In the history of mankind the periods during which states existed without constitutions are longer than those with constitutions. The constitution as a fundamental law, written and voted in order to serve the principal sovereign of power – the people – is a product of the modern democratic world of the past few centuries.

The resurrection of Bulgaria 130 years ago drew a bright historical fate forever: the new state was built on the foundation of the Tarnovo Constitution of 1879.

And whatever vicissitudes the fate of Bulgaria and the Bulgarians may have suffered in these 130 years – wars, national catastrophes, participation in successful or not so productive geopolitical alliances – the norms laid down in the Tarnovo Constitution have always been a corrective in public life. This corrective, not so much legal as moral, even today confirms that Bulgaria has always been a part of Europe, and the fathers of the Tarnovo Constitution sincerely wished a European, modern future for our motherland.

Constitution in the broad sense is the necessary founding instrument for the establishment of a democratic rule of law in a state through its basic institutions; a social contract between the state and the citizens, built on mutual concessions – both on the part of the government and on the part of the citizens’ natural rights. “Place the people in direct relations with the government, tighten up the ties of these relations, discard anything that might interfere with the good agreements between them, and you will have what you want and seek,” thus the staunch democrat, poet, publicist, public figure and politician Petko R. Slaveikov addressed the Constituent Assembly, which was drawing the Tarnovo Constitution. In the contemporary democratic world in many states, including Bulgaria, international treaties have priority over the national legislation, and this act reflects a striving for mutual cooperation and following of universal rules and norms, sharing of ideals; towards a world, where instead of buffer zones, bridges are built between the states and the nations.