ART. 32. The education of the King during his minority and the administration of his estates are in the hands of the Queen widow and the tutors appointed by the Council of Ministers with the consent of the Queen. ART. 33. Members of the Regency may not be at the same time tutors of the minor King. CHAPTER VII.-ACCESSION TO THE THRONE AND THE TAKING OF THE OATH. ART. 34. Upon the death of the King the heir ascends the throne and immediately orders the convening of the Grand National Assembly, before which he takes the following oath : I swear in the name of God Almighty that I shall uphold devoutly and inviolably the Constitution and the laws of the Kingdom and that in all my actions I shall always have in view only the prosperity and welfare of the country. So help me God! CHAPTER VIII.-MAINTENANCE OF THE KING AND OF THE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE. ART. 35. The National Assembly fixes by a special law the civil list of the King and of his court. ART. 36. The National Assembly fixes the amount for the maintenance of the heir to the throne as soon as he has attained his majority. CHAPTER IX.—RELIGION. ART. 37. The Orthodox Christian Religion of the Eastern Rite is the State religion of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. ART. 38.1 The King may not profess any religion other than the Orthodox. An exception is made in the case of the present King. ART. 39. As the Kingdom of Bulgaria forms, from an ecclesiastical point of view, an inseparable part of the pale of the Bulgarian Church, it is subject to the Holy Synod, which is the supreme authority of the Bulgarian Church, wherever the seat of that authority may be. It is through it that the Kingdom preserves its union with the Ecumenical Eastern Church in all that pertains to the degmas of the faith. ART. 40. Unorthodox Christians and non-Christian inhabitants, whether subjects of the Kingdom or received as such, as well as foreigners permanently or temporarily residing in Bulgaria, enjoy freedom of worship in so far as their religious practices do not violate existing laws. 1 As amended 11/24 July 1911. ART. 41. No one may, by virtue of his religious convictions, be exempted from the obligations of the laws in force, which are binding upon everybody. ART. 42. The ecclesiastical affairs of unorthodox Christians and of non-Christians are governed by the respective religious authorities within the limits of the laws laid down on this subject and under the high supervision of the competent minister. CHAPTER X.-THE LAWS. ART. 43. The Bulgarian Kingdom shall be governed strictly in accordance with the laws, which are made and promulgated in the forms indicated in the present Constitution. ART. 44. No law may be promulgated, completed, modified, or repealed without first being discussed and voted upon by the National Assembly, which also has the right of interpreting its precise meaning. ART. 45. Every law voted by the National Assembly is submitted to the King for his sanction. ART. 46. After being sanctioned by the King, the law must be promulgated in full. Mention must be made in the promulgation of the law of its adoption by the National Assembly. No law has any force or effect before its promulgation. ÁRT. 47. If the State is menaced by some internal or external danger and the National Assembly can not be convened, then, and in this case only, the King may, upon the representations of the Council of Ministers and their joint responsibility, publish ordinances and take measures which will have the same binding force as laws. The extraordinary ordinances and measures shall be submitted to the approval of the first National Assembly which is convened thereafter. ART. 48. The measures and ordinances mentioned in Article 47 may in no case have for their object the creation of taxes and contributions, which shall always be imposed with the consent of the National Assembly. ART. 49. The National Assembly alone has the right to decide whether all the formalities prescribed by the present Constitution have been fulfilled in the publication of a law. ART. 50. Regulations for putting a law into effect and the measures which must be taken to this end are in the hands of the executive power. CHAPTER XI. THE PROPERTY OF THE STATE. ART. 51. The property of the State belongs to the Bulgarian Kingdom, and neither the King nor the members of his family may assume the enjoyment thereof. ART. 52. The manner in which this property may be alienated or mortgaged, as well as the use to which the revenue therefrom is to be put, shall be prescribed by law. ART. 53. The property of the State is administered by the competent minister. CHAPTER XII.-THE CITIZENS OF THE BULGARIAN KINGDOM. SECTION 1.