Office of the Government
The Office of the Government is the central body of state administration. The competence of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic is set by law No. 2/1969 Sb. on the establishment of ministries and other central bodies of state administration of the Czech Republic, in the wording of later regulations (it is frequently marked as the so-called competency law). According to this law, the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic fulfils tasks connected to the expert, organizational and technical provision of the activities of the government of the Czech Republic and its bodies.
The activities of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic are directed by the Head of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. The Head of the Office of the Government is appointed and recalled by the Government of the Czech Republic.
Activities of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic
The Office's activities can be divided according to the recipients of its services. First, the Office provides services to the government as a whole. In this case, the Office provides especially tasks connected with the government's meetings (the preparation of meetings of the government, preparation of meeting programmes, preparation of supporting materials for government meetings, registry of documents intended for government meetings, documentation of the course of meetings of the government, etc.).
Then the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic also provides the conditions (organisational and technical background) for the work of the expert bodies of the prime minister and members of the government who do not have their own departments at their disposal (as a rule this is usually ministers without portfolio or deputy prime ministers). Last but not least, the Office provides the operation of so-called advisory and working bodies of the government such as the Government Legislative Council, the State Security Council, the Council of the Government of the Czech Republic for Human Rights, etc.
Tasks of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic
The tasks of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic also include cooperation with the Office of the President of the Czech Republic, with the Office of the Senate of the Parliament, with the Office of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament, with ministries and other administrative authorities and with other state and public bodies and organisations.
From this description, it emerges that the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic fulfils a primarily administrative function.
Of Interest
The Office of the Government of the Czech Republic became the central body of state administration relatively recently, due to the law on state service (law no. 218/2002 Sb., on the service of state employees in administrative authorities and the compensation of these employees and other employees in authorities' offices (service law), in the wording of later regulations).