Regulation and Practice of Direct Democratic Institutions in Hungary. A Historical Overview. In: Maria Helena da Cruz, Maria Manuela Tavares Ribeiro (eds): Parlamentos: a lei, a prática e as representações : da idade média à actualidade. Lisboa: Assembleia da República, 2010. p. 335-341.

László Komáromi Pázmány Péter Catholic University

REGULATION AND PRACTICE OF DIRECT DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS IN HUNGARY. A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

MM TCTkMHi SÊWÊÉÊm

When t a l k i n g about t h e antecedents and early forms of d i r e c t

- t h a t t h e expressed consent of t h e whole nation is required to

democracy - t h a t is of exercising t h e people's power directly,

adopt a new c o n s t i t u t i o n . I n addition to t h e 5

w i t h o u t representatives - , one refers quite often to t h e

c o n s t i t u t i o n - m a k i n g , t h e people's d i r e c t power s h a l l appear in

c i t i z e n s ' assembly of a n c i e n t Greek poleis where public matters

the legislation as w e l l : t h e laws s h a l l be adopted w i t h t h e

were decided directly by t h e people, or to t h e

"Landsgemeinde"

s i l e n t agreement of t h e nation which l a s t s at l e a s t six weeks.

6

or c a n t o n a l assembly in t h e Swiss cantons e x i s t i n g from t h e

The people s h a l l express their consent not only to the

late Middle Ages, or to the l e g i s l a t i v e town meetings of

c o n s t i t u t i o n but to t h e possible rejection of t h e laws as w e l l in

New-England's c i t i z e n s from early modern t i m e s . However, t h e

course of so called primary assemblies

direct exercise of power by t h e great population of

which also have t h e right to e l e c t members of parliament, to

a n a t i o n - s t a t e according to precise proceedings laid down by

declare their w i l l concerning t h e l e v e l of t a x e s and t h e

law - in form of referendum, popular i n i t i a t i v e or recall - is t h e

proclamation of war. I t is similar to t h e l e g i s l a t i o n process laid

product of t h e bourgeois revolutions and of t h e period t h a t

down in t h e French Constitution of 1793, where t h e draft was

followed. I n my presentation I aim to outline t h e brief history

to be s e n t to t h e communes of t h e republic and i f ten percent

of direct democratic i n s t i t u t i o n s in t h i s sense in Hungary.

of t h e primary assemblies set up in t h e m a j o r i t y of t h e

(Urversammlungen)

7

departments do not oppose w i t h i n f o r t y days, t h e draft When t h e news of t h e French Revolution in 1789 got through to

becomes law. I n case of protest every primary assembly s h a l l be

Hungary, the country was under Habsburg rule. The resistance

called together.

8

of t h e Hungarian nobility against t h e reforms of t h e enlightened absolute king, J o s e p h I I (1780-1790) was brushed

The d r a f t c o n s t i t u t i o n of Martinovics didn't become an

aside by his brother, Leopold I I (1790-1792), but before he

e f f e c t i v e law in t h e end. Originally i t was prepared w i t h t h e

could realise t h e plans of his predecessor w i t h i n t h e frame of

i n t e n t i o n of bringing i t in as a b i l l and to have i t adopted by

the Hungarian f e u d a l c o n s t i t u t i o n , t h e atmosphere had changed

the l e g i s l a t i v e assembly of 1793; t h e proclamations for t h e

significantly: t h e ideas and temper of t h e revolution penetrated

c o n v i c t i o n of t h e noblemen were also completed. However, they

i n t o Hungarian public life.

were not posted, because t h e king - seeing t h e oppositional

1

mood - didn't convene t h e Diet, so t h e draft had finally no One of t h e propagators of t h e revolutionary ideas was t h e

significant influence. The J a c o b i n movement was eliminated

Hungarian J a c o b i n movement - mopped up later by t h e

after a few months by t h e f r i g h t e n e d court, i t s seven leaders

Habsburg government. They were t h e first to ever raise

were executed w i t h charge of infidelity and high treason on t h e

t h e question of d i r e c t democracy in Hungary. The leader

20

t h

May 1795.

of t h e movement, I g n á c Martinovics - a former Franciscan friar, who was a professor of n a t u r a l history at t h e university of

I n short we can assess t h a t t h e Hungarian J a c o b i n ideas of

Lemberg a t t h e t i m e - established secret organisations from

direct democracy are traceable to t h e French revolution and

1794 based on t h e French model - t h e S o c i e t y of Reformers,

remained i s o l a t e d . The leading figures of t h e noble i n t e l l e c t u a l s

the S o c i e t y of L i b e r t y and Equality - in order to launch t h e

in t h e reform era before t h e Hungarian bourgeois revolution of

i n s u r r e c t i o n of Hungarian noblemen, to break off t h e country

1848/49 strove for t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of f e u d a l s o c i e t y and t h e

from t h e Habsburg t e r r i t o r i e s and dynasty, to abolish f e u d a l i n s t i t u t i o n s and to create a free and democratic Hungarian republic.

