| Parliament of the Czech Republic | |
| Native Name: | Parlament České republiky |
| Coa Pic: | Coat of arms of the Czech Republic.svg |
| Foundation: | 1 January 1993 |
| Preceded By: | • Czech National Council • Federal Assembly |
| House Type: | Bicameral |
| House1: | Senate |
| House2: | Chamber of Deputies |
| Leader1 Type: | President of the Senate |
| Leader1: | Miloš Vystrčil |
| Party1: | ODS |
| Election1: | 20 January 2020 |
| Leader2 Type: | President of the Chamber of Deputies |
| Leader2: | Markéta Pekarová Adamová |
| Party2: | TOP 09 |
| Election2: | 10 November 2021 |
| Members: | 281 81 Senators 200 Deputies |
| Structure1: | Senate of the Czech Republic 2020.svg |
| Political Groups1: | Supporting government (73)
Opposition (9)
|
| Voting System1: | Two-round system |
| Last Election1: | 23-24 September and 30 September-1 October 2022 |
| Voting System2: | Proportional representation |
| Political Groups2: | Government (108)
Opposition (92) |
| Last Election2: | 8–9 October 2021 |
| Meeting Place: | Wallenstein Palace, meeting place of the Senate |
| Meeting Place2: | Thun Palace, meeting place of the Chamber of Deputies |
| Session Room: | Valdstejnsky_Palace_garden_autumn.jpg |
| Session Room2: | Thunovský_palác,_Sněmovní_05.JPG |
| Website: | Senate Chamber of Deputies |
The Parliament of the Czech Republic (Czech: Parlament České republiky) or just Parliament (Czech: Parlament) is the legislative branch of the Czech Republic. It meets in Malá Strana, Prague and is composed of 281 total members and Senators.
It consists of two chambers, both elected in direct elections:
Art. 15 of the Constitution stipulates its name as the "Parliament".[1] The Parliament exercises competences usual in parliamentary systems: it holds and passes bills, has the right to modify the Constitution, ratifies international agreements; if necessary, it declares war, approves presence of foreign military forces in the Czech Republic or a dispatch of Czech military forces abroad.
The tradition of modern parliamentarianism in the Bohemian lands dates back to times of the Austrian Empire (and then Cisleithanian part of Austria-Hungary), where the Imperial Council (Reichsrat, Říšská rada) was created in 1861.
After proclamation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 its National Assembly (Národní shromáždění) undertook legislative duties both of the Imperial Council and State Diets (Bohemian, Moravian, Silesian).[2] In 1938–39 and between 1948–89 there existed a parliament within non-democratic regimes (right-wing authoritarian or Communist regime, respectively). As a consequence of federalization of Czechoslovakia (1968), national councils of Czech and Slovak parts of the country were created.
The Chamber of Deputies keeps continuity with the Czech National Council (Česká národní rada), while the Senate was established in 1996 (with reference to the First Czechoslovak Republic one).