Does the government's defence funding bill really only create an unenforceable political commitment? Cover Image

Does the government's defence funding bill really only create an unenforceable political commitment?
Does the government's defence funding bill really only create an unenforceable political commitment?

Author(s): Jan Kudrna
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Economy, National Economy, Economic policy, Security and defense
Published by: Univerzita obrany - Centrum bezpečnostních a vojenskostrategických studií
Keywords: State Budget; Czech Republic; Constitution; Defence; 2% of GDP

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the draft law on defence financing, which aims to oblige the government to allocate an amount of at least 2% of GDP to defence in every draft law on the state budget. During the inter-ministerial comment procedure, the Supreme Audit Office expressed doubts whether the draft means anything more than an unenforceable political commitment in relation to the Chamber of Deputies". The article convincingly demonstrates, with the help of legal argumentation and interpretation of the Constitution of the Czech Republic, the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as the established case law of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, that if approved, the Chamber of Deputies will also be bound by the Defence Financing Act when approving the state budget. To do otherwise would violate constitutionality.

  • Issue Year: 32/2023
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 23-34
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Czech