The leading figures of the movement professed t h e ideas of t h e French enlightenment and wanted to assert t h e popular sovereignty in t h e s t a t e life. As t h e documents of the i n v e s t i g a t i o n s against t h e s o c i e t i e s reveal, József Hajnóczy, a t a l e n t e d member of the revolutionary group, who as an e n t h u s i a s t i c j o u r n a l i s t propagated the French ideas, t r a n s l a t e d the French monarchic Constitution of 1791 into L a t i n for people who didn't understand French, he t h e n also t r a n s l a t e d t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n of t h e First Republic of 1793. B u t t h e 3

Hungarian J a c o b i n s were not satisfied w i t h a mere copy and c i r c u l a t i o n of t h e French documents. Martinovics presumably under t h e inspiration of t h e French Montagnard Constitution - prepared an o r i g i n a l draft c o n s t i t u t i o n for Hungary in German. I t lays down - as does t h e resolution 4

of t h e French National Convention of the 2 1 September 1792 s t

Vö. Bálint Hóman, Gyula Szekfű, Magyar történet, vol. 5, 2" ed., Budapest, Királyi Magyar Egyetemi Nyomda, 1936, pp. 53-55.

1

d

Andor Csizmadia (ed.), Hajnóczy József közjogi-politikai munkái, Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1958, p. 20. 2

György Bónis, Hajnóczy József, Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1954, pp. 127-128. 3

Kálmán Benda (ed.), A magyar jakobinus mozgalom iratai, vol. 1, Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1957, pp. 896-908. 4

Cap. IV. art. XXII.: "Doch muss die Konstitution von der ganzen Nation ausdrücklich, und alle Gesetze durch vordauerndes Stillschweigen von sechs Wochen angenommen werden." The resolution of the French National Convention of the 2 1 " September 1792: "La Convention nationale déclare, 1° qu'il ne peut y avoir de constitution que celle qui est acceptée par le peuple..." According to art. 115. of the French Constitution of 24 June 1793 the people can request the revision of a Constitutional Act or 5

2

the amendment of some of its articles in course of primary assemblies: "Si, dans la moitié des départemens, plus un, le dixième des assemblées primaires de chacun d'eux, régulièrement formées, demande la révision de l'acte constitutionnel, ou le changement de quelques-uns de ses articles, le Corps-Législatif est tenu de convoquer toutes les assemblées primaires de ta République, pour savoir s'il y a lieu à une Convention nationale." Jean Baptiste Henri Duvergier, Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, réglemens, et avis du Conseil-d'État, vol. 5, Paris, Guyot et Scribe, 1825, pp. 1, 441. 6

Cap. IV. art. XXII.

' Cap. VI. art. XLII.: "Die Urversammlungen bestehen aus dem König, ganzem Adel und allen Gemeinden des Volkes." Art. X L I I I . : "Diese üben bloss die Haupthandlungen der ursprünglichen Souverainität aus, nämlich bestätigen oder verwerfen den vom Landtag bestimmten Konstitutionsentwurf, wählen Deputierte zum Landtag, verwerfen entworfene Gesetze, wenn diese ihnen schädlich scheinen, erklären ihren Willen über die Höhe der Steuer, und über einen zu unternehmenden Krieg." Art. 58.: "Le projet est imprimé et envoyé à toutes les communes de ta République, sous ce titre: Loi proposée." Art. 59.: "Quarante jours après l'envoi de ta loi proposée, si, dans la moitié des départemens, plus un, le dixième des assemblées primaires de chacun d'eux, régulièrement formées, n'a pas réclamé, le projet est accepté, et devient loi." Art. 60: "S'ily a réclamation, le Corps-Législatif convoque les assemblées primaires." Collection complète des lois..., vol. 5, p. 439. 8

Parliaments: the Law, the Practice and the Representations. From the Middle Ages to the Present Day 1336

establishment of the bourgeois representative system, rather

the right of i n s t r u c t i o n and r e c a l l .

than for t h e adoption of French or Swiss forms of d i r e c t

Parliament of t h e revolution itseLf adopted a resolution, in

democracy. I n t h i s respect t h e opinion of t h e Lawyer, historian

which i t repealed a popular decision on t h e recalL of a deputy,

and well-known p o l i t i c a l w r i t e r László Szalay from 1844 is quite

s a y i n g : t h e right to r e c a l l doesn't e x i s t .

13

The representative

14

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c , when - mentioning t h e Swiss example - he supposes t h e example shouldn't be foLlowed in Hungary: "... we

However, there were also those who - either by analogy w i t h

a l l know, t h a t some cantons gradually accepted the doctrines of

the former county assemblies or for other reasons - considered

1791 over t h e Last fifteen years, where not only the popular

the d i r e c t control of t h e voters over their representatives to be

sovereignty, not only the c i t i z e n s ' equality are set down, but

important. The leading figure of t h e revolution, Lajos Kossuth

the popular veto and t h e p e r i o d i c a l revision of t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n

fled to Turkey in e x i l e after t h e defeated war of independence.

is also declared by law, moreover t h e right of resistance - t h e

In his draft of c o n s t i t u t i o n worked out in KQtahya 1851 - which

Ultima Thule of liberty - , in other words things we don't w a n t

was also encouraged by t h e I t a l i a n r e v o l u t i o n i s t Giuseppe

to follow..."

Mazzini - Kossuth excluded t h e possibility of i n s t r u c t i o n s by

9

the voters, but he would have given a right to recall against The A p r i l Laws of t h e Revolution of 1848, which demolished t h e

representatives of t h e Lower House (elected by c i t i z e n s ) , and

feudal s t r u c t u r e s , declared a common representative l e g i s l a t i v e

against senators of t h e Upper House (delegated by t h e

system

10

and contained no d i r e c t democratic elements, neither

c o u n t i e s ) , for t h e case of lack of confidence. Besides he

in t h e form of primary assemblies on t h e French modeL nor in

i n s i s t e d t h a t t h e county assemblies discuss t h e public a f f a i r s

the form of referendum, popular i n i t i a t i v e or r e c a l l .

and t h a t they inform their senators about their decisions. The

11

However,

the revolutionary f e r v e n t sometimes led to events, which seemed to be m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of a direct exercise of t h e people's

draft of Kossuth would have enabled t h e use of r e c a l l against office holders of communes and counties as w e l l .

