Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria

Republic of Bulgaria
Grand National Assembly

Promulgated State Gazette No 56/13.07.1991

We, the Members of the Seventh Grand National Assembly, guided by our desire to express the will of the people of Bulgaria,

by pledging our loyalty to the universal human values of liberty, peace, humanism, equality, justiceand tolerance;

by holding as the highest principle the rights, dignity and security of the individual;

in awareness of our irrevocable duty to guard the national and state integrity of Bulgaria,

hereby promulgate our resolve to create a democratic, law-governed and social state,

by establishing this

C O N S T I T U T I O N
C h a p t e r O n e
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Article 1
(1) Bulgaria shall be a republic with a parliamentary form of government.
(2) The entire power of the state shall derive from the people. The people shall exercise this power directly and through the bodies established by this Constitution.
(3) No part of the people, no political party nor any other organisation, state institution or individual shall usurp the expression of the popular sovereignty.

Article 2
(1) The Republic of Bulgaria shall be an integral state with local self-government. No autonomous territorial formations shall exist.
(2) The territorial integrity of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be inviolable.

Article 3
Bulgarian shall be the official language of the Republic.

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Article 6
(1) All persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
(2) All citizens shall be equal before the law. There shall be no privileges or restriction of rights on the grounds of race, nationality, ethnic self-identity, sex, origin, religion, education, opinion, political affiliation, personal or social status or property status.

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Article 11
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(4) There shall be no political parties on ethnic, racial or religious lines, nor parties which seek the violent seizure of state power.

Article 12
(1) Associations of citizens shall serve to meet and safeguard their interests.
(2) Citizens' associations, including trade unions, shall not pursue any political objectives, nor shall they engage in any political activity which is in the domain of the political parties.

Article 13
(1) The practicing of any religion shall be unrestricted.
(2) Religious institutions shall be separate from the state.
(3) Eastern Orthodox Christianity shall be considered the traditional religion in the Republic of Bulgaria.
(4) Religious institutions and communities, and religious beliefs shall not be used to political ends.
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Article 36
(1) The study and use of the Bulgarian language shall be a right and an obligation of every Bulgarian citizen.
(2) Citizens whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian shall have the right to study and use their own language alongside the compulsory study of the Bulgarian language.
(3) The situations in which only the official language shall be used shall be established by law.
Article 37
(1) The freedom of conscience, the freedom of thought and the choice of religion and of religious or atheistic views shall be inviolable. The state shall assist the maintenance of tolerance and respect among the believers from different denominations, and among believers and non-believers.
(2) The freedom of conscience and religion shall not be practised to the detriment of national security, public order, public health and morals, or of the rights and freedoms of others.
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Article 41
(1) Everyone shall be entitled to seek, obtain and disseminate information. This right shall not be exercised to the detriment of the rights and reputation of others, or to the detriment of national security, public order, public health and morality.
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Article 44
(1) Citizens shall be free to associate.
(2) No organisation shall act to the detriment of the country's sovereignty and national integrity, or the unity of the nation, nor shall it incite racial, national, ethnic or religious enmity or an encroachment on the rights and freedoms of citizens; no organisation shall establish clandestine or paramilitary structures or shall seek to attain its aims through violence.
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Article 53
(1) Everyone shall have the right to education.
(2) School attendance up to the age of 16 shall be compulsory.
(3) Primary and secondary education in state and municipal schools shall be free. In circumstances established by law, the higher educational establishments shall provide education free of charge.
(4) Higher educational establishments shall enjoy academic autonomy.
(5) Citizens and organisations shall be free to found schools in accordance with conditions and procedures established by law. The education they provide shall fit the requirements of the state.
(6) The state shall promote education by opening and financing schools, by supporting capable school and university students, and by providing opportunities for occupational training and retraining. It shall exercise control over all kinds and levels of schooling.

Article 54
(1) Everyone shall have the right to avail himself of the national and universal human cultural values and to develop his own culture in accordance with his ethnic self-identification, which shall be recognized and guaranteed by the law.
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Article 57
(1) The fundamental civil rights shall be irrevocable.
(2) Rights shall not be abused, nor shall they be exercised to the detriment of the rights or the legitimate interests of others.
(3) Following a proclamation of war, martial law or a state of emergency the exercise of individual civil rights may be temporarily curtailed by law, except for the rights established by Article 28, Article 29, Article 31 pars 1, 2 and 3, Article 32 para 1, and Article 37.
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Article 98
The President of the Republic shall:
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5. on a motion from the Council of Ministers, determine the borders of the administrative territorial units and their centres;
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13. name landmarks of national importance and communities.
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Article 136
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(2) The borders of a municipality shall be established following a referendum of the populace.
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Article 137
(1) Municipalities shall be free to associate in the solution of common matters.
(2) The law shall establish conditions conducive to association among municipalities.
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