ABSTRACT
The public mood in Czechoslovakia after 1945 appeared to support revolutionary changes in one form or another, but the scope and nature of the political changes that took place under Communist rule surpassed anything that might have been predicted on the basis of purely domestic trends before 1948. On May 9, 1948, the Communist-led parliament approved a new constitution. Although the document contained a great many liberal features, it also incorporated some Soviet-style clauses apparently meant to limit civil rights. Czechoslovakia’s constitution of 1960, as modified by a constitutional law passed in 1968, defines the major institutional aspects of the country’s government. The highest legislative body in Czechoslovakia is the Federal Assembly. Since 1969 this has been a bicameral institution divided into the Chamber of the People and the Chamber of Nationalities. Political activities throughout Czechoslovakia are organized and controlled by the National Front.
