document also addresses itself to significant changes in the
interrelationships between the National Assembly, State Council
(formerly the presidium), and the Council of Ministers. For instance,
the constitution expanded the right of legislative initiative to include
not only the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers but also the
State Council, the permanent commissions of the National Assembly, the
Supreme Court, the chief prosecutor, and the district people's councils.
The rationale was that the National Assembly is not a continuously
sitting body so that its functions must, of necessity, be assigned to
state bodies of a permanent nature.

Twenty articles explain the economic system and development of the
republic based on the socialist ownership of the means of production.
The constitution recognizes four kinds of ownership: state, cooperative,
public organizations, and individual or personal.

The Law on Citizen's Property passed during the session of the National
Assembly in March 1973, however, nearly abolished the private ownership
of the means of production which, according to communist theory, is the
basis for the exploitation of man by man. The new measure gave legal
expression to what had been planned since the constitution was
promulgated in 1971 and reflects the complete predominance of collective
ownership in furtherance of the spirit of the tenth BKP congress.
Private ownership is confined to "items for personal use."

Basic rights and liberties of citizens get constitutional guarantees,
but in almost every stipulation that hinges on personal, civil, and
political rights, in practice, the interest and welfare of the state
take precedence. Basic rights and obligations embrace a wide scope of
personal, civil, and political freedoms. Among these guarantees are the
right to Bulgarian citizenship; civil rights of spouses, parents, and
children; rights to work, rest, and receive health care and free
education; freedoms of speech, press, association, and demonstration;
rights to secrecy of correspondence and communication except in cases of
national emergency; and freedom of worship. All citizens are declared to
be equal before the law regardless of national origin, creed, social
status, education, or sex. Article 36 extends to women equal rights with
men. Mothers are guaranteed all-expense-paid hospitalization and
maternity care, paid maternity leave of absence, and provision for
children's care in n