Beiträge zur Rechtsgeschichte Österreichs, 14. Jahrgang, Heft 2/2024

Many studies have attempted to explore the foreign sources of the Hungarian Golden Bull, but the relationship between the Hungarian Golden Bull and canon law has been little studied. The present research attempts to review the influence of canon law on the Hungarian Golden Bull, with particular reference to the Decretum, the papal decretals, and the works of the decretalists. In studying the question of the influence of canon law on the Hungarian Golden Bull, we show that, in addition to the Decretum Gratiani and the papal decretals, among others, probably the Apparatus on the Compilatio tertia of Johannes Teutonicus and the Brocardica of Damasus Hungarus had a significant influence on the drafters of the Hungarian Golden Bull.

Keywords: Bulla Aurea, canon law, Damasus Hungarus, excommunication, Hungarian Golden Bull, Johannes Teutonicus, oath, quarta puellaris, tithe

Since we live in the times when the validity of laws is often challenged, either because of the restrictions which the laws impose on individuals or because they stand in the way of political or other desirable general objectives, the impact of natural (canon) law on positive law needs to be examined, all the more so because marriage is the foundation of the family and the family is the basis of every national and state life and affects the social and public character. In the wake of the adoption of the Civil Code, which will legally transform the identity of Serbian legislature, it is important to review the way in which certain legal solutions were made. The impact of canon law on marriage regulations in Medieval Serbia can be traced back to Saint Sava’s (Nemanic) Nomocanon (Book of Kormchy), with a special reference to the legislature of Emperor Stefan Dusan Nemanic. This paper will therefore point to the legal and historical basis for such a review of regulations in the future Civil Code of the Republic of Serbia.

Keywords: Civil Code of the Republic of Serbia, civil marriage, church marriage, religious customs

In Hungary, similarly to other post-socialist countries, during communism a socialist family law had been forced on the legal system. This had broken with the previous civil law tradition, building on a socialist ideology, and although the dictatorship ended more than 30 years ago, a similar break with socialist law has not happened in this area. One relic from the socialist era is the structure the Hungarian Civil Code adopted on marriage law. After regulating the existence and invalidity of marriage it goes on to regulate the dissolution of the marital bond. Rights and duties, financial and personal consequences of marriage are left for later. This reflects an attitude towards conflict management unlike any other legal institution not only in the Family Book but in the entire Civil Code. There are a few grounds of invalidity of marriage that are conspicuously missing from Hungarian family law. The reasons behind the terminological confusion in marital property law also has its roots in history. Socialist family law has also left its mark on marriage stability with early no-fault divorce rules. The socialist separation of family law from civil law might also explain the fact that cohabitation is regulated in contract law rather than family law. How is it possible that these mistakes made their way into a Code that was accepted in 2012, 22 years after the democratic transition? The paper argues that the consequences of this historical inheritance for family law contribute to the lack of elaborated dogmatics in this field, especially in comparison with classic civil codes of western legal systems.

Keywords: familiy law, socialist family law, law reform, Hungarian Civil Code, post-socialist legal system

On 6 December 1922, the National Assembly of Hungary passed a bill on unfair competition. The law was promulgated in May next year as Act V of 1923, and entered into force on 15 May 1924. We can see already from its title that its scope was very similar to that of today’s competition law: to ensure that business be done in accordance with honest practices. If we take a look at the subsequent jurisdiction of the courts in unfair competition cases, we may add to this conclusion that the most characteristic unfair market behaviours were surprisingly similar to the “tricky” business practices today’s competition and consumer protection laws are fighting against. This study aims to present why and how the first Hungarian unfair competition law was adopted, and what examples of unfair business practices were considered as most typical or dangerous, also expanding the focus to some similarities and differences with the competition law and practice of our time.

Keywords: codification, Commercial law, competition law, consumer protection, Hungarian legal history, law against unfair competition, misleading advertising

The April Laws of 1848 were one of the most important milestones in the development of the Hungarian constitution. Under the influence of the Paris Revolution, the Hungarian Parliament drafted several bills and, following the constitutional path, obtained royal sanction. The compromise between the Diet and the King was the result of intensive negotiations. Its most critical point was the status of Hungary within the Habsburg Empire. What is the degree of autonomy that Hungary can enjoy within the framework of the Pragmatica Sanctio governing the accession to the throne? Following this compromise in April, the dispute nevertheless led to armed conflict, which was only settled by the Compromise of 1867.

Keywords: 1848, common affairs, Habsburg Empire, palatine of Hungary, Pragmatica Sanctio

Justices of the peace in the European legal tradition were mostly a group of non-professional judges, often lacking academic legal education, enjoying the trust of the local community and deciding cases ‘of low gravity’ in an informal procedure. Some form of justices of the peace existed in every piece of territory of interwar Poland reclaimed from the former partitioning powers. The research presented in the article focuses on former Prussian Territories – the Appeal District of Poznań [Posen], and analyses the practical experiences of ‘judices of the peace’ functioning in the light of administrative and supervisory court files deposited in the archive in Poznań. The author reflects on three main issues. Firstly, the procedure of justices of peace appointments is presented in detail. Secondly, challenges and problems with the quality of their work – pointed out by their supervisors – is discussed. Thirdly, their impartiality and relations with professional judges, court staff, trial participants, and especially local communities is assessed. In the end, the author attempts to explain why the functioning of ‘justices of the peace’ in former Prussian territories in interwar Poland was seen as a failure.

Keywords: former Prussian Partition, history of criminal law, history of criminal procedure, justices of the peace, prosopography, Second Republic of Poland

After the proclamation of the October Diploma, a conference assembled under the leadership of the judex curiae, Count George Apponyi, to discuss the reorganisation of the Hungarian judiciary. Wherever possible, they aimed to reinstate the Hungarian laws, many of which had been replaced with Austrian legal norms in the so-called Neoabsolutist era. Since the application of the principle proved to be challenging, six subcommittees were elected. One of them deemed the Austrian Press-Ordnung unacceptable and proposed the reinstatement the Press Act of 1848. However, this idea proved to be unacceptable for the Viennese Government. Therefore, the so-called Provisional Judicial Rules remained silent on the matter. Nonetheless, the validity of the Press-Ordnung of 1852 was questioned by some in Hungary in the summer of 1861, which led to conflicting views regarding the applicable law. Consequently, it was not clear which legal acts were in effect after 23 July 1861.

Keywords: censorship, Hungary, October Diploma, Press-Ordnung , Provisional Judicial Rules

Freedom of expression is enshrined both in the Romanian Constitution and in the European law, and a´constant figure in domestic and European caselaw. Its current signification, including media freedom, cannot be understood outside its historical foundations and social functions, whose study helps us understand the dangers of censorship, propaganda, or manipulation. Each epoch in the evolution of the written press shapes the content of its freedom and limitations. Its first constitutional enshrinement dates to 1866, but the idea had emerged in the political discourse around 1848, as the result of a long period of heavy censorship. While enacted in every Romanian fundamental law since then, its actual manifestations differed from one epoch to another. Our paper aims at circumscribing the historical evolution of this milestone of democracy. For legal history teaches us a lesson: freedoms in general and freedom of the press, in particular, can never be taken for granted.

Keywords: freedom of expression, written press, censorship, manipulation, political discourse