Tarnovo Constitution

{{Short description|Constitution of Bulgaria from 1879 to 1947}} {{Infobox constitution | document_name = Tarnovo Constitution | image = BASA-173K-6-3116-Tarnovo Constitution.jpg | caption = Front cover of the Tarnovo Constitution | orig_lang_code = bg | title_orig = Търновска конституция | jurisdiction = Bulgaria | date_created = | date_presented = | date_ratified = | date_effective = 16 April 1879 (O.S.) | system = | branches = | chambers = | executive = | courts = | federalism = | electoral_college = | number_entrenchments = | date_legislature = | date_first_executive = | date_first_court = | date_repealed = 4 December 1947 | number_amendments = | date_last_amended = | citation = | location_of_document = | commissioned = | writer = Constituent Assembly | signers = | media_type = | supersedes = }} {{Politics of Bulgaria}} The '''Tarnovo Constitution''' ({{langx|bg|Търновска конституция}}) was the first constitution of Bulgaria.<ref name="EB1911">{{cite EB1911|wstitle= Bulgaria/History |volume= 04 | pages= 779&ndash;784; see page 782 |last1= Bourchier |first1= James David |author-link= James David Bourchier |quote= The Constitution of Trnovo...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Detrez|first=Raymond |author-link=Raymond Detrez |title=Historical Dictionary of Bulgaria |chapter=TÛRNOVO CONSTITUTION |place=Lanham, Maryland; Toronto; Oxford |publisher= The Scarecrow Press, Inc. |edition= 2nd |year= 2006 |pages= 448–449}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= |first=|author-link= |title=Parliamentary Papers |chapter=Turkey No. 8, Constitution of the Principality of Bulgaria |place=London |publisher=|edition= |volume= LXXX |year= 1879 |pages=}}</ref>

It was adopted on {{OldStyleDate|28 April|1879|16 April}} by the Constituent National Assembly held in Veliko Tarnovo as part of the establishment of the Principality of Bulgaria. It remained the fundamental law of Bulgaria after the country was elevated to a kingdom in 1908.<ref>{{Citation |year=1906 |contribution= Конституция на българското княжество (законъ от 16 априлий 1879) |title=Сборник на действующите съдебни закони на княжеството (1878-1906) |publisher= Официално издание на Министерството на Правосъдието |publication-date=1906 |publication-place= София |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/sborniknadiestv00pravgoog#page/n12/mode/2up|accessdate=2012-12-28 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last= Hertslet |first= Edward |author-link=Edward Hertslet |year=1891 |contribution= Constitution of the Principality of Bulgaria, Tirnovo 16/28 April 1879 |title= The Map of Europe by Treaty; which have taken place since the general peace of 1814. With numerous maps and notes |volume= IV (1875-1891) |edition=First |publisher= Her Majesty's Stationery Office |publication-date=1891|publication-place= London |pages= [https://archive.org/details/mapofeuropebytre04hert/page/2866/mode/2up?view=theater 2866–2869] |url=https://archive.org/stream/mapofeuropebytre04hert#page/n7/mode/2up|access-date=2012-12-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter= CONSTITUTION de Principaute de Bulgarie. - Tirnovo, April 16/28, 1879 |title=British and foreign state papers 1878 - 1879 |pages= [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.35112103946069?urlappend=%3Bseq=1348%3Bownerid=13510798901997748-1440 1303 - 1318] |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.35112103946069 |publisher= |place= London |language= French |year= 1886 |volume= 70 |via= HathiTrust |accessdate= 16 April 2024}}</ref>

Based on the Belgian charter of 1831,<ref>Evgeni Tanchev, Martin Belov, Cristian Ionescu ''et al.'', ''Constitutional Law of 2 EU Member States: Bulgaria and Romania'', p. I-8. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer, 2008. {{ISBN|978-901-3056-35-8}}</ref> the Constitution was liberal in character and was considered advanced for its time.<ref name="EB1911"/> It defined the function and competence of the central organs of state authority according to the principle of separation of powers among an executive, a legislative, and a judiciary branch. It provided for ministerial responsibility, immunity of the deputies, and inviolability of private property. The constitution included a clause that formally established the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as the official religion of the nation, although people of other religions were considered equal to those who followed the official faith.

With amendments in 1893 and 1911 that strengthened royal power, the Tarnovo Constitution remained in use until 4 December 1947, when it was replaced by the Dimitrov Constitution.

== Form of government and head of state == According to the constitution of 1879, Bulgaria was declared to be a constitutional, hereditary monarchy with a parliament whose members were elected by the people.<ref name=":0">Конституция на Княжество България от 1879 г. (Tarnovo Constitution), Article 4</ref> The monarch bore the title of Prince and not tsar, as it was during the First and the Second Bulgarian Empire, since the treaty of Berlin from 1878 restricted Bulgaria's independence to a certain degree and made it a de facto vassal state of Turkey. The Prince was supposed to be male and of Orthodox religion,<ref>Конституция на Княжество България от 1879 г. (Tarnovo Constitution), Article 38</ref> although, in a legal act, an exception to the religious restriction was made when electing the Lutheran Alexander of Battenberg as the first Prince.

The Prince had the power to initiate a legislative campaign<ref>Конституция на Княжество България от 1879 г. (Tarnovo Constitution), Article 9</ref> and to coordinate the activities of the prime minister and the cabinet. Although the ministers were entitled to act as if they were representing the Prince, by signing with their own signature they agreed to take responsibility for what resulted from their actions.<ref>Конституция на Княжество България от 1879 г. (Tarnovo Constitution), Article 18</ref> The Prince's signature was also required for a bill to become law after it had passed through parliament.

