President Pavel filing jurisdictional action over NATO summit controversy

Czech President Petr Pavel has appealed to the Constitutional Court in a ​dispute over the scope of his authority, after the government denied his ‌request to lead the Czech delegation to the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara.

According to the President's Office, the head of state is seeking a ruling requiring the government not to create administrative or other obstacles preventing the president from exercising his constitutional powers.

President Pavel considers the government’s decision to exclude him from the Czech delegation to the NATO summit in July an unprecedented and highly unfortunate step that restricts the constitutional powers of the head of state.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said he respects the president’s decision, but described it as unfortunate and not conductive to good relations between the country’s top officials.