Czech Republic 1992
The initial preparations for the drafting of a Czech constitution began in August 1990. At the time, the Czech Republic was still part of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (CSFR), formerly known as Czechoslovakia prior to the peaceful overthrow of the Communist regime in 1989. The Czech National Council did not necessarily intend for the new constitution to be for an independent state. The 1968 CSFR Soviet-style interim constitution authorized each republic to create their own basic instruments to govern, meaning each republic could adopt its own constitution while still united as a federation. Also in keeping in line with the interim constitution, the CSFR elected a proportionally-representative Federal Assembly along with Czech and Slovak National Councils. An explicit duty of the Federal Assembly was to create a new democratic constitution, but great debate between Slovak and Czech representatives over the restructuring of the constitutional system resulted in both sides agreeing to the dissolution of the CSFR into two independent states. When this dissolution became imminent in the late summer of 1992, the Czech drafting process accelerated.
Two appointed committees began the task of drafting: one a “government committee” headed by the Prime Minister and comprised exclusively of coalition representatives; the other a “deputy committee” chaired by the chairman of the Czech National Council and consisting of legislators from all factions selected by the Presidium of the National Council. The government committee crafted a set of basic principles based on comments from the deputy committee. They brought this set of basic principles to the National Council constitutional committee in September 1992, where it was widely debated and criticized.
With the end of the federation looming, a committee of thirteen composed of leaders from the coalition parties and top government officials was then organized. This committee produced another draft of principles. A working text followed shortly thereafter. The government, including Prime Minister Klaus, criticized and altered the draft text. A standing constitutional committee of the Czech National Council then assumed responsibility for revising the text and dealt with some 306 proposed amendments in the process. The final revised draft produced by this standing committee entered the Czech National Council for debate. More than 30 speakers participated in the debate. On December 16, 1992, the Czech National Council adopted the constitution with 172 votes in support, 16 opposed and 10 abstentions. The prevailing federal constitution required that any change to Republic constitutional law to have the acceptance of three-fifths majority of the Czech National Council. The constitution entered into force on January 1, 1993, after the formal termination of the CSRF on December 31, 1992.