The Czech Constitutional Court started public proceedings on the treaty's compatibility with the Czech constitutional order on Tuesday, when it heard a speech criticising the text by President Vaclav Klaus and another by Vice Premier Alexandr Vondra, responsbile for European affairs, who spoke in favour of the treaty on behalf of the Czech government.
In his speech at the proceedings on Tuesday, Klaus fiercely attacked the Lisbon Treaty, which he said was "not in harmony with the constitutional order of the Czech Republic".
Klaus also lamented that the proceedings of the court were surprisingly short. In fact, the hearing was adjourned three hours after it began.
Court chairman Pavel Rychetsky reacted to this remark by pointing out that his court had been dealing with the Lisbon Treaty for almost seven months.
Klaus also lamented that the judges asked no questions during Tuesday's hearing, which he said was "depressing".
At the hearing, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra advocated the Lisbon Treaty's ratification. The text would not make the EU "a federal state" and it does not breach the Czech constitution, he said.
"The Czech Republic will stay a sovereign, democratic and legal state. The Lisbon Treaty does not alter these principles, just the opposite - it strengthens them," said Vondra.
If no new hurdles appear, ratification by the Czech parliament may be completed either in the first three months of next year (as promised by the prime minister) or even by the end of 2008 (as others have suggested is possible), according to Czech press reports.
Observers say that the treaty would probably continue to represent an obstacle to domestic policies. As final approval requires a three-fifths majority in both chambers, the opposition is expected to ask for trade-offs on other issues, including the hosting of a US radar, part of the controversial missile defence system.
The positive decision by the Constitutional Court is widely expected to benefit the Czech EU Presidency, which takes over the EU lead from France on 1 January 2009.