15

sovereignty. But t h e s t a t e didn't toLerate these ambitions. For example on t h e New Year's Day of 1849 t h e Calvinist pastor of

Also in t h e l a s t period of t h e Habsburg neo-absolutism, in t h e

Tiszabercel, József Litkei arranged a "popular assembly", which

60's, when t h e chance of t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l conditions'

decided to abolish t h e so-called "regalia minora" (profitable

arrangement arose again, t h e r e were some who thought t h a t

rights connected w i t h the nobles' property, e.g. publican's

some kind of d i r e c t popuLar legislation may possible w i t h i n t h e

licence, t h e right to run a butcher's s t a l l or a flour-mill, to

framework of county assemblies (Elek Fényes), or at least to

c o l l e c t customs, t h e right of holding markets e t c . ) . The t r i b u n a l

i n s t r u c t and r e c a l l representatives (Kálmán T i s z a ) .

which was ordered to the scene sentenced t h e i n i t i a t o r to an

were, however, definitely upset by the Austro-Hungarian

imprisonment of one m o n t h .

Compromise in 1867.

12

There is one singLe eLement in t h e Hungarian bourgeois

16

These plans

I n t h e t i m e s of t h e Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy t h e

t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , which carried in i t s e l f t h e possibility of an

questions of d i r e c t democracy were not addressed in an

i n s t i t u t i o n , usually counted among the forms of direct

in-depth manner. Only t h e Hungarian S o c i a l Democratic Party

democracy: t h e question of t h e r e c a l l of parliamentary

formulated a p o l i t i c a l claim on i t s congress in 1903, when i t

representatives. I t derived from t h e right of t h e nobility to

included in i t s program - presumably inspired by t h e S o c i a l

e l e c t deputies to t h e Hungarian Diet w i t h i n t h e framework of

Democratic Party of G e r m a n y " - " t h e d i r e c t legislation of t h e

county assemblies. Deputies were given orders - by t h e nobility

people manifested in their right to i n i t i a t e and to »throw o u t «

- and were heLd accountable for their work, t h e y couLd even be

Laws".

18

recalled w i t h o u t any specific reason. This right to i n s t r u c t and r e c a l l remained a common idea for many people even a f t e r t h e bourgeois t r a n s f o r m a t i o n and t h e establishing of t h e representative parliament, although t h e A p r i l Laws of 1848 abolished t h e right of t h e counties to send deputies to t h e Parliament and to take part on t h e legislation process and didn't contain any rules concerning t h e r i g h t to i n s t r u c t and to recall r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . The so-caLled "Hungarian d o c t r i n a i r e s " or c e n t r a l i s t s (e.g. József Eötvös, Zsigmond Kemény, László S z a l a y ) , who s t r i v e d for t h e representative system since t h e beginning of t h e reform era, steadily refused t h e possibility of

István Stipta, Kísérlet a vármegyék polgári átalakítására, Budapest, Osiris, 1995, pp. 7-8, 10-11, 40-41, 78. For the viewpoint of László Szalay see: László Szalay, "Évenkinti országgyűlés, 's utasítási rendszer I I " , Pesti Hírlap 2 8 February, 1847, reprinted in László Szalay, Publicistái dolgozatok, vol. 2 (1844-1847), Pest, Hackenast Gusztáv, 1847, pp. 276-278. For the bourgeois transformation of the counties see: István Stipta, "Die Geschichte des ungarischen Selbstverwaltungssystems", in István Stipta, Die vertikale Gewaltentrennung. (Verfassungs- und rechtsgeschichtliche Studien), Budapest, Gondolat, 2005, pp. 191-300. 13

st

János Beér (ed.), Az 1848/49. évi népképviseleti országgyűlés, Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1954, p. 195. Quoted also by Szentpéteri, A közvetlen demokrácia... op. cit, p. 121. fn. 3. 14

Cf. the subsequent translation of the original French version into Hungarian by Lajos Kossuth (with additions) cap. György Spira, Kossuth és alkotmányterve, Debrecen, Csokonai Kiadó, 1989, pp. 49-83, especially pp. 8, 57, 59, 62-64. 15

" László Szalay, "A' schweitzi diéta's a' foederatív-rendszer", Pesti Hírlap, 10 July, 1844, reprinted in László Szalay, Publicistái dolgozatok, vol. 1 (1839-1844), Pest, Hackenast Gusztáv, 1847, pp. 204-205. Act IV of 1848 on annuaL parliament; Act V of 1848 on representative election of parliamentary deputies. th

10

P For direct democratic aspects of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848/49 see: István Szentpéteri, A közvetlen demokrácia fejlődési irányai, Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1965, pp. 119-129. Imre Révész, "Az utópista szocialista gondolat magyarországi hatásaihoz", Századok, vol. 85, 1951/1-2. p. 143. Quoted also by Szentpéteri, A közvetlen demokrácia... op. cit, pp. 120-121. fn. 2. 12

