Niektoré paradoxy ústavnoprávneho vývoja strednej Európy v medzivojnovom období

Abstract

The paper deals with the constitutional development of the Central European countries in the interwar period. It focuses on Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland. With exception of Hungary every country adopted new constitution in 1920/1921. Hungary, which had traditionally non-written (organic) constitution, officially returned to the prewar and prerevolutionary constitutional system. The Hungarian parliament regulated in the Act I. from 1920 only the position of the provisional head of state (Miklós Horthy), because the country was monarchy without king. This act served also as small provisional constitution. The paper focuses on the four main issues: 1. the constitution making in early period, 2. the role of first women in parliaments, 3. the position of the head of state in the political system, and 4. electoral systems in Central Europe. Sometimes the political development produced interesting and non-traditional situations. E. g., the most democratic constitution was adopted in Czechoslovakia by non-elected parliament. This country preserved its democratic system in the interwar period with the help of very disciplined and corrupt parties. The authoritarian tendencies were strong in Hungarian Kingdom, but the original position of provisional head of state was relatively weak in the first decade of period. The Austrian constitution designed by Hans Kelsen did not protect the democracy in Austria. Very democratic Polish constitution changed many times in the interwar period and the trend of amendments was always authoritarian.