In recent decades, parliamentary offices that ensure professionalism have become a background institution of fundamental importance for democratically functioning legislative bodies. The fundamental reason for this was that changes occurred in both legislation and the political functions of parliaments, which required an increasingly prepared administrative environment. Therefore, it is necessary to review the office organization of parliaments as a structural organization - within this, the composition of the personnel administration and the structure of the office organization - whether the structure of the parliamentary (office) bodies of countries with similar democratic systems follows a scheme or model, or whether there are substantial differences. It is the comparative perspective and comprehensive analysis that confirms how diverse organizational and functional solutions are. Democratic parliaments have similar functions and require similar office-administrative support, but differences in both constitutional and political traditions and culture can result in diverse solutions. Thus, the comprehensive examination and modeling of the apparatus providing support to parliaments, in terms of its new and growing number of tasks, promises new research results.
Keywords: parliament, chamber type, office system, administration, organograms
Enikő Somogyi, PhD student, Ludovika University of Public Service Doctoral School of Public Administration Sciences, eniko.somogyi14@gmail.com
- 159/160 -
In the 2010s, the opportunities for national minorities in Hungary to participate in public life and be represented were expanded with the introduction of a new institutional channel, the institution of preferential minority parliamentary seats and minority spokespersons. However, the system proved to be controversial in many respects, and in its judgment following the 2022 parliamentary elections, the European Court of Human Rights also condemned several elements of it. This latter, combined with the fact that the country's most numerous minority, the Roma, failed to nominate their list of candidates, made it particularly relevant to examine in greater detail how the minorities themselves approach the established system, especially in the context of its third election in 2022. The aim of this study is therefore to outline and analyse the key aspects of the participation of minorities in the 2022 parliamentary elections, including the trends in the number of both registered voters and votes cast, comparing these data with those of the previous two parliamentary elections and another channel of participation, the results of the elections of minority self-governments. A comparison with the results of the census and the minority elections, specifically the concentration of voters in a few settlements in many cases and, conversely, the negligible registration in more significant minority settlements, draws attention to the importance of local circumstances. Among the factors influencing voter behaviour and participation, it is important to highlight the institutional barrier that a significant proportion of voters, mainly from smaller ethnic groups, have no realistic chance of reaching the threshold for obtaining a preferential mandate, and their votes for spokespersons are effectively lost, thus they are not particularly encouraged to express their ethnic identity.
Keywords: Minority participation, minority representation, minority spokespersons, parliamentary elections, minority self-governments
Balázs Dobos, senior research fellow, ELTE Centre for Social Sciences, Institute for Minority Studies , dobos.balazs@tk.hu
- 160/161 -
The emerging constitutional jurisdiction placed obstacles in the way of democracy as a form of politics and, at the same time, pushed the political system toward dualism, building the power mechanisms of a juristocracy alongside democracy, as Béla Pokol emphasized. The basic idea behind the need to establish a constitutional court was the recognition that granting it the power of cassation also meant interfering in democratic processes. The study attempts a brief, schematic presentation of the role of the court as a negative legislator, ranging from its original role to its current role, which is closer to positive intervention.
Keywords: juristocracy, judicial power, democracy, political constitutionality, legal constitutionality
Szabolcs Szöllősi-Baráth, PhD student, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary- Doctoral School of Political and Legal Sciences, iroda@szollosibarath.hu
- 161/162 -
This study examines the constitutional amendment proposals submitted by the Hungarian parliamentary opposition since 2011, with the aim of contributing to the assessment of the opposition's role and influence. While previous research has explored legislative initiatives by opposition parties, attempts to amend the Fundamental Law have not yet been the subject of dedicated analysis.
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