Stipta, Kísérlet... op. cit., pp. 121-122. The Social Democratic Workers' Party's Eisenach Program, I I I . 2.: "Einführung der direkten Gesetzgebung (das heißt Vorschlags- und Verwerfungsrecht) durch das Volk." Wilhelm Mommsen (ed.), Deutsche Parteiprogramme, 2™ ed., München, Olzog, 1964, p. 312. The similarity was mentionned also by Szentpéteri, A közvetlen demokrácia... op. cit., p. 363. 16

17

d

Program of the Hungarian Social Democratic Party, 1903, item 2. A Magyar Munkásmozgalom Történetének Válogatott Dokumentumai, vol. 3, A magyar munkásmozgalom a 20. század első éveiben és az 1905-1907-es forradalmi válság idején, 1900-1907, Budapest, Szikra, 1955, p. 140. 1 8

Parlamenfos: a Lei, a Prática e as Representacöes. Da Idade Média á Actualídade 1337

The demand for referenda arose in s p e c i a l circumstances at t h e

questions of nationaL i m p o r t a n c e .

end of t h e First World War in 1918 w i t h t h e Károlyi Government

contain any rules on a d m i t t e d and excluded s u b j e c t matters,

23

The regulation didn't

coming into office a f t e r the so-called October Revolution and

nor did i t describe t h e procedure itself. Therefore, t h i s a r t i c l e

i t s member, Oszkár Jászi, who was e n t r u s t e d w i t h t h e

of t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n remained a dead letter: during the s o c i a l i s t

preparation of t h e autonomy of nationaL m i n o r i t i e s in Hungary.

period - except t h e so-called "Four-Yes" referendum j u s t before

He realized t h a t t h e only way to avoid t h e dismemberment of

the first free e l e c t i o n in 1989 - not a single n a t i o n a l

the country w i t h o u t weapons was to establish a system of

referendum was held in Hungary.

autonomy t a k i n g into consideration t h e i n t e n t of other n a t i o n a l i t i e s , so, he proposed to decide by means of referenda

Another " d i r e c t d e m o c r a t i c " element of Hungarian s o c i a l i s t

which country they wish to belong t o . " This plan failed too,

c o n s t i t u t i o n a l law was t h e i n s t i t u t i o n of recall. The

although t h e idea to resolve t e r r i t o r i a l and f r o n t i e r issues by

Constitution of 1949 ordered namely - as did i t s model, t h e

referenda was also adopted in 1920 by t h e Hungarian

Stalin Constitution of 1 9 3 6

delegation to t h e Versailles Peace Conference,

20

because t h e

v i c t o r s didn't support t h i s concept.

24

- t h a t both parliamentary

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s and members of l o c a l c o u n c i l s can be recalled by t h e voters according to t h e detailed regulation of a s p e c i a l law.

25

As for t h e members of local councils t h e question was

I t came to a referendum only once: in t h e case of Sopron and

first regulated in d e t a i l in 1954,

i t s surroundings, a region n e x t to t h e Austrian-Hungarian

representatives only from t h e year 1966.

border, in December 1 9 2 1 . The Treaty of Saint-Germain awarded

therefore recall t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e i f he/she could not f u l f i l t h e

26

including parliamentary 27

Voters could

a t e r r i t o r y of 4500 square kilometres w i t h 350 000 i n h a b i t a n t s

mandate or became unworthy of i t .

to A u s t r i a , belonging originally to Hungary. I t was later called

processes was hardly ever exercised, except for t h e last days of

Burgenland because of t h e word "Burg"

the s o c i a l i s t s y s t e m . At t h a t t i m e , at t h e turn of 1988 to 1989,

in t h e names of

concerned counties (Wieselburg - Mosón, Ödenburg - Sopron,

2 8

However, t h e r e c a l l

organisations of t h e opposition, t h e Federation of Young

Eisenburg - V a s ) . However, on t h e day appointed for t h e

Democrats and t h e Hungarian Democratic Forum i n i t i a t e d -

handover (the 2 8

c o l l e c t i n g enough signatures w i t h i n short t i m e - t h e r e c a l l of

th

August 1921), d i f f e r e n t revolting and armed

groups - partly sent by t h e Hungarian government, partly formed spontaneously but t o l e r a t e d by t h e s t a t e demonstrated resistance and held their position for s e v e r a l days in battle, hindering t h e Austrian gendarmerie from marching in t h e t e r r i t o r y s t i l l controlled by t h e Hungarian government. Finally, by the mediation of I t a l y , i t came to negotiations between I s t v á n Bethlen Hungarian prime minister and J o h a n n e s Schober Austrian chancellor in Venice, where t h e parties agreed to clear the region from insurgents and to arrange a referendum about t h e future of Sopron and i t s environs (a part of Burgenland). The ballot was held between the 1 4

th

and 1 6

th

December w i t h significant p a r t i c i p a t i o n , where

about two dozens of parliamentary representatives. The most of them resigned before t h e day of t h e ballot, t h e i r places were taken by representatives of t h e opposition. The demand for a d e t a i l e d regulation on referenda and popular i n i t i a t i v e s emerged w i t h a great power in t h e last days of t h e party s t a t e . The question was raised by t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l movements in 1988, especially by protests against the Bős-Nagymaros dam on the Danube, which s t a r t e d - despite t h e lack of d e t a i l e d regulation - a campaign to gather signatures in order to put t h e dam c o n s t r u c t i o n issue on referendum.

