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Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920

Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920

The Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920 was the first permanent constitution of Czechoslovakia. Ratified after World War I, the constitution established Czechoslovakia as a democratic republic. It was adopted by the National Assembly on 29 February 1920 and replaced the provisional constitution adopted on 13 November 1918.

The constitution, modelled after constitutions of established democracies, was conceived in the light of Hans Kelsen's contribution to constitutional law. The system of government the constitution introduced made Czechoslovakia the most westernized of all of the central and eastern European nations on the verge of World War II.

The constitution created a parliament but also a president and cabinet, sharing powers of executive branch. Beneath them was a judiciary that was advanced with many levels of courts delegated for various types of cases.