Ninth-of-May Constitution

The Ninth-of-May Constitution was the second permanent constitution of Czechoslovakia, in force from 1948 to 1960. It took effect on 9 May 1948, shortly after the Communist Party's takeover of power on 25 February 1948, and it replaced the earlier 1920 constitution. Although drafting had begun in the summer of 1946 before the communist takeover, the document that ultimately came into force incorporated elements of Soviet constitutional models while retaining some features of its predecessor, making it less ideologically rigid than typical constitutions of Soviet-bloc states. President Edvard Benes refused to sign the constitution because of the Soviet influence embedded in its provisions and resigned shortly afterward. The constitution declared Czechoslovakia a people's democratic state and established nationalized industry as the foundation of the economy, though it nominally protected private enterprise and cooperatives; it remained in effect until 11 July 1960, when it was replaced by a more explicitly communist constitution.