The complete list of public authorities is not defined, but the term “public authority” is commonly used in legal theory. In this regard, reference may be made to the Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (First Chamber) of 9 June 1992, Case No. I. ÚS 191/92Opens in a new window [.pdf, 118.9 kB], which established the criteria for determining whether an entity acts as a public authority.
The starting point for the decision of the Chamber of the Constitutional Court of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic was the definition of the term “public authority”. The decisive criterion was the distinction between public law and private law.
According to the legal opinion of the Chamber of the Constitutional Court of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, public authority is the power that authoritatively decides on the rights and obligations of entities, either directly or indirectly. An entity whose rights or obligations are decided upon by a public authority is not in an equal position with that authority, and the content of the authority's decision does not depend on the will of the entity concerned.
The state exercises public authority primarily through the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government and, under certain conditions, may also exercise it through other entities. The criterion for determining whether another entity acts as a public authority is whether that entity makes decisions concerning the rights and obligations of other persons and whether such decisions are enforceable by state power, that is, whether the state may intervene in those rights and obligations.
In the legal sense, an authority is a legal person that carries out its activities as an obligation or competence and is established for the permanent and repeated performance of such activities.
