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Yugoslavia The 1963 Constitution
The regional divisions that prompted constitutional change
also
delayed concrete action by two years, as the constitution's
framers sought language satisfactory to all political factions.
By 1963 a new constitution had been prepared under the guidance
of Eduard Kardelj, Tito's chief theoretician, with substantial
input from liberal legal scholars. The new document reflected the
perceived need for recentralization: the parliamentary Federal
Assembly (Skupstina) was divided into one general chamber,
the Federal Chamber, and four chambers given specific
bureaucratic responsibilities. In an effort to end regional
conflict and promote national representation of the Yugoslav
people, the constitution directed that individual republics be
represented only in the Chamber of Nationalities, a part of the
Federal Chamber. This provision was especially important in
ensuring continued contributions from all regions to federal
development funds for the poorer republics.
Other provisions of the new constitution increased
decentralization instead of reducing it. Tito retained his
position as president of the federation but renounced his state
position as president of the Federal Executive Council, a change
that further separated party and state functions. The 1963
constitution also introduced the concept of rotation, which
prohibited the holding of higher or lower level executive
positions for more than two four-year terms. Other notable
provisions extended human and civil rights and established
constitutionally guaranteed court procedures. All these
provisions were unique among the constitutional systems of
contemporaneous communist states.
Although the 1963 constitution reflected the liberal leanings
of Yugoslav leadership in those years, substantial power existed
outside the institutional structure. Aleksandar Rankovic, state
secretary in charge of the secret police, led an obstructionist
bloc that opposed economic reform in the 1960s and advocated a
return to the pre-1953 strong party role. In the many deadlocks
between the liberal and obstructionist groups in this period,
Tito was always the final arbiter. He generally supported
economic reform but resisted decentralization of state power.
Data as of December 1990
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