)

President/ChiefJustice :
Dr. Josef BAXA

Address :
The Supreme Administrative Court
Moravské námestí 6,
657 40 Brno
Czech Republic

Phone number :
(420) 542 532 311 (registry)
(420) 542 532 330-2 (secretariat of the President of the Court)

Fax :
(420) 542 532 361 (registry)
(420) 542 532 364 (secretariat of the President of the Court)

E-mail :
podatelna@nssoud.cz (registry)
sekretariat@nssoud.cz (secretariat of the President of the Court)

Web Site :
www.nssoud.cz

Composition and structure

Number of members :
26 judges

Recruitment procedures and incompatibilities :
Judges are appointed by the President of the Czech Republic for an unlimited period of time. The President and the Vice-president of the Supreme Administrative Court are nominated from the judges of the Court by the President of the Czech Republic.

Criteria for the candidates: Czech nationality, minimum age 30 years, legal capacity, probity, necessary experience and moral integrity, university degree in law, preparatory service, professional exam, and agreement with the appointment.
The judge's function is incompatible with the function of the President of the Czech Republic, the member of the Parliament, any function in public administration, and with any other lucrative activity save pedagogical, literary or artistic activities and administration of their own estates.

Internal organization :
The Supreme Administrative Court is subdivided into two divisions: tax and financial division (six chambers) and the social security division (three chambers). The nine chambers are composed of three judges.
Some judges are sitting in one of specialized chambers composed of seven judges: one chamber specialized in matters of elections, political parties and political movements, and one chamber specialized in competence conflicts between administrative bodies.
Grand chamber is composed of seven judges should it decide matters referred to it by a threemember-chamber, or of nine judges should it decide matters referred to it by a specialized sevenmember-chamber.
Establishment of the chambers is foreseen with regard to the structure of the case-load.
The Court can sit in a plenary session when exercising its competence of ensuring decisionmaking stability.

Publications :
The Court publishes Collection of the Decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court (monthly).

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Court functions

Jurisdiction :
Regional courts decide actions brought by individuals and/or legal entities against decisions issued by the State administration or a self-governing authority, or by other authorities which are entrusted with deciding about rights and duties of individuals and/or legal entities in the field of public administration ("administrative bodies"). They further decide about the protection against failure of the administrative body to act, about the protection against encroachments, instruction or coercion of the administrative body, as well as about the imposition of administrative fines and penalties or other administrative sanctions.
The Supreme Administrative Court decides extraordinary remedies (cassation complaints) brought against decisions of the Regional courts. In some cases, however, it decides in the first and final instance (election matters, matters of political parties and political movements; measures of general character). It further decides positive and negative competence conflicts between the State administration and self-governing authorities, between different self-governing authorities and between different central administration authorities.

Organization of the courts system :
The administrative jurisdictional system is made up of Regional courts and the Supreme Administrative Court.
The eight Regional courts (which decide either by specialized chambers composed of three judges or by a specialized single judge) decide administrative disputes as courts of the first instance.
The Supreme Administrative Court acts as the instance of cassation. It rules in the first and final instance in specified matters of elections, political parties and political movements.

Powers of the judge :
Regional courts: administrative jurisdictions decide about the applicant's public subjective rights. Their competence is limited as they do not rule on the merits of the case. The administrative judges are empowered to:
- pronounce the annulment of the contested decision as unlawful or for procedural faults and revert the matter back to the administrative body to retry it;
- impose on the administrative body the obligation to take a decision if an action against failure to act was brought;
- impose on the administrative body the obligation to stop the unlawful interference and renew the stage before the encroachment;
- dismiss the action and confirm the decision of the administrative body;
- amend the administrative penalty (waive it or decrease it) if an action against the imposition of administrative fines and penalties or other administrative sanctions is brought;
- declare existence or absence of a conflict of interests of a public servant and to draw consequences thereof.
The Supreme Administrative Court can pronounce:
- annulment of a decision of a Regional court and revert the matter back for further proceedings; - annulment of a measure of general character;
- dismissal of the cassation complaint;
- determination of the administrative authority which is competent to issue a decision;
- dissolution of a political party or political movement, discontinuation or resumption of their activity;
- invalidity of elections and/or voting; in connection with elections to the European Parliament, it further decides in matters of registration of candidates.

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Advisory functions

Existence and extent of an advisory authority: None.
Authority and publicity of advisory opinions: None.

Miscellaneous remarks

The Supreme Administrative Court was established on 1 January 2003 by the Code of Administrative Justice (Act N° 150/2002 Sb.).

By exercising its powers consisting in stabilizing of the decision-making of administrative jurisdictions and administrative bodies, it adopts legal positions in the former case and principal decisions in the latter case.
In connection with establishment of the Supreme Administrative Court another significant change to the Czech judiciary is the creation of the special chamber composed of three judges of the Supreme Administrative Court and three judges of the Supreme Court. This chamber is designed to decide positive and negative competence conflicts between the courts and the State administration or self-governing authorities and between civil courts and courts deciding administrative actions.

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