29

6 5 % of t h e i n h a b i t a n t s voted for Hungary, and 3 5 % cast t h e i r vote for A u s t r i a . Sopron and eight v i l l a g e s in i t s surroundings

23

Act XX of 1949 art. 20, item d).

remained therefore a part of Hungary and t h e Parliament

* 1936 Soviet Constitution (adopted on the 5

commemorated t h e noble a c t by means of law by i n s e r t i n g t h e

2 5

following phrase into the coat of arms of t h e t o w n : fidetissima"

( " t h e most loyal t o w n " ) .

"civitas

2 1

Paradoxically, t h e first law which enacted t h e possibility of 22

- was t h e 1949 s o c i a l i s t Constitution of t h e

Hungarian People's Republic. I t s t a t e s t h a t t h e P r e s i d e n t i a l Council - an organ s u b s t i t u t i n g t h e Parliament, endowed w i t h l e g i s l a t i v e power too - was e n t i t l e d to c a l l a referendum in

" See the "shorter catechism" summarizing the principles and ideas of the ministry: László Domokos, Kis káté a Magyarországon élő nemzetek önrendelkezési jogáról, Budapest, Lantos, 1919, pp. 12-13. Quoted also by László Szarka, Duna-táji dilemmák - Nemzeti kisebbségek kisebbségi politika a 20. századi Kelet-Közép-Európában, Budapest, Ister, 1998, p. 122. See e.g. the speech of Albert Apponyi, leader of the Hungarian delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference (16 January, 1920) and his remarks on the peace conditions ( 1 2 February, 1920), in Béla Pomogáts, Magda Ádám, Győző Cholnoky (eds.), Trianon. A magyar békeküldöttség tevékenysége 1920-ban, Budapest, Lucidus, 2000, pp. 227, 359-362. 20

th

th

Act XXIX of 1922. See further: Mária Ormos, Civitas fidelissima. Népszavazás Sopronban 1921, Győr, Gordiusz, 1990. 2 1

n

December), art. 142.

26

Act I I I of 1966 on the election of parliamentary members and members of local councils art. 1. sec. (3), art. 58-59. The recall of members of the county and metropolitan councils was regulated by art. 1. sec. (4) and art. 65. of the Act I I I of 1970. 27

referenda in Hungary - similar to t h a t of t h e 1936 S o v i e t Constitution

th

Act XX of 1949 art. 30. sec. (3), art. 62. sec. (3), art. 66. Act IX of 1954 on the election of local councils art. 1. sec. (3), art. 53-54.

1936 Soviet Constitution (adopted on the 5" December), art. 49, item d). 1

For the recall see: Ottó Bihari, "Összeférhetetlenség, visszahívás", Állam és Igazgatás, vol. 21, 1971/12. pp. 1070-1082.; Márta Dezső, "Jelölés és visszahívás a szocialista országok választási rendszerében", Jogtudományi Közlöny, vol. 36, 1981/10. pp. 832-841., especially pp. 834-835.; István Szentpéteri, "A közvetlen demokrácia elméleti alapjai és intézményei", in Márta Katonáné Soltész (ed.), Az emberi jogok hazánkban, Budapest, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem Jogi Továbbképző Intézet - Kutató Csoport, 1988, p. 254.; István Kukorelli, "Állampolgári részvétel a választásokban", in Márta Katonáné Soltész (ed.), Az emberi jogok hazánkban, Budapest, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem Jogi Továbbképző Intézet - Kutató Csoport, 1988, pp. 241-242. 2 8

For the reasons of introducing referendum see: István Kukorelli, "A közvetlen demokrácia „visszafejlesztésének" irányai", in Károly Tóth (ed.), Emlékkönyv Dr. Szentpéteri István egyetemi tanár születésének 70. évfordulójára. Acta Universitatis Szegediensis de Attila József Nominatae, Acta Juridica et Politico, Szeged, vol. 49, fasc. 1-48, 1996, pp. 315-316.; idem "Az országos népszavazás, 1989-1998", in Sándor Kurtán, Péter Sándor, László Vass (eds.), Magyarország évtizedkönyve 1988-1998, Budapest, Demokrácia Kutatások Magyar Központja Alapítvány, 1998, p. 468.; Márta Dezső, András Bragyova, "Hungary", in Andreas Auer, Michael Bützer (eds.), Direct Democracy. The Eastern and Central European Experience, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2001, pp. 64-66. 25

Parliaments: the Law, the Practice and the Representations. From the Middle A g e s to the Present Day 1338

Thus, the first detailed law on referendum and popular i n i t i a t i v e

At the end of 1992, the A s s o c i a t i o n of Citizens under the

was adopted by the l a s t Parliament of the party state in 1989,

Subsistence Minimum L e v e l planned to dissolve the Parliament

not long before the first free e l e c t i o n s .

by means of referendum, but the Parliament asked the prior

30

Only after t h a t did the

overall revision of the constitution come into force, which

opinion of the C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Court. The Court in response

transformed Hungary into a democratic republic and contained

pronounced t h a t the Parliament could not be forced to dissolve,

only one rule of competence concerning referenda (the

because i t would be considered a common r e c a l l (not allowed

Parliament was e n t i t l e d to order a national referendum; the

by the c o n s t i t u t i o n ) . The Court declared f u r t h e r t h a t referenda

regulation of referenda was subject to a two-thirds majority

in the parliamentary system s h a l l be complementary in relation

vote of t h e Parliament) and t h e president's right to i n i t i a t e

to representative exercise of power, moreover, a question put

national referenda.

on referendum c a n ' t involve an implied modification of the

31

Interestingly, the new law made i t easy to

i n i t i a t e a referendum: the president of the republic, the

constitution.

