ACTA JURIDICA - A MTA Jogtudományi Közleményei Tom. 17 (1975)
1975 / 1-2. sz. - KOVÁCS I.: A quarter of a century on the path of popular democratic constitutional development
2 I. Kovács which in a certain sense show indifference to the various social systems. In certain cases the observation may be made that in the period of stabilization traditional elements come to life again which else in the period of transition progressing at a rapid rate has been thrust to the background or thrown into the shade. Tendencies of this kind do not in all cases stand for the reversal of development or the revival of the reactionary remnants of the historical past. Still it cannot be denied that for want of a proper historical appraisal even this danger may become imminent. Slowly the time will come when in the most political branch of law, viz. constitutional law, on the ground of the necessary distance of history the institutions of the historical Hungarian constitution and the experiences of the historical path of transition to socialism may be confronted. In the present analysis of the constitutional development of the past quarter of a century we must bear this in mind as well, still in the first place we are going to keep before us the Constitution approved in 1949, its last general amendment and restatement by Act I of 1972, and the practical enforcement of the said amendment. I Act I of 1972 has brought into harmony the wording of the Constitution and the socialist metamorphosis of the country during the past quarter of a century. I.e. the recent general amendment of the Constitution bears testimony to the new historical situation, viz. that Hungarian society has surpassed the initial phase of the building of socialism, called into existence the fundamental institutions of a socialist order or society and is now engaged in completing building up socialism. Simultaneously with the approval of the amendment of the Constitution it has been specially emphasized that no new constitution was required for laying down this fact. Together with the general amendment the Act XX of 1949 is still in force, as the fundamental law or Constitution of the country. As is known in the majority of the popular democracies things have taken a different course. In general they have set aside the popular democratic constitution of an earlier date and closed the initial phase of building socialism, a historical phase which still strongly bore the stamps of the transition from capitalism to socialism in all fields of social establishment, i.e. in politics and also in economy, social and cultural relations1 with a new constitution so to say laying down the programme of further development as well. First of all we shall have to get a closer view of the reasons why Hungary has not adopted this course. Why was Hungary content with the modification of the earlier 1 More or less as a reminder we would mention that Czechoslovakia enacted her constitution closing down the initial phase of the building of socialism in 1960, Yugoslavia followed suit in 1963, the German Democratic Republic in 1968. Bulgaria has enacted her constitution closing this phase and still in force in 1971. Acta Juridica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 17, 1975