The government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the court's decision - Klaus's last condition for signing the treaty - removed the only remaining obstacle for him to sign it into law and complete EU-wide ratification.
In its ruling, the court rejected all the complaints filed in September by a group of eurosceptic senators loyal to Czech President Václav Klaus. In a press release, the court announced its judgement had been unanimous, and "none of the judges filed a dissenting opinion to either the judgement or its reasoning".
According to EurActiv.cz, Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer welcomed the announcement and expects President Klaus to sign the Treaty "as soon as possible," his spokesman Roman Prorok explained.
The court's approval - Klaus's last condition for signing the document following concessions granted to him at a Brussels summit last week (EurActiv 30/10/09) - should mean that the Lisbon Treaty can enter into force as early as 1 December 2009. New treaties enter into force on the first day of the month after they are deposited in Rome.
Lisbon is the successor to the EU's failed Constitutional Treaty, and is seen by most EU leaders as essential for improving the efficiency of decision-making in the enlarged 27-member Union. It has been eight years in the making since EU leaders first debated its proposed reforms at the December 2001 Laeken summit.
According to Czech news agency CTK, the senators again plan to challenge the court's decision. Indeed, the complainants' representative, senator Jiri Oberfalzer (ODS), had previously indicated that they might turn to European courts.
However, Czech sources indicated that this potential last throw of the dice by the senators had been exaggerated by the media, and even if the senators did file a complain in Strasbourg, this would only affect the Czech Constitutional Court and not the legality of the Lisbon Treaty.
(With additional reporting by EurActiv.cz)
