A Specific Method of Acquiring Property

An Overview of the Legal History of Public Auctions, with Particular Regard to Hungarian Aspects

Abstract

When we hear the word “auction”, most of us probably imagine a tense atmosphere, a room filled with interested parties, an object (artwork) placed on a platform, competing bids, and an auctioneer holding a gavel. However, when viewed through the lens of law, auctions are seen in a completely different light, as they are not merely a forum where goods change hands, but a much more complex phenomenon. Based on the historical experience of the last two thousand years, depending on the sophistication of a given legal system, auctions can appear as a special form of sale, a legal institution, or a means of acquiring property. In addition, the vast majority of authors in the literature consider public auctions to be a legal tool for satisfying claims of a financial nature with the involvement and intervention of the authorities. However, this approach cannot be justified on the basis of either current Hungarian law or the legal history of public auctions. In my study, I attempt to outline the main milestones in the history of the legal institution of public auction, focusing on when and in what form auctions conducted with the involvement of public authorities, which can be considered the direct precursors of public auctions, first appeared in European legal culture and in what circumstances they were used.