The Hungarian Diætalis Tractatus and the Imperial Constitutional Systems: A Comparison

Abstract

The individual characteristics of the Hungarian constitution are better revealed by comparison with the constitutions of its own region than by comparison with those of the countries of western Europe. A convenient way to explore the topic of how the diætalis tractatus (bargaining between the Crown and the Hungarian parliament) constrained autocratic power is to contrast it with the position of parliaments in Berlin and Vienna. As in the German and Austrian constitutional systems, in Hungary the powers of the Crown were immense. In contrast, the arbitrary power of the executive in Hungary was mitigated far less by the institutions of the Rechtsstaat than by the strong position of the Hungarian parliament. However, the clashes between the monarch and the Hungarian parliament were not fought with modern constitutional devices such as impeachment of ministers or deputations. Instead, they were conducted using the hoary institutions of the past, such as the resistance (vis inertiæ) of the counties, the exchanges of address and rescript between the two sides, obstrukció in parliament by minorities, repeated prorogations by the king, and the appointment of royal commissars with powers of coercion.