33

government, at least f i f t y parliamentary representatives or f i f t y thousand c i t i z e n s had the right to propose a referendum. I n

I n 1995, the Parliament refused a referendum about the direct

case the i n i t i a t i v e came from one hundred thousand c i t i z e n s the

e l e c t i o n of the president of t h e republic, about the e x t e n s i o n

Parliament was obliged to order the referendum. Not many

of his competence and other questions i n i t i a t e d by the

subjects were excluded: some regulations concerning state

I n d e p e n d e n t Smallholder's

finance, questions of appointments by the Parliament, i n t e r n a t i o n a l obligations which had already been undertaken.

C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Court mentioned above, namely: the question

However, the conditions of a valid and successful referendum were s t r i c t : valid votes of more than half of a l l t h e c i t i z e n s and the same answer of the majority of the votes were required.

Party w i t h two hundred thousand

signatures. The Parliament referred to the decision of the involves a modification of the c o n s t i t u t i o n . the non-parliamentary

34

I n the same year,

Hungarian S o c i a l i s t Worker's Party

proposed a referendum w i t h more than one hundred thousand signatures about the NATO accession of Hungary, but t h i s

A number of n a t i o n a l referenda were held in Hungary under

i n i t i a t i v e was refused by the Parliament as w e l l - w i t h o u t any

t h e s e regulations. The first w a s t h e so-called referendum of

legal reasoning - under p r e t e x t : the question is not t i m e l y .

"Four-Yes" in 1989, before the first free e l e c t i o n s , i n i t i a t e d by

I n r e a l i t y the parliamentary parties were afraid of a possible

35

some parties of t h e opposition. I n f a c t , three of the questions

negative result (and perhaps also of the s t r e n g t h e n i n g of t h e

were already decided (the prohibition of p o l i t i c a l parties in

Worker's P a r t y ) .

36

workplaces, accounting for the assets of t h e Hungarian S o c i a l i s t Worker's Party, the dissolution of the Worker's Militia)

The amendment of the c o n s t i t u t i o n concerning the rules

and got a majority of 9 5 % . The fourth question, the e l e c t i o n of

of referendum came into e f f e c t in the summer of 1997.

the president by the next, freely elected Parliament was

According to the new regulation, the number of signatures

supported only by a narrow

majority

of voters.

The

referendum

went a long way to make the main initiator, the Alliance of Free Democrats more popular before the general e l e c t i o n s .

37

requ7'red for a mandatory referendum had increased to two hundred t h o u s a n d ; a f a c u l t a t i v e referendum - where t h e Parliament may deliberate whether to put the question on ballot or not - can be i n i t i a t e d by the president of the republic,

I n 1990, in the period of the first freely elected Parliament

the government, by one-third of the members of the Parliament

a referendum was arranged on the i n i t i a t i v e of the Hungarian

or by one hundred thousand c i t i z e n s . The amendment added

S o c i a l i s t Party concerning the question of the direct e l e c t i o n of

elements to the list of prohibited s u b j e c t matters as w e l l . The

t h e president of t h e republic. However, t h i s referendum w a s

threshold of v a l i d i t y and success was however reduced: i t was

invalid due to a low p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e . "

no longer required t h a t the p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate and valid votes exceed 5 0 % of the number of p a r t i c i p a n t s , i t was enough i f

30

Act XVII of 1989 on referendum and popular initiative.

Act XX of 1949 art. 19. sec. (5), art. 30/A. sec. (1) item g). Art. 2. of Act I of 1989 entitled the Parliament - instead of the Presidential Council - to order a referendum. The right of the president of the republic to initiate

31

a referendum was enacted into the constitution by art. 16. of Act XXXI of 1989. For the overview of referendums in the nineties see: István Kukorelli, "A közvetlen demokrácia „visszafejlesztésének" irányai" op. cit. pp. 316-320.; idem "Az országos népszavazás, 1989-1998" op. cit, pp. 471-476.; idem "Az országos népszavazás helye a parlamenti demokráciában", in Sándor Mikolasek (ed.), A magyar alkotmányosság ezer éve. Tudományos konferencia Esztergom 1998. november 17., Esztergom, Esztergom Város Önkormányzata, 1998, pp. 39-41.; György Szoboszlai, "A népszavazás alkotmányos helye és a politika. A politikai osztály találkozásai a közvetlen demokráciával, 1989-1997", in Sándor Kurtán, Péter Sándor, László Vass (eds.), Magyarország politikai évkönyve 1997-ről, Budapest, Demokrácia Kutatások Magyar Központja Alapítvány, 1998, pp. 103-121.; Mónika Gulyás, "A népszavazás intézménye - történeti-összehasonlító perspektívában", Politikatudományi Szemle, vol. 4, 1999/4, pp. 120-125. For the period until 1995 see further: Péter Szigeti, "Tendenciák Magyarországon a parlamentáris jogállam kialakulásától napjainkig. Pártrendszer, tulajdonviszonyok, a közvetlen demokratikus részvétel és összefüggéseik", in Tamás Krausz (ed.), Rendszerváltás és társadalomkritika. Tanulmányok a kelet-európai átalakulás történetéből, Budapest, Napvilág Kiadó, 1998, p. 239 ff.; in addition to the regulation and practice referring to the decisions of the Constitutional Court (CC) as well: Márta Dezső, András Bragyova, "Hungary" op. cit., pp. 63-93. 32

D

more than a half of the voters, but at least more than one quarter of a l l eligible voters gave the same answer in the referendum.

