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ABSTRACT
The study deals with the historical narrative of the modern Central European constitutions. The earlier 20th century constitutions were also in some way responsive to historical changes, but in the post-1989 constitutions, the historical narrative has also acquired a strong legitimating function. This was partly related to the fact that several states gained state independence at the time. Another important aspect is the confrontation with the communist past. Typically the constitutional preambles deal with history. The normative nature of the preambles is disputed, but they can play an important role in the process of legal interpretation by constitutional courtes. The most interesting in this respect is the Hungarian preamble adopted in 2011, which is both the longest and the most ideological in the Central European region. The ideological elements in the post-transitional constitutions has not weakened over time, but rather strengthened. This is particularly obvious in Hungarian constitutional development. However, a strong historical narrative can sometimes become counterproductive. This is especially true for states, where there is no co-decision consensus on the judgement of certain key historical events and thus an one-sided presentation of historical issues can also make it difficult for constitutions to fulfil their social integration function.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. “Project no. TKP2021-NKTA-51 has been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the TKP2021-NKTA funding scheme.”
2. The Bohemian Kingdom e.g. used to be before 1804 a part of the Holy Roman Empire. The Bohemian king was one of the seven electors of Imperator (Kaiser).
3. This document was adopted by the Slovak National Council, which was the Parliament of the Slovak Republic as a member state of the federal Czechoslovakia.
4. See the official translation of Slovak Constitution https://www.nrsr.sk/web/Static/en-US/NRSR/Constitution%20of%20the%20Slovak%20Republic%202023.pdf
5. This document was adopted by the Czech National Council, which was the Parliament of the Czech Republic as a member state of the federal Czechoslovakia.
6. About official translation see https://www.psp.cz/en/docs/laws/1993/1.html
7. The official text of translation see https://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm
8. About official translation see https://www.parlament.hu/documents/125505/138409/Fundamental+law/73811993-c377-428d-9808-ee03d6fb8178
9. The word ‘ispán’ comes from the Slovak pan (lord) meaning comes (count) in Latin. ‘Fő’ means major in Hungarian, thus ‘főispán’ is heading a county as an appointed official.
10. The ‘vicispán’ was the representative of regional local government of clergy, nobility, gentry and free royal cities. The ‘vicispán’ was an elected post.
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Iván Halász
Iván Halász is a university professor and Doctor of Hungarian Academy of Sciences (DSc). He is a constitutional lawyer and a historian. He completed his PhD studies in Budapest (Eötvös Loránd University) and Prague (Charles University). His research focuses mainly on the constitutional development of the Central and Eastern European states and minority studies. He pays special attention to the relationship between law and national symbols, international migration, and state-building and crisis management processes. He is the author of numerous monographs and studies.