-GENERAL RULES. ART. 54. All those who are born in Bulgaria and who have not changed their nationality, as well as those who are born in foreign countries of parents who are Bulgarian subjects, are considered subjects of the Bulgarian Kingdom. ART. 55.1 Foreigners may be admitted to Bulgarian nationality by virtue of a law, to be drafted hereafter. ART. 56. Any subject of the Kingdom may change his nationality after he has completed his period of military service and fulfilled his other obligations toward the State, in conformity with a special law, to be drafted hereafter. ART. 57. All Bulgarian subjects are equal before the law; no division into classes is tolerated in Bulgaria. ART. 58.2 Titles of nobility and other distinctions can not exist in the Kingdom. ART. 59.2 The King has the right to grant decorations. The creation of decorations takes place by virtue of a special law. ART. 60. Citizens of the Bulgarian Kingdom alone enjoy political rights. All who dwell within the Kingdom have civil rights in conformity with the laws. ART. 61. No one in the Bulgarian Kingdom has the right to buy or sell human beings. Every slave of whatever sex, nationality, or religion is free as soon as he sets foot on Bulgarian territory. ART. 62. Laws concerning public order and police laws are equally binding upon all who live in the Kingdom. ART. 63. All immovable property situated in the Kingdom, even though it belongs to foreigners, is governed by the Bulgarian laws. ART. 64. In all other respects, the condition of foreign subjects in the Kingdom is governed by special laws. SECTION 2.-THE SERVICE OF THE STATE AND PUBLIC OFFICE. ART. 65. Bulgarian subjects alone may be officials of the State or of the commune, or be admitted to service in the army. 1 1 As amended 11/24 July 1911. 2 As amended 15/27 May 1893. ART. 66. Foreign subjects may also be admitted to the service of the State, subject, however, to the approval of the National Assembly in every instance. SECTION 3.-THE RIGHT OF PROPERTY. ART. 67. The right of property is inviolable. ART. 68. Expropriation may take place only because of public utility and in consideration of a just indemnity. The mode of expropriation shall be determined by a special law. SECTION 4.-TAXES AND CONTRIBUTIONS LEVIED BY THE STATE. ART. 69. Every subject of the Bulgarian Kingdom, without exception, is obliged to pay the taxes and contributions established by the laws and to bear the other charges. ART. 70. The King and the heir to the throne are exempted from all taxes, contributions and other charges. SECTION 5.-MILITARY SERVICE. ART. 71. Every Bulgarian subject is liable to military service according to the law to this effect. ART. 72. A special law shall specify the crimes, imputable to soldiers in active service, that fall within the jurisdiction of the military courts and those that come within the competence of the courts of common law. SECTION 6.—INVIOLABILITY OF PERSON, DOMICILE AND CORRESPONDENCE. ART. 73.2 No one may be subjected to punishment except by virtue of a definite judgment of a competent court. Neither exceptional tribunals nor commissions of inquiry may be created upon any pretext or under any designation whatever. In time of war or in case of imminent peril resulting from foreign invasion or an armed insurrection, when the entire country or certain localities have been proclaimed to be in a state of siege, courts martial instituted by law come into operation. The state of siege is proclaimed by law, if the National Assembly is in session, or by decree on the joint responsibility of the ministers, if the said Assembly is not in session. In the latter case the National Assembly must be convened within five days to approve the decree issued to this effect. 1 As amended 11/24 July 1911. All of this article after Paragraph 1 was added 11/24 July 1911. ART. 74. Imprisonment and domiciliary visits may take place only in accordance with the rules laid down by law. ART. 75. No punishment except that prescribed by law may be applied to any one whomsoever. Torture, as well as the confiscation of property, is prohibited. ART. 77. The secrecy of private letters and telegrams is inviolable. The responsibility of officials relative to the violation of the secrecy of letters and telegrams shall be governed by a special law. SECTION 7.-PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, ART. 78. Primary instruction is obligatory and free to all subjects of the Bulgarian Kingdom. SECTION 8.-FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. ART. 79. The press is free. No censorship is permitted. No security shall be required of writers, publishers, or printers. When an author is known and resides in the Kingdom, the publisher, the printer and the distributors shall not be prosecuted. ART. 80. The Holy Scriptures, ecclesiastical books and works dealing with the dogmas of the Orthodox Church, as well as manuals on religion for use in Orthodox schools, shall first be submitted to the approval of the Holy Synod. ART. 81. All misdemeanors on the part of the press shall be judged according to law by the ordinary courts. SECTION 9.-FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND OF ASSOCIATION. ART. 82. The inhabitants of the Bulgarian Kingdom have the right peaceably to assemble and to discuss unarmed any question without first asking permission. Meetings held in the open air are wholly subject to police regulations. ART. 83. Bulgarian citizens have the right to form associations without any previous authorization, provided the object of such associations and the means employed do not jeopardize the security of the State, public order, religion, or public morals. SECTION 10. THE RIGHT OF PETITION. ART. 84. Every Bulgarian subject may present petitions to the competent authorities either individually or collectively. Legally constituted institutions may likewise present requests through the intermediary of their representative. 1 Rescinded 11/24 July 1911. |