1723 – a Great Year in Hungarian Constitutional and Legal History

Abstract

The year 1723 was an important year in Hungarian history, particularly in terms of constitutional and legal history. On 19 June of that year, King Charles III of Hungary (reigned 1711–1740) sanctioned 129 articles of law that had been adopted by the estates at the Hungarian Diet of 1722–1723. First and foremost were the laws introducing subsidiary succession to the throne for the female line of the House of Habsburg (Hungarian Pragmatica Sanctio), which was limited to the female descendants of Leopold I and his two sons. These measures secured the succession of the Habsburg dynasty to the Hungarian throne. In addition, fundamental laws were enacted for the comprehensive reform of the central administration of justice and the establishment of the Hungarian Royal Council of Governor. Other important regulations concerned issues of procedural law, criminal law, civil law and commercial law. In 2023, Hungarian historians and legal scholars commemorated the 300^th anniversary of this event in a series of conferences.