y. The third major organ at the national level, referred to
in the constitution as the government, is the Council of Ministers,
which is theoretically appointed by and responsible to the National
Assembly but is actually responsible to the State Council. National
policy decisions reach the grass roots level through the pyramidal
system of people's councils.

The judiciary, although independent in theory, is an integral part of
the government structure that operates as an adjunct of the
executive-legislative organs. By design the judicial system legitimizes
communist control and gives legal expression to party policy. The system
is structured so that the courts of law and the prosecution agency
function together, and the latter enjoys police power.

CONSTITUTIONAL EVOLUTION

The beginnings of constitutional government in Bulgaria date back to
1879 after Russia had liberated the country from 485 years of Turkish
rule. From 1879 to 1947 the country was governed by a constitutional
monarchy based on the Turnovo Constitution, which established a
parliamentary system of government having a king at its head. Among
comparable constitutions in Europe at the time, the Turnovo document was
considered liberal and democratic in form, organization, and operation.
It was considered to be one of the most liberal in the world at that
time. Whereas most European countries limited suffrage in various ways,
all Bulgarian citizens over the age of twenty-one enjoyed the franchise.

Through a sixty-five-year span, however, the Turnovo Constitution was
revised twice, suspended twice, and violated many times. Basic to these
conflicts was the limit on the power of the king and the extent of
popular participation in government. The absence of consultative bodies
in a unicameral legislature served to widen the rift between the
executive and legislative branches.

Even after the communist takeover in 1944, the Turnovo Constitution
continued to be the charter of government until a new constitution was
adopted in December 1947. In party historiography the 1947 Constitution
is described as the work of Georgi Dimitrov, hence it became known as
the Dimitrov Constitution and remained in force until 1971.

The Constitution of 1947

In the mid-1940s, with the ascendancy of the BKP in the Fatherland Front
coalition government, there arose a need to draw up a new charter. The
changes in government structure and operation had rendered the Turnovo