Government Structure of Communist Czechoslovakia

Government Structure Of Communist Czechoslovakia

The government of Czechoslovakia under communism was in theory a democratic one directed by the proletariat. In practice, it was a one-party dictatorship run by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the KSC.

In the 1970s and 1980s the government structure was based on the amended 1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia, which identified the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic as a federative state of two equal fraternal nations. The Constitution stipulated the creation of separate government structures for the Czech Socialist Republic, located in Prague, and the Slovak Socialist Republic, situated in Bratislava. These republic governments shared responsibility with the federal government in areas such as planning, finance, currency, price control, agriculture and food, transportation, labor, wages, social policy, and the media. The central government, located in Prague, had exclusive jurisdiction over foreign policy, international relations, defense, federal stockpiles, federal legislation and administration, and the federal judicial system.

Government institutions in Czechoslovakia performed legislative, executive, and judicial functions. The Constitution clearly defined the responsibilities for making and implementing policy held by each branch of government In reality, however, all decisions of state were made by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Government bodies existed purely to administer the party programme.