Subsequently, s t i l l in 1997, the opposition i n i t i a t e d a mandatory referendum w i t h the required amount of signatures in order to prohibit foreigners from acquiring a g r i c u l t u r a l land in Hungary. The government intended to prevent t h i s , so in addition to the a c t u a l matter of Hungary's NATO accession, i t proposed - w i t h o u t collecting signatures - another question for f a c u l t a t i v e referendum about the same s u b j e c t . The Parliament accepted the questions of the government and ordered the

33

34

33

Decision 2/1993. ( I . 22.) of the CC. Parliamentary resolution 54/1995. (V. 26.). Parliamentary resolution 120/1995. (XII. 22.).

For the analysis of the circumstances and of the unfavourable decision see: Tamás Csapody, "Egy népszavazási kísérlet jogszerűsége", Társadalmi Szemle, 1996/6, pp. 40-47. The Worker's Party took recourse to the CC, but the Court declared a lack of jurisdiction. Cf. decision 3/1996. ( I I . 23.) of the CC. 36

37

Act LIX of 1997 on the amendment of the constitution, art. 2-4.

arlamentos: a Lei, a Prática e as Representatives. Da Idade Média a Actualídade 1339

referendum.

38

On the application of the opposition and the

ombudsman for c i v i l rights t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Court s t a t e d in

Union. The question was decided positively w i t h a significant majority ( 8 3 , 7 6 % ) but w i t h a p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate of only 4 5 , 6 2 % .

general - w i t h o u t examination of the concrete questions proposed - t h a t an i n i t i a t i v e promoted by enough signatures

I n 2004 a referendum was held about two questions: the first

for a mandatory referendum s h a l l take p r i o r i t y against the

question was on the i n i t i a t i v e of the World Federation of

government's f a c u l t a t i v e proposition. The Court declared

Hungarians about the c i t i z e n s h i p of Hungarians living in other

further, t h a t although the direct exercise of popular

countries, the second one concerned the i n i t i a t i v e of l e f t i s t

sovereignty is e x c e p t i o n a l , i t w i l l however, in such cases

organizations of keeping health i n s t i t u t i o n s in s t a t e ownership.

supersede over representative power; in case of a mandatory

Both of them were unsuccessful because of a low p a r t i c i p a t i o n

referendum the Parliament is forced to an e x e c u t i n g

rate.

position.

35

Finally, the Parliament rejected t h e question of the

opposition concerning the acquisition of a g r i c u l t u r a l land by

I n 2006, two parties of the opposition - the Fidesz -

foreigners, reasoning, t h a t the wording of the question i t s e l f is

Civic Party and the Christian Democratic People's Party -

not unambiguous enough and the result of the referendum may

i n i t i a t e d a referendum about seven questions. Four of them

c o n t r a s t w i t h Hungary's i n t e r n a t i o n a l obligations.

were blocked by the National Election Committee, but the

40

Thus there

was no referendum about the question.

Hungarian

C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Court supervised the decisions in two questions and ordered the Committee to conduct new proceedings.

The decision of the C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Court contained however

Finally, in spring of 2008, a referendum was held about three

more i m p o r t a n t directions concerning the new law about

questions: about the abolition of t h e " v i s i t f e e " (an amount

referendum in preparation, which was finally enacted in

which was to be paid to the doctor by the p a t i e n t ) , of the

1998.

i n - p a t i e n t hospital care per-diem rate and of the teaching

41

I t empowered the National Election Committee to

control the incoming questions for referendum or popular

contribution at u n i v e r s i t i e s and other higher i n s t i t u t i o n s of

i n i t i a t i v e in advance from a legal aspect, and - for reasons laid

education. Every one of them was a great success for the

down by law - to refuse the a u t h e n t i c a t i o n of t h e signature

opposition ( 8 2 - 8 4 % for the a b o l i t i o n ) w i t h a p a r t i c i p a t i o n rate

sheet. Everyone has the right to remonstrate upon the decision

of more than 5 0 % . As a result of the referendum the governing

of the Committee and take recourse to t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Court,

coalition broke up and a minority government took over.

who is e n t i t l e d to repeal i t .

4 2

Since t h e n two questions were brought up by parties of the S t i l l in 1997 i t came to the referendum about Hungary's

opposition and six by the governing party, but the Parliament

NATO accession, which was s u c c e s s f u l due to the lowering of

refused them as being non mandatory i n i t i a t i v e s . In addition to

the v a l i d i t y threshold two weeks earLier.

t h i s , two other i n i t i a t i v e s w i t h enough signatures were handed in on behalf of private i n d i v i d u a l s

Further referenda i n i t i a t i v e s were refused by the National

45

and they were accepted by

the Parliament, however the C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Court refused them

Election Committee w i t h correct legal reasons or lacking

mainly because the Parliament had, in the meantime, already

enough s i g n a t u r e s .

adopted laws t h a t meet the i n t e n t i o n of the i n i t i a t i v e s .

