The Constitutional History of the Democratic Transition
The Constitutional History of the Democratic Transition

Summary/Abstract: Act XX. of 1949, created a kind of paradoxical situation resulting Hungary losing its constitutionality at the very moment when its first chartal constitution was being drafted. The international political climate turned mild enough for a change by the 1980s. To commemorate the Revolution of 1956, the Hungarian Republic was proclaimed on 23 October 1989 and the Constitution was amended by Act XXXI of 1989. Act XXXII of 1989 established the Constitutional Court, and Act XXXIV of 1989 created the electoral system previously in force pre-dating the socialist one. The MDF won the 1990 elections but was forced to form a coalition with the FKgP and the KDNP, with a 42.7% share of seats. The Hungarian form of government is often referred to as 'chancellor democracy', following the example of the German system. Kálmán Kulcsár, Minister of Justice, and his deputy, Géza Kilényi, played a major role in the legal preparation of the regime change. Civil experts, grouped together in the Independent Lawyers Forum, assisted the constitutional reforms.

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