The Ninth-of-May (1948) Constitution was the second constitution of Czechoslovakia, in force from 1948 to 1960. It came into force on 9 May, shortly after the communist seizure of power in the country on 25 February 1948. It replaced the 1920 Constitution. Work on the new document had been underway since the summer of 1946. As a result, it was not a fully Communist constitution, and was superficially similar to the 1920 Constitution; indeed, many elements were directly carried over from the earlier document. However, it was close enough to the Soviet model that President Edvard Beneš refused to sign it and resigned. It was flagrantly violated by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), the government and many individuals throughout the period of its being in force, especially regarding