43

Subsequently the S o c i a l Democratic

46

Youth League proposed a referendum about the direct e l e c t i o n of the president of the republic. Since the question was not included in the new list of prohibited subjects in the amended rules of the c o n s t i t u t i o n , the National Election Committee

The history of referenda in Hungary - except the Sopron

confirmed the signature sheet. However, the C o n s t i t u t i o n a l

referendum in 1921 - is v i s i b l y a history of the antecedents

Court - referring to the c o n s t i t u t i o n which assigns the

t h a t runs a l l the way u n t i l the p o l i t i c a l transformation in

legislation to t h e Parliament - declared, t h a t in case a question

1989/1990. A lesson can be learned however from the practice

should concern c o n s t i t u t i o n a l modification no referendum

w i t n e s s e d in t h e roughly t w e n t y years t h a t have passed since

i n i t i a t e d by the c i t i z e n s may be held, i t is only admissible to

the p o l i t i c a l change.

affirm an amendment already adopted by the Parliament by means of r e f e r e n d u m .

44

Firstly: in most of the cases s u c c e s s f u l referendum i n i t i a t i v e s s t a r t - even i f by means of c o l l e c t i n g enough signatures - on

I n 2003 a referendum prescribed by the c o n s t i t u t i o n was

behalf of p o l i t i c a l parties. They regard referenda - especially in

arranged, i t addressed Hungary's accession to the European

opposition - as a chance to reach t h e i r p o l i t i c a l purposes. The governing majority s t r i v e s mostly to hinder p a r t i e s of the opposition from pushing through i n i t i a t i v e s , or at least to

3 8

Parliamentary resolution 86/1997. (X. 8.).

Decision 52/1997. (X. 14.) of the CC. For its analysis see: Péter Szigeti, "Népszavazási dosszié. Rekonstrukció és analízis az Alkotmánybíróság döntése után", Társadalmi Szemle, vol. 53, 1998/2, pp. 88-92. Parliamentary resolution 23/1998. ( I I I . 11.).

modify the question according to i t s own i n t e n t i o n s .

47

39

4 0

Act I I I of 1998 on referendum and popular initiative. " Act C of 1997 on election process, art. 130. 4 1

The guestions concerned the construction of a dam on the Danube, re-establishing public ownership of the parties' estates, reintroducing capital punishment (1998).

4 3

Decision 25/1999. (VII. 7.) of the CC. For its criticism see: Géza Kilényi, "A képviseleti és a közvetlen demokrácia viszonya a magyar államszervezetben", Magyar Közigazgatás, vol. 49, 1999/12, pp. 673-681.

4 4

Zsolt Albert and his wife collected signatures against compulsory multi-player health insurance system; Mária Seres initiated a referendum on the guestion of whether members of parliament should be obliged to present receipts in order to claim expenses.

4 5

4 6

Decisions 130/2008. (XI. 3.) and 472/H/2009. of the CC.

For a summary of Hungarian referendum experiences until 1998 see: István Kukorelli, "Az országos népszavazás, 1989-1998" op. eft., p. 476.; idem "Az országos népszavazás helye a parlamenti demokráciában" op. cit, pp. 41-42.; Márta Dezső, András Bragyova, "Hungary" op. cit, pp. 81-90.

47

Parliaments: the Law, the Practice and the Representations. From the Middle A g e s to the Present Day 1340

I t is also clear, t h a t i n i t i a t i v e s coming from c i v i c organisations, from i n d i v i d u a l s or from non parliamentary parties are hardly ever encouraged or even sabotaged by the parliamentary p o l i t i c a l e l i t e . Only in 2004 did i t come to referenda on t h e i n i t i a t i v e of non party organisations. Since the new law on referendum of 1998 the Parliament is no longer the most important filtering i n s t i t u t i o n , this role now belongs to t h e National E l e c t i o n Committee and the C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Court. They control the questions from a legal a s p e c t and t u r n the matters on a legal level, however provoking occasional debates amongst l a w y e r s .

48

E.g. on the question of whether a particular initiative is considered a prohibited subject (the government's program, central budget, etc.), or recently on the question of whether an initiative shall be repelled if an adequate law was adopted in the meantime by the Parliament (this question divides the CC as well). 4 8

Parlamentos: a Lei, a Pràtica e as Représentâmes. Da Idade Média à Actualidade 1341

PARLAMENTOS: A LEI, A PRÂTICA E AS REPRESENTAMES Da Idade Média à Actualidade

PARLIAMENTS: THE LAW, THE PRACTICE AND THE REPRESENTATIONS From the Middle Ages to the Present Day

Título / Title Parlamentos: a Lei, a Prática e as Representaçôes. Da Idade Média à Actualidade Parliaments: the Law, the Practice and the Representations. From the Middle A g e s to the Present Day Coordenaçâo Científica / Scientific Coordinators Maria Helena da Cruz Coelho e Mana Manuela Tavares Rlbelro Ediçâo / Publisher A s s e m b l e r da República - Divlsâo de Ediçôes / Publishing Department Traduçâo / Translation Anouk Torres e Zara Almeida Revisâo / Revision Helena Alves e Sonia Nobre Fotografías / Photography Pedro da Silva Design Nuno T i m o t e o Paginaçao / Pre press Undo, Lda. Impressâo / Printing Fernandes & Terceiro Tiragem / Print run 6 0 0 exemplares / copies Depósito Legal / Legal Deposit 321 212/10 ISBN 9 7 8 - 9 7 2 - 5 5 6 - 5 5 1 - 3 Lisboa, Dezembro de 2010 Lisbon, December 2010

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1 ni., book c .'titan is the speeches _nd the texts presented by their authors in the 6 0 International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions (I HI I I) *-hirh took place in Coimora from the V to the 4 " September 2 0 0 9 under the high patronage or the Assembly of the Republic and the 1

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Coimbra University. T h e opening and closing sessions are transcribed in Portuguese and English. T h e presentations are written in the original language.