Czech constitutional heroines

David Kosař and Katarína Šipulová

Chapter 12 in Elgar Companion to Female Chief Justices in Comparative Perspective, 2026, pp 251-270 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter tells the story about two leading Czech female justices and how they navigated through the complex waters of the post-communist judiciary after the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Eliška Wagnerová and Iva Brožová managed to reach the top, as they both served as presidents of the Czech Supreme Court and justices of the Czech Constitutional Court. They both played a tremendous role in embracing human rights doctrines and defending judicial independence and the rule of law. Yet they were considered outsiders in the Czech career judiciary, faced significant opposition among their peers, and did not have direct female successors. This chapter thus shows that Eliška Wagnerová and Iva Brožová were outliers in Czechia's transformative years. Although the current Czech judiciary is open to women, the positions of power are held by men, and women are offered only positions that are less attractive and bureaucratic-like.

Keywords: Czechia; Transition to democracy; Judicial independence; Chief justice; Career judiciary; Gender segregation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035308637
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