In 1908, when Prince Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg-Gotha proclaimed the independence of Bulgaria, he raised the country to a kingdom and assumed the title "tzar" (translated as king outside of Bulgaria). The Tarnovo Constitution was amended to change the official name of the country to the "Kingdom of Bulgaria" and substitute the word "Prince" with "tzar" wherever it occurred in the document.

== General regulations regarding citizens and society == right|thumb|First page (in Russian and Bulgarian)|250px In accordance with its constitution, Bulgaria promulgated equality for all its citizens<ref>Конституция на Княжество България от 1879 г. (Tarnovo Constitution), Article 57</ref> and, despite being a monarchy, prohibited the promotion of any kind of aristocratic titles.<ref>Конституция на Княжество България от 1879 г. (Tarnovo Constitution), Article 58</ref> Censorship was prohibited, although the article which stated this was suspended several times.<ref name=":1">'''"Български хроники III", Стефан Цанев, 2008''' ("Bulgarian Chronicles III" by Stefan Tsanev). {{ISBN|978-954-528-861-6}}</ref> Article 61, which dealt with slavery and human trafficking, was one of the reasons why the Tarnovo Constitution was considered liberal and advanced for its time:

{{centered pull quote|Art. 61. No one in the Bulgarian Kingdom has the right to buy or sell human beings. Every slave of whatever sex, nationality, or religion is free as soon as he sets foot on Bulgarian territory.}}

The Constitution declared property rights to be sacrosanct<ref>Конституция на Княжество България от 1879 г. (Tarnovo Constitution), Article 67</ref> and implied that all citizens, except for the monarch and his successor, must pay taxes to the state. All (male) citizens were obliged to serve in the military;<ref>Конституция на Княжество България от 1879 г. (Tarnovo Constitution), Article 71</ref> this requirement included the monarch (who was head of the military forces) and his successors.<ref name=":1" /> All citizens were allowed freedom of association, and were free to form political parties or start their own companies.

The Tarnovo Constitution prohibited punishment of a citizen whose case had not been examined by a court.<ref>Конституция на Княжество България от 1879 г. (Tarnovo Constitution), Article 73</ref> This rule was ignored by the "People's Tribunal" of 1945, during the Soviet occupation of the country. The tribunal did not hold the statute of а court, yet passed more than 10,000 sentences to people who were seen as a threat by the Bulgarian Communist Party, which was coming to power at the time.<ref name=":2">'''"Български хроники IV", Стефан Цанев, 2009''' ("Bulgarian Chronicles IV" by Stefan Tsanev)</ref>

== Temporary suspensions == left|thumb|The former palace of Ottoman general-governor of Tarnovo, where the constitution was adopted. The article prohibiting censorship was suspended in the 1880s by a law enforced by the Russian general Sobolev; this law restricted media to seven selected newspapers and magazines, and limited comments critical of the government.<ref name=":1" /> Similar regulations were in effect in the late era of Stefan Stambolov's government.

In 1881, the Grand National Assembly (the supreme form of parliament) was manipulated by the principal Alexander I of Battenberg in order to suspend the entire constitution. During the next seven years, the monarch had unlimited power and issued a series of ordinances that were only technically approved by the ministers.<ref name=":1" /> This period, which Bulgarian historians refer to as a regime, ended in 1883 when the constitution was restored.

The Tarnovo Constitution was temporarily suspended several times more, most notably during the Coup d'état of 1934 led by Kimon Georgiev and the Coup d'état of 1944 organized by the Bulgarian Communist Party.

== Definitive abolishment == The Referendum of 1946 led to the transition from a constitutional monarchy to a people's republic. The referendum took place during the Soviet occupation of the country and was also technically illegal since the Tarnovo Constitution did not provide for a change in the type of government.<ref name=":0" />

The Tarnovo Constitution was permanently abolished in 1947 when another one, bearing the name of the communist party's leader Georgi Dimitrov, came into effect. The Dimitrov Constitution was a thoroughly Communist document that allowed censorship and the establishment of a one-party system while depriving citizens of certain fundamental rights .<ref name=":2" />

== Notes == {{reflist}}

== External links == * The text of the Constitution in Bulgarian on the Bulgarian Wikisource. In its original 1879 orthography. * [http://parliament.bg/bg/17 The text of the Constitution in Bulgarian at the site of the Bulgarian Parliament.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413124923/http://parliament.bg/bg/17 |date=2019-04-13 }} Adjusted from its original orthography, and does not feature the letters ''yat'' and ''yus'', for example. * Translation of the Constitution into English can be found in {{Citation |year=1919 |editor-last= Wright |editor-first=Herbert F. |contribution= Bulgaria |title= The Constitutions of the States at War 1914-1918 |edition=First |publisher= Government Printing Office |publication-date=1919 |publication-place= Washington |pages= 87–104|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/constitutionsofs00wrig#page/86/mode/2up|access-date=2012-12-24 }} * {{cite book |last=Black |first=Cyril E. |author-link = Cyril Edwin Black |chapter= The Bulgarian Constitution of 1879 |title=The Establishment of Constitutional Government in Bulgaria |place= Princeton, NJ |publisher= Princeton University Press |year= 1943 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.275948 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.275948/page/n300 291]-309 |via= Internet Archive |access-date= December 28, 2019}}

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Category:Defunct constitutions Category:Legal history of Bulgaria Category:Constitutions of Bulgaria Category:History of Veliko Tarnovo Category:1879 in Bulgaria Category:April 1879 Category:1879 in politics Category:1879 in law Category:1879 documents