The Soviet imprint on the final document was strong enough that President Edvard Beneš refused to sign it and later 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 the provisions on private ownership and human rights.
However, it did declare that Czechoslovakia had embarked on a "national and democratic revolution" that it intended to defend against "domestic and foreign reaction."
It also granted a small degree of autonomy to Slovakia, which was given its own legislative body and governmental structure, although these were made subordinate to the central authorities in Prague.
The constitutional guarantee of press freedom was rendered meaningless by provisions making movies and broadcasting state monopolies and giving the government sole power to decide who could publish periodicals.