Models and National Specificities in the Hungarian Legislation on Children at Risk during the Dualism Period

Abstract

This study provides an overview of the emergence and development of legal regulations aimed at protecting endangered children in Hungary during the period of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, in the context of European legal development. Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, the effective protection of children necessitated state intervention. As a sovereign entity, the state, under public law, became entitled to intervene in the parent-child relationship, removing children from environments detrimental to their moral, physical, and intellectual development. The legal foundation for such interventions was established through modernized administrative and criminal law regulations. Similar to other European countries – and more broadly, other parts of the world – Hungary also recognized the importance of caring for children and the grave consequences of neglecting their upbringing. The state addressed the issue of endangered children within the frameworks of administrative and judicial child protection. In the course of modernization, the Hungarian legislator drew upon foreign models, which played a decisive role in shaping domestic, national solutions. At the same time, Hungarian legal traditions also played an important role and were not overlooked.