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The Ninth-of-May (1948) Constitution was the second
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these prin ...
of
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
, in force from 1948 to 1960. It came into force on 9 May, shortly after the communist seizure of power in the country on 25 February 1948. It replaced the 1920 Constitution. Work on the new document had been underway since the summer of 1946. As a result, it was not a fully
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
constitution. It was superficially similar to its predecessor; indeed, several provisions were directly carried over from the earlier document. However, it contained a number of elements borrowed from the " Stalin Constitution" of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. The Soviet imprint on the final document was strong enough that President
Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1945 to 1948. He also led the Czechoslovak government-in-exile 1939 to 1945 ...
refused to sign it and later resigned. It was flagrantly violated by the
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Cominte ...
(KSČ), the government and many individuals throughout the period of its being in force, especially regarding the provisions on
private ownership Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property and personal property, which is owned by a state entity, and from collective or co ...
and
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
. Since the country's liberation, there had been many disputes concerning
nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pr ...
, the relation of Czechs and Slovaks and other crucial issues. After the Communist take-over in February 1948, the Communist concept was largely applied. The constitution did not organize government administration under the
Leninist Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establishm ...
principle of
democratic centralism Democratic centralism is a practice in which political decisions reached by voting processes are binding upon all members of the political party. It is mainly associated with Leninism, wherein the party's political vanguard of professional revol ...
(a provision only incorporated in the following "socialist"
1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia The Constitution of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (''Ústava Československé socialistické / Československej socialistickej republiky'' in Czech / Slovak), promulgated on 11 July 1960 as the constitutional law 100/1960 Sb., was the third c ...
); indeed, it made no references to Communism or the KSČ. However, it did declare that Czechoslovakia had embarked on a "national and democratic revolution" that it intended to defend against "domestic and foreign reaction." It billed the 1948 coup d'etat as a defense of "the People's Democratic Order." The constitution proclaimed Czechoslovakia a "people's democratic state" in which the people were "the sole source of all power." It declared that the economy of Czechoslovakia was based on nationalized industries, nationalized trade and a nationalized financial sector. The government sector was declared the basis of the economy, but it protected the
private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...
and
cooperatives A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
as well. It also granted a small degree of autonomy to
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to th ...
, which was given its own legislative body and governmental structure, although these were made subordinate to the central authorities in Prague. The parliament continued to be called the National Assembly, though the Senate was abolished. Unlike most Communist constitutions, the Ninth-of-May Constitution did not replace the
presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...
with a collective body. It also afforded protections against arbitrary arrest; no one could be taken into custody without a warrant. On the other hand, the provisions enshrining
civil 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 ...
were effectively neutered by a provision that forbade their use in order to make " statements and acts that constitute a threat to the independence, entirety, and unity of the State, the Constitution, the
Republican form of government A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, or the People's Democratic Order" and allowed their restriction "when events occur that threaten in increased measure the independence, entirety, and unity of the State, the Constitution, the Republican form of government, and the People's Democratic Order, or public law and order." The constitutional guarantee of press freedom was rendered meaningless by provisions making movies and broadcasting state monopolies and giving the government sole power to decide who could publish periodicals. Judges were required to abide by both laws and government ordinances, thus taking away judges' right to strike down executive actions that did not accord with statutes.


See also

*
1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia The Constitution of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (''Ústava Československé socialistické / Československej socialistickej republiky'' in Czech / Slovak), promulgated on 11 July 1960 as the constitutional law 100/1960 Sb., was the third c ...
*
History of Czechoslovakia (1948–1989) From the Communist coup d'état in February 1948 to the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Czechoslovakia was ruled by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Komunistická strana Československa, ''KSČ''). The country belonged to the Eastern Bloc ...


References


External links


Text of Ninth-of-May Constitution
{{Authority control 1948 in law 1948 in Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak Socialist Republic Constitutions of Czechoslovakia 1948 documents 1948 in politics May 1948 events in Europe