Some Constitutional Dimensions of Legislation with Supermajority in an Illiberal Context
What might be Learnt from the Case of Hungary?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54201/iajas.153Keywords:
cardinal law, supermajority, hierarchy of legal sources, two-thirds parliamentary majority, competence principle, hierarchical principle, cardinality clauseAbstract
The main goal of this article is to draw attention to the potential tools of the Hungarian Constitutional Court in the shaping of the future of cardinal law. The three main dilemmas around which the relevant HCC practice can be grouped are the legal rank of cardinal laws, ordinary and cardinal provisions occurring in the same laws, and the vertical scope of the cardinal regulation. The science of constitutional law and legal practice must focus on these three main issues in connection with supermajority legislation. Of course, many other sub-problems can be identified, which are important in themselves, but all of them can be classified into one of the aforementioned three areas. If these issues can be settled satisfactorily, a predictable jurisprudence may develop in the long term, which would greatly promote the effectiveness of the entire concept of cardinality. A wide-ranging professional dialogue from this would serve not only the interests of the Hungarian constitutional framework, but might also be an important point of reference for other countries operating with supermajority legislation.
References
Acquaviva, J-C. (2021). Droit constitutionnel et Institutions politiques (24th ed.). Gualino.
Bakó B. (2021, December 23). Why Throw a Constitution out of the Window Instead of Making it Work?. VerfBlog. https://doi.org/10.17176/20211224-085406-0
Barna D., & Szentgáli-Tóth B. (2013). Stabilitás vagy Parlamentarizmus? – A sarkalatos törvényekkel kapcsolatos egyes jogalkotási problémák. Ars boni, 1(1), 5–7. Online: https://epa.oszk.hu/02700/02769/00001/pdf/EPA02769_ArsBoni_2013_1_005-007.pdf
Bodnár E., & Módos M. (2012). A jogalkotás normatív kereteinek változásai az új jogalkotási törvény elfogadása óta. Kodifikáció, 1(1), 31–42. Online: https://kodifikator.hu/letoltes/category/3-2012-evi-i-szam
Von Bogdandy, A., & Spieker, L. D. (2022, March 18). How to Set Aside Hungarian Cardinal Laws. A Suggestion for a Democratic Transition. VerfBlog. https://doi.org/10.17176/20220319-001316-0
Bozóki A. (Ed.). (2002). Roundtable Talks of 1989: The Genesis of Hungarian Democracy: analysis and documents. Central-European University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9789633865453
Camby, J-P. (1989). La loi organique dans la Constitution de 1958. RDP.
Camby, J-P. (1998). Quarante ans de lois organiques. Revue de droit publique et de la science politique en France et a l'etranger, 5–6, 1686–1698.
Chofre Sirvent, J. F. (1994). Significado y función de las leyes orgánicas.Tecnos.
Chronowski N., Drinóczi T., & Petrétei J. (2013). Multidimensional Protection of Universal Human Rights in Hungary. In R. Arnold (Ed.), The Universalism of Human Rights (pp. 371–390). Springer. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4510-0_22
Conversi, D. (2002). The Smooth Transition: Spain’s 1978 Constitution and the Nationalities Question. National Identities, 4(3), 223–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/1460894022000026105
Drinóczi T., & Bień-Kacała, A. (2019). Illiberal Constitutionalism: The Case of Hungary and Poland. German Law Journal, 20(8), 1140–1166. http://doi.org/10.1017/glj.2019.83
Drinóczi T., & Cormacain, R. (2021). Introduction: illiberal tendencies in law-making. Theory and Practice of Legislation, 9(3), 269–275. http://doi.org/10.1080/20508840.2021.1955483
Halmai G. (2023). The Evolution and Gestalt of the Hungarian Constitution. In A. von Bogdandy, P. M. Huber, & S. Ragone (Eds.), The Max Planck Handbooks in European Public Law: Volume II: Constitutional Foundations (pp. 217–268). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198726425.003.0005
Jakab A., & Cserne P. (2001). A kétharmados törvények helye a magyar jogforrási hierarchiában. Fundamentum, 5(2), 40–49. Online: https://epa.oszk.hu/02300/02334/00006/pdf/EPA02334_Fundamentum_2001_02_040-049.pdf
Jakab A., & Szilágyi E. (2014). Sarkalatos törvények a magyar jogrendben. Új Magyar Közigazgatás, 7(3), 96–102. Online: http://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/19606
Kilényi G. (1994). Az alkotmányozási folyamat és a kétharmados törvények. Jogtudományi Szemle, 5, 201–209.
