Hungary’s Fundamental Law and the Concept of the Historical Constitution
Hungary’s Fundamental Law and the Concept of the Historical Constitution

Summary/Abstract: Hungary has adopted a new Constitution in 2011 (named Fundamental Law of Hungary). The reason for creating this paper was the tremendous number of questions and impetuous debates which surrounded the establishment of this instrument abroad and within the borders. During the examination of the Hungarian constitution and the Hungarian legal system in general several “sharp” preliminary questions shall be answered, such as why it was necessary to create a new fundamental law more than two decades after the fall of the iron curtain, less than one decade after joining the European Union, in possession of a constitution which fully complied with international requirements. Answering these questions we have to emphasize that a specific line of the new legal concept, formulated by the Fundamental Law, is the aspect with which it views the notion of legal continuity. The historical constitution is mentioned several times in the Fundamental Law. According to the first sentence of the third paragraph of the National Avowal “We honour the achievements of our historical constitution”; according to Article R) paragraph (3) of the Foundation “The provisions of the Fundamental Law shall be interpreted in accordance with their purposes, the National Avowal and the achievements of our historical constitution.”

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