Changes in the Constitutional Matter Affecting the Structure of the Judiciary During the Regime of 19 May 1934

Abstract

The article “Changes in the constitutional matter affecting the structure of the judiciary during the regime of 19 May 1934” covers the changes in Bulgaria when on 19 May 1934, after a successful coup, the political circle ‘Zveno’ and the Military Union came to power. The coup was carried out in drastic violation of the constitution. A number of reforms had been undertaken in the country, some of which affected the constitutional structure. Particularly serious were those in the field of Bulgarian judicial organisation. The coup was carried out without the participation of the tsar, but was legitimized by him. The participants in the May 19 coup considered it necessary to change the procedure for the installation of the National Assembly. The constitutional powers of the Grand National Assembly were taken away by the government. The electoral right and the right of association guaranteed by the Tarnovo Constitution were violated. Amendments were also made to the administrative-territorial division of the country, which were implemented by ignoring the Constitution, where the names of the territorial units are explicitly mentioned. All these changes, euphemistically called “renewal”, affected the judicial system as well. The government of Kimon Georgiev, on the basis of Article 47 of the Tarnovo Constitution, issued on 24 November 1934 the Decree-Law on the Structure of the Courts. Interestingly, the structure of the 1926 law was adopted. Most of its text was reproduced, and the additions made concern primarily the internal structuring of some chapters and the introduction of new paragraphs. It was a major reform of the Bulgarian judicial system.