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In the case of the Lisbon Treaty, the process of ratification was particularly difficult. Most notably, the people in Ireland  […]  In November 2009, the Czech Republic ratified the Treaty as the last of the then 27 Member States to do so.

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In the case of the Lisbon Treaty, the process of ratification was particularly difficult. Most notably, the people in Ireland rejected the revision in a vote in 2008. After certain concessions had been granted to Ireland (namely the assurance that it would continue to be able to send an Irish member to the Commission), a second referendum was held in 2009, which led to a positive outcome. As in the case of the Maastricht Treaty, the compatibility of the Lisbon Treaty with the German constitution was challenged before the German Bundesverfassungsgericht. In 2009, this court handed down its important “Lisbon Judgment”, in which it essentially held that the Lisbon Treaty is compatible with the German constitution, provided that the German national law introduce certain safeguards, notably in relation to the role of the German parliament. The German national law was changed accordingly in 2009. In the end, the completion of the ratification process was delayed by a second challenge in the Czech Constitutional Court (which had ruled already on the Treaty revision in 2008). The court gave its judgment in early November 2009. Essentially, it held that the Lisbon Treaty is consistent with the Czech constitutional order. That, together with the granting of an opt-out for the Czech Republic from the Charter of Fundamental Rights11 cleared the way for completing the ratification process. In November 2009, the Czech Republic ratified the Treaty as the last of the then 27 Member States to do so.