Lacking rule of law in the lawyers’ regime: hungary

ABSTRACT

The article argues that the current problems regarding the rule of law under the Fidesz-regime (2010–2018) are due to continuities of legal thought of the 19th century. The Western liberal conception of the rule of law has little ground to become rooted in Hungary because of the country’s incompatible legal and political traditions, lack of intellectual receptiveness to host the idea and weak institutions to anchor it. The analysis focuses on five angles that affect the Hungarian perception of the rule of law: (1) the traditional conceptual understanding of the rule of law and statecraft; (2) the special trust in lawyers and the legal profession; (3) the relevance of the way the system changed in 1989–1990 in terms of democratisation and legislative culture; (4) the constitutional change carried out by the Fidesz administration in 2010–2014 and (5) a new era of nationalism, as the second phase of the Fidesz-revolution, which can be regarded as a declaration of paradigm-change in the conception of democracy. The overproduction of laws was the means of authoritarian development, thus, technically the core problem of democracy is the ‘rule of law’.

KEYWORDS:

• Law and order
• rule by law
• lawyer politician
• Hungarian legal tradition
• authoritarian revolution

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The first university was established in 1635 in Nagyszombat, now territory of Slovakia, but the university moved to Buda in 1777. Politico Cameralis was taught first in the faculty of humanities from 1769 but after the university moved to Buda, the discipline was transferred to the faculty of law.

2. Lajos Kossuth as PM became a symbol of the Hungarian revolution and freedom fight in 1848–1849, Ferenc Deák was the key figure of the creation of the Austrian-Hungarian Dual Monarchy in 1867, Gyula Andrássy first PM of Hungary in the Dual Monarchy.

3. With the exception of Tamás Deutsch who was a drop-out but was persuaded by Viktor Orbán to graduate if he wanted a position in the leadership.

4. István Bibó 1986, lawyer and influential political theorist, who criticised the communist regime.

5. There is a debate over the first constitution because it was technically a modification of the old constitution of the communist era but the content changed completely.

6. Due to the breach in the party some MPs left and new ones came due to the changes in party-profile.

7. In alliance with the centre-right Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF).

8. In alliance with Cristian Democratic Party (KDNP).

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.