The

Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) was a socialist state that existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia. Its independence was officially recognized by the Nationalist government of Republic of China (1912� ...

had three

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

s, in effect from 1924, 1940, and 1960.

1924 Constitution

The first constitution was passed by the First National Great Hural on November 26, 1924.{{Cite encyclopedia, title=Constitutional Framework, editor-first=Robert L., editor-first2=Andrea Matles, editor-last2=Savada, oclc=21600294, pages=175–178, location=Washington, D.C., edition=2nd, editor-last=Worden, last=Ristaino, isbn=0-16-029462-2, publisher=

Federal Research Division The Federal Research Division (FRD) is the research and analysis unit of the United States Library of Congress. The Federal Research Division provides directed research and analysis on domestic and international subjects to agencies of the Unite ...

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, date=1991, encyclopedia=Mongolia: a country study, url=https://www.loc.gov/item/90006289/, first=Marcia R., postscript=. {{PD-notice It abolished the monarchical system under

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...

and established a people's republic, described the legislative consolidation of state power, provided a basic statement of

socioeconomic Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and

political rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

and freedoms for the people, and espoused a national program that would bypass the

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

stage of development in the course of promoting fundamental social transformations in order to bring about

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

in Mongolia.

1940 Constitution

The second constitution, adopted on June 30, 1940, took the

1936 Soviet Constitution The 1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union, also known as the Stalin Constitution, was the constitution of the Soviet Union adopted on 5 December 1936. The 1936 Constitution was the second constitution of the Soviet Union and replaced the 1924 ...

as the model. As Mongolian premier

Khorloogiin Choibalsan Khorloogiin Choibalsan (8 February 1895 – 26 January 1952) was a Mongolian politician who served as the leader of the Mongolian People's Republic as the Prime Minister of Mongolia, chairman of the Council of Ministers (premier) from 1939 unt ...

reported to the Eighth National Great Hural in 1940: "We are guided in our activity by the experience of the great country of socialism, the experience of the Soviet Union. Consequently, only the constitution of the Soviet Union may be a model for us in drafting our new constitution." In subsequent revisions to the 1940 Mongolian constitution in 1944, 1949, 1952, and 1959, disparities between the Mongolian and Soviet constitutions were reduced even further. Under the 1940 constitution,

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

s were restricted—"enemies of the regime" could not vote—and indirect; lower bodies elected higher levels. Constitutional amendments introduced after 1944 changed this system, however, by restoring political rights, including the right of

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

throughout the society; by instituting a unitary hierarchy of directly elected representative bodies; by reorganizing electoral districts; by replacing voting by the show of hands at open meetings with voting by

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

; and by abolishing the National Little Khural— the Standing Body of the National Great Hural— transferring its functions to the National Great Khural, which was renamed People's Great Khural in 1951. The regime's justification for making these changes was that Mongolia had already realized many sociopolitical achievements in its advance toward socialism. Therefore, it became historically correct to introduce reforms that had been adopted in the more advanced society of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

1960 Constitution

The third constitution was adopted on July 6, 1960, by the People's Great Khural. The Constitution adopted in 1960 included a lengthy

preamble A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...

that acclaims the successes of the revolution and notes the importance of the "fraternal socialist assistance of the Soviet Union" to growth and development in Mongolia. The preamble clarified the dominant role of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party as the "guiding and directing force in society," using as its guide the "all-conquering Marxist-Leninist theory." A renewed commitment was made to completing the construction of a socialist society and culture, and eventually, to building a communist society. Enunciated foreign policy goals described a diplomacy based on the principles of

peaceful coexistence Peaceful coexistence () was a theory, developed and applied by the Soviet Union at various points during the Cold War in the context of primarily Marxist–Leninist foreign policy and adopted by Soviet-dependent socialist states, according to wh ...

and

proletarian internationalism Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all proletarian revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory th ...

. The points outlined in the preamble were explained more fully in the main body of the Constitution. Compared with its 1940 predecessor, the 1960 Constitution was more succinct. The 1940 document had been divided into twelve chapters. The 1960 Constitution clustered most of the same content into four general sections: socioeconomic structure, state structure, basic rights and duties of citizens, and miscellaneous provisions. Within these categories, the articles were compressed into ten chapters, compared with twelve chapters in the 1940 constitution. In the first general section, the socialist system, rooted in the socialist ownership of national wealth and the means of production, was presented as the economic basis of society. Areas protected under law included

private ownership Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...

of one's income and savings, housing, subsidiary husbandry, personal and household articles, as well as the right to an

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

. These legal guarantees, however, were subject to the qualification that "it shall be prohibited to use the right of personal ownership to the detriment of state and social interests." The second and longest general section defined the state structure, following that laid down in the 1940 constitution, as amended in 1959. It detailed the nature, composition, and duties of all state organs of power, including the executive, the legislative, and the judicial at both the national and local levels. In the third general section, the fundamental rights and duties of citizens were grouped together, a departure from the previous constitutions. The rights promised in this basic law and the actual experience of Mongolians in daily life, however, were often at variance. Among the basic rights guaranteed were equality irrespective of sex, racial or national affiliations, faith, social origin, and status. These were overlooked in practice, to the extent that male

Khalkha Mongols The Khalkha (; ) have been the largest subgroup of the Mongols in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos Mongols, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin khans until the 20th century. In cont ...

occupied most of the elite government positions, and religious practice was an impediment to career advancement in an atheistic Marxist–Leninist society. In addition, citizens were guaranteed

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

, press, assembly, meeting, demonstration, and processions, but with the restriction that the activities must be practiced "in accordance with the interests of the working people and with a view to developing and strengthening the state system of the Mongolian People's Republic." A list of duties began with the exhortation that "every citizen of the Mongolian People's Republic shall be obliged to: show dedication to the cause of building socialism; maintain the priority of the interests of society and the state vis-à-vis private interests; safeguard the concept of communal socialist property; and fulfill all civic duties, and demand the same of other citizens." Other duties involved supporting international friendship and worker solidarity "under the leadership of the Soviet Union," and teaching and practicing good social values. The Constitution could be amended by the People's Great Hural with a majority of not less than two-thirds of the delegate votes, a system that produced frequent revision. Perhaps the most novel feature of the Constitution was contained in its concluding article, unique among socialist constitutions. Article 94 allowed the gradual repeal of the constitutional provisions: "The Constitution . . . will be repealed when the need for the existence of the state, which is the principal instrument for building socialism and communism, disappears, when it will be replaced by a communist association of working people."

References

Mongolian People's Republic Law of Mongolia

1924 Constitution

1940 Constitution

1960 Constitution

See also

References