The creation of a joint state formation on the basis of Constitutional Act no. 143 from 27th October 1968 on the Czechoslovak Federation was an important step towards the equalization of the positions of the Slovak and Czech nations in Czechoslovakia. The disputes about the new constitution in the second half of the 1980s resulted from inconsistent observance of the act, which stated in article 142 that together with adoption of the constitution of Czechoslovakia, both member republics would adopt their own constitutions. However, the proposal of the so called triple constitution of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Czech Socialist Republic and Slovak Socialist Republic showed the principles according to which the federation functioned. It represented a centralist organization of the state. It did not really progress beyond the understanding of the structure of the political system, the leading role of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the National Front and the socialist system of social ownership according to the constitution of 1960. The leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was not able to introduce the expected socio-political changes. The communist regime again determined the limits of the liberalization of the internal political situation. In spite of the partial compilation of the Constitutional Act on the Czechoslovak Federation from 1968, the proposed constitution could not eliminate the negative results of the legislation from December 1970. The proposal was evaluated as a step back in such fundamental questions as the solution of the Slovak and Czech question, profiling of national statehood, originality of the position of the national republics and the formation of the common state on its basis.
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