The author of the First Czechoslovak Law was Alois Rašín. The law contains five articles. The Czechoslovak State came into existance on their basis. Actually, however, the document did not speak about the establishment of the republic, but merely announced the foundation of an independent state. The most important point of the first law was the second article, the so-called reception. It read: "All existing provincial and imperial laws and regulations remain valid for the time being." Its essence was to preserve legal continuity with the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and thereby avoiding chaos.