ACTA JURIDICA - A MTA Jogtudományi Közleményei Tom. 4 (1962)

1962 / 1-2. sz. - KOVÁCS I.: The Development of the Hungarian Constitution

I. Korács respect of the actual legal forms — besides the Constitution of the Soviet Union — also the previously enacted provisions of the neighbouring People's Democracies, which better reflected the conditions of the transition period. At the same time it was the Hungarian Constitution which was adopted as first at such a stage of the development of the people's democratic State when the majority of the means of production had already come under social ownership, the State power of the working-class as well as the leading role of the Marxist-Leninist party had been consolidated; furthermore, it had been elucidated in theoretical discussions that the functions of the dictatorship of the proletariat could be carried into effect while retaining the forms of a people's democratic State. These aspects, as a matter of course, resulted some­times in trends affecting the forms of a people's democratic State. There were namely instances when certain institutions, especially characteristic of the transition period, were relegated into the background and which came to the fore subsequently as required by the expreriences of the evolution (like e. g. support given to small-holders which had already been included again in the 1952. Polish and Rumanian Constitutions). In addition, as regards the subject of State organization, several organizational patterns were constitutionally laid down which should be carried into effect only at a more advanced stage of socialist building. Similar instances also could be evoked. This accounts among other things for the demand — even at the time of its origin — that in its basic provisions the Constitution embrace the entire period of the transition from capitalism to socialism. As a consequence, in the past ten years the Consti­tution has undergone very few amendments and has been hardly modified re­garding its basic institutions. Therefore the question is almost obvious: can we really speak of a development of the Constitution and if so, to what extent? Indeed, as regards merely the formal modifications of the provisions of the Con­stitution one can find only very scarce material of fundamental importance that was not dealt with in the course of the debates on the amendments in the Natio­nal Assembly, in subsequent legal writings on constitutional law or in the com­mentaries on the Constitution. It is, however, an undoubted fact that we do not yet possess a comprehensive analysis of the constituents of the development of the Constitution endeavouring to look behind the actual text of the relevant statutes and to outline the development independently of the amendments and also to open up the perspectives of further changes; an analysis which, though making no immediate pretensions de lege ferenda, might nevertheless have laid down a programme for future research. The period of more than ten Rumanian People's Republic (April 13, 1948), the Checho-Slovak Republic (May 9, 1948) and the German Democratic Republic (May 30, 1948). Of the Asiatic People's Democracies, following World War II, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (November 8, 1946) and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea (September 8, 1948) had also enacted their Constitutions prior to 18th August, 1949.

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