401:, and the instability of successive governments (for example, Masaryk's presidency saw 10 cabinets headed by nine statesmen) meant that the president wielded in practice more authority than the plain text of the constitution suggested. The constitution laid down that all executive functions rested with the government except as expressly assigned to the president. However, the president could address written or verbal messages to parliament, appoint and dismiss ministers, attend and preside over cabinet meetings, and demand written reports from individual ministers. Hence, presidential influence on the executive was in practice considerable.
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338:. The Chamber of Deputies consisted of 300 members elected for 6 years. The Senate consisted of 150 members elected for 8 years. Suffrage was exercised by all citizens, of both sexes, over the age of 21 for elections to the lower chamber; and over the age of 26 for elections to the senate. Candidates for the lower chamber had to be at least 30 years of age; and for the senate, at least 45 years of age.
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The president was elected by both chambers of parliament in joint session (acting in accordance with the standing orders of the lower chamber). The presidential term was seven years, with no more than two in a row (the first president was exempted from this provision). Candidates for the presidency
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The president could veto bills by sending them back to parliament, with accompanying observations. Parliament in turn had the right to override the veto with a simple majority of both houses. If the Senate sustained the veto, then the
Chamber of Deputies could override it unilaterally by a
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had been formally included within the Czecho-Slovak state from 1919. The 1920 constitution provided for the autonomy of the territory. However, these provisions remained a dead letter in practice, as the supposedly autonomous institutions were controlled from Prague.
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had to be at least 35 years old. The framers intended for the prime minister and cabinet to hold the real power. Hence, the constitutional powers of the president were limited. However, the personal prestige of the first two presidents,
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had well over 10 factions represented. With so many parties as part of the national forum, it was all but impossible for one party to win the 151 seats needed for a majority. No party came close to being able to govern alone until the
479:, the constitution would still continue to govern the way the state’s internal affairs by serving as the underlying example for the country’s next constitution, with provisions being made for a separate and more localized
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government. These local governments from that point forward would control
Slovakia, with the government established by the constitution ruling over the more basic common matters as well as the Czech half of the nation.
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The president concluded and ratified international treaties, saving that treaties imposing personal or military burdens upon the subject or involving territorial changes required parliamentary consent.
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The president was army's commander-in-chief, with the power to appoint all high-ranking officers. He also had the right to appoint university professors, judges and senior civil servants.
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were fairly weak figures compared to their counterparts in the rest of Europe. In most cases, the prime minister was more the chairman of the cabinet than its leader.
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Since it was so hard to secure a majority, the government was at times stalled out and unable to effectively legislate. Under the circumstances, Czechoslovak
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A constitutional act was adopted alongside the constitution on the same day, and was considered one of the constitutional texts. It established the "
291:'s contribution to constitutional law. The system of government the constitution introduced made Czechoslovakia the most westernized of all of the
276:. The constitution was adopted by the National Assembly on 29 February 1920 and replaced the provisional constitution adopted on 13 November 1918.
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for each representative. It was possible to get a seat with as little as 2.6 percent of the vote. This allowed for a great variety of
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Taborsky, Ed. 1944. Czechoslovakia’s
Experience with P.R. Journal of Comparative Legislation and International Law, vol. 26: 49-51.
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Grzybowski, Kazimierz. 1957. Continuity of Law in
Eastern Europe. The American Journal of Comparative Law, vol. 6: 47-78.
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to emerge, with no clear front runner or leading political entity. A typical
Chamber of Deputies during the
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If parliament rejected a government bill, the cabinet could unanimously refer the proposed law to
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512:"The 1920 Constitution - 90th anniversary of the adoption of the first Czechoslovak Constitution"
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Whenever the presidency was vacant, most of its functions were assumed by the prime minister.
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Skilling, H. Gordon. 1952. The
Czechoslovak Constitutional System: The Soviet Impact.
535:"The principle of national self-determination in Czechoslovak constitutions 1920–1992"
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384:. No recourse was made to this constitutional provision during the First Republic.
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that was advanced with many levels of courts delegated for various types of cases.
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Administration of Justice in a People’s Democracy. The
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In order to satisfy the protection of national minorities required by the
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514:. The Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. February 25, 2010
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considered as two official dialects of one language) as an
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The 1920 constitution was replaced on 9 May 1948 by the
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subsequent vote by means of a three-fifths majority.
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345:that was installed created a complicated system of
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306:The constitution created a parliament but also a
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586:American Political Science Review
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648:Constitutions of Czechoslovakia
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467:Development of the constitution
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425:Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
82:Revolutionary National Assembly
272:with the establishment of the
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570:(accessed September 9, 2007).
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633:Government of Czechoslovakia
264:established itself and as a
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575:Political Science Quarterly
347:proportional representation
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533:Bakke, Elisabeth (2002).
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318:. Beneath them was a
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663:February 1920 events
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330:The parliament, the
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135:Edvard Beneš
125:Fedor Houdek
63:6 March 1920
53:6 March 1920
638:1920 in law
289:Hans Kelsen
285:democracies
258:World War I
200:Emil Franke
88:Signatories
627:Categories
499:References
388:Presidency
382:referendum
249:Wikisource
180:Lev Winter
94:Government
73:9 May 1948
336:bicameral
320:judiciary
308:president
270:democracy
234:Full text
78:Author(s)
543:31 March
518:31 March
451:" (i.e.
266:republic
69:Repealed
49:Ratified
312:cabinet
293:central
40:Created
481:Slovak
457:Slovak
334:, was
256:After
538:(PDF)
453:Czech
194:RSZML
154:RSZML
129:SNaRS
119:RSZML
545:2012
520:2012
455:and
397:and
368:1946
341:The
310:and
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224:ÄŚSSD
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