Territorial and political organization

Territorial self-government ( územní samospráva ) is realised on two levels:

• Municipalities (obce), which are basic territorial self-governing units (základní územní samosprávné celky)
• Regions (kraje), which are so-called higher territorial self-governing units (vyšší územní samosprávné celky)

There are 14 regions created by the constitutional law no. 347/1997 Coll., on the Creation of Higher Territorial Self-governing Units. The competence and functioning of the regions are set by law no. 129/2000 Coll., Act on Regions (in English) . Every municipality is a component of a region. The competence and functioning of municipalities are laid down by law no. 128/2000 Coll., Act on Municipalities (in English) . Territorial self-governing units enjoy self-governing competence in the fields specified by the above named laws. This competence also includes the power to adopt legislation (generally binding ordinances, obecně závazné vyhlášky) in those fields (Art. 104 (3) CCR). Authorities of municipalities and regions may also be entrusted to exercise state administration when so provided by law (Art. 105 CCR). Then the authorities of self-governing units act as a kind of decentralised bodies of the government and exercise delegated state administration (not selfadministration). (source)

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Compulsory reading: 

1995/03/08 - Pl. ÚS 14/94: Beneš Decrees

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Voluntary reading:

Karla Hoff, Joseph E. Stiglitz: After the Big Bang? Obstacles to the Emergence of the Rule of Law in Post-Communist Societies 

Jan Sucháček: Territorial Administration in the Czech Republic: Re-Centralization in the Transition Period

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Laws:

Creation of Higher Self-governing Units (english)

Act on Regions (english)

Act on Municipalities​ (english)