On the History of Codification Models

Abstract

Codification was a late phenomenon in the history of Hungarian criminal law. The need to reform the legal system and the organisation of the courts already existed in the 17^th century, but the aspirations of Habsburg absolutism and the constitutional demands of the Hungarian orders were at odds with each other. Even enlightened absolutism was not in favour of independent Hungarian legislation. The relationship between statutory law and customary law, which it corrected and undermined, was also contradictory. The first independent Hungarian bill was finally finalised in 1795. The next draft law had to wait until 1843. The first penal code was finally passed by parliament in 1878. All three works were influenced by the latest European scientific findings. In all three cases, the existing criminal laws of the continent served as a model. But the authors of all three drafts did so with careful adaptation and with great respect for Hungarian traditions.