site.btaUPDATED President Radev Greets Bulgarians on Constitution Day

"On this date, we remember with gratitude the foresight, political wisdom and sense of responsibility of the participants in the Constituent Assembly who 145 years ago adopted the Tarnovo Constitution and laid the foundations of our reborn homeland," President Rumen Radev said in his address on the occasion of Bulgaria's Constitution Day and the professional holiday of lawyers.

Radev pointed out that April 16, 1879 is the birth date of Bulgarian constitutionalism, and of the aspiration for the development of Bulgaria as a state governed by the rule of law. He noted that the free and democratic spirit of Bulgarian people was embodied in Bulgaria's first constitution by public figures among whom stand out the names of Petko Karavelov, Petko Slaveykov, Dragan Tsankov, Dr Konstantin Stoilov, Grigor Nachovich, Todor Ikonomov, Marko Balabanov and many others. "Their undertaking is an example of how to defend Bulgarian identity and sovereignty. It is a lesson in political and legal maturity and in the awareness that laws are made by the people and for the people, and there is no place for nameless authorship and irresponsibility in this work," the Head of State stressed.

Radev added that the violations and even the suspension of the Tarnovo Constitution have not managed to erase its timeless significance for the development of Bulgaria. "Today, when we commemorate the famous date, let us recall the statesmanship put forward by our predecessors and wish that we will no longer allow anyone to belittle it," he noted.

The President wished the Bulgarian lawyers and judicial officers to withstand the daily challenges and to remain faithful to their noble vocation of being the pillar of the rule of law.

The Supreme Bar Council said in a press release that the legal profession and its preserved dignity is one of the strongest guarantees for the establishment of the rule of law and stability in the country.

Democracy is threatened every time it is taken for granted. Therefore, it should be remembered that the Constitution entrusted lawyers to defend the rights and freedoms of Bulgarian citizens. Sometimes even by the laws themselves, the Supreme Bar Council pointed out.