The process of creating a new constitution in 2011 was the first such legitimate process in the history of Hungary, said Róbert Répássy, Minister of State for Justice, during a public debate held on Saturday at the Faculty of Law at the University of Pécs.

In 1949 the Stalinist dictatorship forced a Soviet-style constitution on us, and in 1989 the last national assembly of the one-party state adopted the constitution of the democratic transition.

The Minister of State underlined that in 2011 a two-thirds majority of freely elected parliamentary representatives adopted Hungary’s new Fundamental Law, and so it enjoys a high degree of legitimacy – unlike earlier constitutions.

Although the constitution of 1989 created the framework for a state under the rule of law, it could not be regarded as legitimate, and its temporary nature was specifically referred to in its text; so it was necessary to establish a new fundamental law, said Róbert Répássy.

Until 1949 Hungary had had a historical constitution rather than a written one, and the Hungarian Parliament has returned to this tradition by adopting what is officially referred to not as a constitution, but a fundamental law.

The Fundamental Law is the most important written law of our country, and no law can be adopted which contradicts it. Together with the unwritten constitution and the National Avowal it forms part of an interpretative framework, said the Minister of State for Justice.

The Fundamental Law begins with a unique and extensive preamble, the National Avowal, that lays the foundations, Mr. Répássy continued. He also highlighted the rejection of the 1949 Stalinist Constitution and the communist and national socialist dictatorships.

The new Fundamental Law also lays down several principles of criminal law, continued Robert Répássy. It includes traditional legal principles such as nullum poena sine lege (‘no penalty without a law’), and habeas corpus (prohibition of unlawful detention). The possibility for life sentence without parole for deliberate and violent offences has been introduced at constitutional level, emphasised the Minister of State. The right to self defence has been asserted, but only state agencies are authorised to protect public order and use force to that end, he underlined.

His interlocutor, Socialist MP Gergely Bárándy, criticised the process used to create the Constitution. The opposition politician said that the process had formal legitimacy, but it lacked social and political legitimacy. He added that there was no necessity for the creation of a new constitution, simply the opportunity. Gergely Bárándy also criticised the amendments related to independent institutions (the Constitutional Court and the Budget Council).

Background

The Max-Planck-Institut für auslandisches und internationales Strafrecht (Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law) and the Department of Criminal Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pécs organised a three-day conference in Pécs entitled ‘The gathering, use and legal regulation of information’. The conference not only focused on criminal law, but also the new Hungarian Fundamental Law and the Media Act.

(kormany.hu)