New Contributions to the Formal and Content Issues of the Pragmatica Sanctio

Abstract

The Pragmatica Sanctio, now more than three hundred years old, is undoubtedly one of the most important milestones in the history of Central European and Hungarian constitutional history, establishing a bond between the states under the sceptre of the Habsburg dynasty for almost two centuries. Its significance and its (legal) historical impact have been the subject of many and varied studies in (legal) history, which have sought to assess and evaluate it in many ways and have led to the development of a unique amount of (legal) historical knowledge about the Pragmatica Sanctio. This gives the unintended impression that all, or at least most, of the (legal) historical questions and problems relating to this particular source of law have already been dealt with. However, based on my research experience, I believe that this is far from being the case. The main questions of my study are outlined around the legal source character of Pragmatica Sanctio, since, in view of the gaps in the relevant Hungarian literature, the previous positions of historians and legal historians needed to be revised from a legal-dogmatic point of view and refined where necessary. In my study, I will pay attention to the question of whether Pragmatica Sanctio can be considered an article of law or a contract, justifying the untenability of the “contractarian” view.