Kukorelli I. (1994). Az alkotmányozás néhány koncepcionális kérdése. Magyar Közigazgatás, 44(8), 449–456.
Küpper, H. (2014). A kétharmados/sarkalatos törvények jelensége a magyar jogrendben. MTA Law Working Papers, 46. Online: https://jog.tk.mta.hu/uploads/files/mtalwp/2014_46_Kupper.pdf
Leyland, P. (2012). The constitution of the United Kingdom: a contextual analysis. Hart Publishing.
MacDonnell, V. (2016). A Theory of Quasi-Constitutional Legislation. Osgoode Hall Law Journal, 53(2), 508–539. https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.2995
Mazza, M. (2013). The Hungarian Fundamental Law, the New Cardinal Laws and European Concerns. Acta Juridica Hungarica, 54(2), 140–155. http://doi.org/10.1556/AJur.54.2013.2.2
Petrétei J. (1999). Törvények minősített többséggel. Fundamentum, 3(3), 109–115. Online: https://epa.oszk.hu/02300/02334/00057/pdf/EPA02334_Fundamentum_1999_03_109-115.pdf
René, D. (1964). Les grands systèmes de droit contemporains. Dalloz.
Sólyom L. (2020). The Constitutional Court of Hungary. In A. von Bogdandy, P. Huber, & C. Grabenwarter (Eds.), The Max Planck Handbooks in European Public Law: Volume III: Constitutional Adjudication: Institutions (pp. 357–446). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198726418.003.0008
Schweitzer G. (2013). Fundamental Law – Cardinal Law – Historical Constitution: The Case of Hungary since 2011. European History of Law, 1, 124–128. Online: https://tinyurl.hu/BOJM
Szabó Zs. (2023). Hungary's Parliamentary Administration. In T. Christiansen, E. Griglio, & N. Lupo (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Parliamentary Administrations (pp. 281–290). Routledge.
Szabó Zs. (2024). Parliamentary inquiries as minority rights: are legal transplants possible?. The Theory And Practice Of Legislation, 12(1), 55–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/20508840.2024.2311467
Szente Z. (2023). The myth of populist constitutionalism in Hungary and Poland: Populist or authoritarian constitutionalism?. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 21(1), 127–155. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/moad014
Szentgáli-Tóth B. (2014). Alkotmányos-e a minősített többség? – Egy sarkalatos adójogi rendelkezés nyomában. Ars boni, 2(1), 27–31. Online: https://epa.oszk.hu/02700/02769/00003/pdf/EPA02769_ArsBoni_2014_1_027-031.pdf
Szentgáli-Tóth B. (2017). A minősített többségű törvényalkotás Magyarországon a rendszerváltástól napjainkig. In Chronowski N., Pozsár-Szentmiklósy Z., Smuk P., & Szabó Zs. (Eds.), A szabadságszerető embernek. Liber Amicorum István Kukorelli (pp. 770–779). Gondolat Kiadó.
Szentgáli-Tóth B. (2018). ¿Puede la mayoría cualificada socavar la democracia? El caso de Hungría. Teoría y Realidad Constitucional, 41, 419–431. http://doi.org/10.5944/trc.41.2018.22131
Szentgáli-Tóth B. (2022a). La diffusion de la loi qualifiée dans les régions d’europe centrale et de l’est. l’importation d’une idée constitutionnelle pendant la transition démocratique. Lettre de l’Est, 29, 3–18. Online: http://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/160761
Szentgáli-Tóth B. (2022b). Organic/Cardinal Laws. In R. Grote, F. Lachenmann, & R. Wolfrum (Eds.), Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law. Oxford University Press. Online: http://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/155309
Szentgáli-Tóth B. (2023). Legal transplant during democratic transition: The regional migration of a constitutional idea. The spread of qualified law in the central and Eastern European regions. Studia Prawnicze, 1(227), 171–197. https://doi.org/10.37232/sp.2023a
Tóth K. (2016). A „kétharmados” törvények. In Kukorelli I., & Tóth K. (Eds.), A rendszerváltozás államszervezeti kompromisszumai (pp. 187–258). Antológia Kiadó.
Troper, M., & Chagnollaud, D. (2012). Traite international de droit constitutionnel. Dalloz.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Boldizsár Szentgáli-Tóth
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
