Hospital Chaplains: Legal Code and Summary of Pastoral Care and Hospital Chaplain Service in the Czech Republic. The aim of this dissertation is to summarize the legal basis and the development of the pastoral care and hospital chaplain service in the Czech Republic. The author describes legal changes, laws and documents concerning the relation between churches, religious communities and the state after the year 1948, and the huge change in this relationship after the year 1989 - the Velvet Revolution and the fall of the communist government - when the legal code started to reflect the democratic principles which enabled the churches and religious communities to fulfill their mission in the field of pastoral and spiritual care. This thesis also includes a summary of the process of defining what a hospital chaplain should be, including his position at the hospital, qualification requirements and the ethical code. One chapter focuses onto associations helping and assisting hospital chaplains, and their function at public relations. The final chapter reflects the opportunities of further education for chaplains in hospitals including special courses at faculties of theology.