In the mid-1920s the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) recognized the widespread discontent of the electorate with the parliamentary system of government in general and, more specifically, with the institution of parliaments in many European countries. The IPU asked some internationally renowned experts to share their views on the causes and consequences of this crisis and formulated at the same time a resolution that included some proposals about how the crisis could be overcome. The Hungarian National Group of the IPU forwarded the proposals to politicians and scholars, and published an edited volume with reactions from the Hungarian respondents in 1929. This paper presents an overview of these reactions, but first it delineate a narrative framework that might be applied to the Hungarian reactions to the IPU proposals. Secondly, it sketches out the general political context in Hungary with special reference to the development of Hungarian parliamentarism in the inter-war period. Thirdly it gives some insights into the public discourse on the crisis of parliamentarism and fourthly it analyses the Hungarian reactions to the IPU proposals.
Keywords: parliamentarism - Inter-Parliamentary Union - crisis - Interwar Hungary - functions of parliaments
Kálmán Pócza senior research fellow / associate professor, PPKE BTK Nemzetközi és Politikatudományi Intézet, pocza.kalman@tk.mta.hu
- 187/188 -
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the new detailed debate of the legislative process in the Hungarian National Assembly which was introduced in 2014. The practice of the Justice Committee considering the scope of duties, the number of detailed debates conducted, and the professional background of its members provides an appropriate area for this examination. The paper is based on a comprehensive analysis of the detailed debates that took place in relation to bills submitted between 2014 and 2018. My analysis concentrates on how the Justice Committee has used its new power of scrutiny.
The paper argues that despite of the extended authorization provided by the new regulation, the Justice Committee has not become an important forum for decision-making, and it does not have a significant impact on the content of the bills. Detailed debates are largely determined by the Government. The Committee almost always decides on the amendments in accordance with the opinion of the Government.
Thus, the main function of the detailed debate is to present the different political standpoints. However, plenary sittings would be more suitable for sending political messages to the public. Therefore, it is likely that the elimination of the detailed debate in plenary sittings contributed to a significant drop in the number of amendments submitted by MPs between 2014 and 2018. In the absence of amendments, the detailed debate simply loses its importance.
Keywords: legislative procedure, Hungarian National Assembly, parliamentary committees, parliamentary debate, amendment proposals
Krisztián Enyedi PhD student, University of Debrecen, Géza Marton Doctoral School of Legal Studies, enyedikrisztian@gmail.com
- 188/189 -
The aim of this paper to investigate the borders of political community in sense of people having the right to take part in the election of some state organs (parliament, local government). The impact of citizenship, domicile, time, age, mental capacity and commitment of certain crimes on the membership in he political community are analysed as well. If we take a look at the question as constitutional lawyers, we can see, that connecting suffrage to citizenship, domicile or certain age complies with both the Basic Law of Hungary and the international duties of Hungary as well. Other barriers to the membership in the political communitiy are the so-called "natural exclusionary reasons" which means the exclusion of certain mentally or psychosocially disabled people furthermore criminals from the suffrage. These issues are disputed even by constitutional lawyers. However, it is worth to take a look at theoretical considerations behind the legal norms and examine the philosophical basis of the exclusion of certain groups from suffrage. In the end of the analysis we can see that the closeness of relationship with the state, the impact of the elected body on the person, furthermore responsibility of kin-states towards kin-minorities are considered. Integrity of electoral system is the main reason regarding exclusion of some people being lack of mental capacity or under certain age is another reason. At the same time, the necessity of the extension of voting rights to these people appear in the literature as well. So the issue of children's suffrage emerged as well. The reasons behind it were sustainable development, future-oriented decision-making, extension of democracy and increasing of population growth. Meanwhile a more radical standpoint regarding the necessity of connecting suffrage to certain level of knowledge appeared as well. Some of the criminals are withdrawn suffrage as well. This can be considered as an ostracism from the political community. It is also outlined, that certain members of the political community (homeless, disabled or illiterates) are more vulnerable, therefore they need support to exercise their rights. As a consequence we can say that the barriers of political community are far from stable and are challenged day-by-day from each side. That is why there is a need on examining and tracking this question in the future.
Keywords: political community, suffrage, disability, disenfranchisement, vote
Ágnes M. Balázs Assistant Lecturer, National University of Public Service, Faculty of Science of Public Governance and Administration, Institute of Constitutional Law, balazsagnes91@gmail.com, Molnarne.Balazs.Agnes@uni-nke.hu
- 189/190 -
In October 2019 parliamentary elections were held for the ninth time in the history of the independent Poland. Just like in 2015, the Law and Justice party (PiS) won the elections by a large margin, securing absolute majority in the lower chamber of the parliament (Sejm). Firstly, I outline the political background and the prelude of the elections, highlighting the most important political developments of the 2015-2019 period and focusing on the governmental actions resulting the eroding of democracy and rule of law. The next section is devoted to the electoral system, paying special attention to its impact on the results of the parties. The outcome of the election is investigated in the third section. While assessing the results, I analyze the aftermath of the election in the context of the almost 30 years history of the Polish party system, pointing out that the results of the last election fit in the structure of the competition emerged in 2005. I also evaluate the results of the parties, underlining the reasons of the permanent popularity of the PiS. Finally, I deal with the government formation which held no excitement since PiS controlls more than half of the seats in the Sejm. However, the single party PiS government may face with severe challenges in the future.
A Jogkódex-előfizetéséhez tartozó felhasználónévvel és jelszóval is be tud jelentkezni.
Az ORAC Kiadó előfizetéses folyóiratainak „valós idejű” (a nyomtatott lapszámok megjelenésével egyidejű) eléréséhez kérjen ajánlatot a Szakcikk Adatbázis Plusz-ra!
Visszaugrás
