Private Law in Transylvania as Part of the Kingdom of Hungary

Abstract

Transylvania was part of the mediaeval Kingdom of Hungary beginning from the founding of this kingdom and until the year 1540, when, due to historic circumstances, it became for a time a separate entity. The development of private law in this historical space was therefore in the beginning in large part convergent with that of Hungary. However, having a multi-ethnic population consisting of Hungarians, Szeklers, Saxons, and Romanians, with the first three nationalities benefitting from different, autonomous forms of administrative organization, a lot is to be said of specific Transylvanian private law. This study presents those elements and sources of private law which characterized legal relationships in Transylvania beginning with the founding of the Kingdom of Hungary and until the separation of this region from Hungary due to Ottoman conquest. We examine the major sources of law, consisting of customary law, statutory law, and acts of royal power. We then present in summarized form the main characteristics and provisions of the law applicable to persons, the family, immovable and movable property but also inheritance. Some specific private law regulations applicable to Szeklers and Saxons are also presented as well as the perspective of Romanian legal literature regarding the private law applicable to Romanians.