The Predominance of Hungarian Executive Power over the Legislative and Judiciary Authorities from the Perspective of Illiberal Democracy (2010–2021). A Neo-Institutional Approach

Sebastian Kubas

Abstract


The article analyzes the problem of limiting the competences of the Hungarian legislative and judiciary at the expense of the increase in the significance of the executive after 2010. Although the Fundamental Law provides the rule of the separation of power, Viktor Orbán and his party, using their position in the parliament and government, limit the autonomy of the judiciary and legislative authorities. From the methodological perspective, the analysis is embedded in the neo institutional approach and derives from the concept of the mechanism of democracy regression proposed by Gerschewski. The main question posed in the article refers to the trajectory of limiting the autonomy of the judiciary and legislative power in Hungary after 2010.


Keywords


Hungary; institutions; separation of powers; illiberal democracy

Full Text:

PDF

References


Sources

Act CLXI of 2011 on organization and administration of courts, https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-REF(2012)007-e, access 4 XII 2021.

Act CLXII of 2011 in the legal status and remuneration of judges, https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2012)001-e, access 5 XII 2021.

Courts of Hungary. Hungarian Judicial System, https://birosag.hu/en/hungarian-judicial-system, access 12 XII 2021.

Fundamental Law of Hungary, https://tasz.hu/files/tasz/imce/alternative_translation_of_the_draft_constituion.pdf, access 8 XII 2021.

Academic literature

Ágh A., The Orbán Regime as the Perfect Autocracy. The Emergence of the Zombie Democracy in Hungary, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355034454_Agh_Perfect_autocracy_in_Hungary, access 23 XI 2021.

Antoszewski A., Demokracja nieliberalna jako projekt polityczny, [in:] Zmierzch demokracji liberalnej, red. K.A. Wojtaszczyk, P. Stawarz, J. Wiśniewska-Grzelak, Oficyna Wydawnicza APSRA-JR, Warszawa 2018.

Bogaards M., De-Democratization in Hungary: Diffusely Defective Democracy, “Democratization”, 2018, vol. 25, no. 8.

Bozóki A., Broken Democracy. Predatory State and Nationalist Populism, “Athenaeum. Polish Political Science Studies”, 2015, vol. 48.

Brusis M., Democracies Adrift: How the European Crisis Affect East-Central Europe, ”Problems of Post-Communism”, 2016, vol. 63, no. 5–6.

Clements E.S., Cook J.M., Politics and Institutionalisms: Explaining Durability and Change, “Annual Review of Sociology”, 1999, no. 25.

Debreczeni J., Viktor Orbán. Jeden obóz, jeden sztandar, jeden wódz, Akurat, Warszawa 2015.

Democracy in Decline?, eds. L. Diamond, M.F. Plattner, Johns Hopkins University Press Books, Baltimore 2015.

Drinóczi T., Bień-Kacała A., Illiberal Constitutionalism: The Case of Hungary and Poland, “German Law Journal”, 2019, no. 20.

Foa R.S., Mounk Y., The Democratic Disconnect, “Journal of Democracy”, 2016, vol. 27, no. 3.

Gerschewski J., Erosion or Decay? Conceptualizing Causes and Mechanism of Democratic Regression, “Democratization”, 2021, vol. 28, no. 1.

Grabowski R., Halász I., Ewolucja węgierskiego modelu zarządzania sądownictwem i samorządu sędziowskiego na Węgrzech w latach 1989–2019, „Przegląd Prawa i Administracji”, 2019, no. 346, vol. CXIX.

Greskovits B., The Hollowing and Backsliding of Democracy in East Central Europe, http://politicalscience.ceu.edu/sites/politicalscience.ceu.hu/files/attachment/event/1113/greskovitshollowingandbackslidingofdemocracy-globalpolicy2015.pdf, access 29 XI 2021.

Hall P., Politics as a Process Structured in Space and Time, [in:] The Oxford Handbook of Historical Institutionalism, eds. O. Fioretos, T. Falleti, A. Sheingate, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016.

Horvath I., Renascence of the Administrative Jurisdiction in Hungary, “Bratislava Law Review”, 2019, no. 1.

Jaskiernia J., Authoritarian Tendencies in the Polish Political System, [in:] New Authoritarianism. Challenges to Democracy in the 21st century, ed. J.J. Wiatr, Verlag Barbara Budrich, Leverkusen 2019.

Kazai V.Z., The Instrumentalization of Parliamentary Legislation and Its Possible Remedies: Lessons from Hungary, “Jus Politicum”, 2019, no. 23.

Kazai V.Z., The Misuse of the Legislative Process as Part of the Illiberal Toolkit. The Case of Hungary, “The Theory and Practice of Legislation”, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20508840.2021.1942366, access 3 XII 2021.

Krastev I., The Strange Death of Liberal Consensus, “Journal of Democracy”, 2007, vol. 18, no. 4.

Krastev I., The Unraveling of the Post-1989 Order, “Journal of Democracy”, 2016, vol. 27, no. 4.

Krekó P., Enyedi Z., Explaining Eastern Europe: Orbán’s Laboratory of Illiberalism, “Journal of Democracy”, 2018, vol. 29, no. 3.

Kubas S., Negacja dorobku i zdobyczy węgierskiej demokratyzacji po 2010 roku, „Studia Politologiczne”, 2018, vol. 47.

Kubas S., Sukcesy wyborcze Fidesz-MPS i ich wpływ na konsolidację prawicowych rządów na Węgrzech, [in:] Polskie wybory 2014–2015. Kontekst krajowy i międzynarodowy. Przebieg rywalizacji. Konsekwencje polityczne, t. 2, red. M. Kolczyński, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, Katowice 2017.

Levistky S., Way L., Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2010.

Levistky S., Way L., The New Competitive Authoritarianism, “Journal of Democracy”, 2020, vol. 31, no. 1.

Levitsky S., Murillo M.V., Variation in Institutional Strength, “Annual Review of Political Science”, 2009, vol. 12, no. 1.

Lührmann A., Lindberg S.I., A Third Wave of Autocratization Is Here: What Is New about It?, “Democratization”, 2019, vol. 26.

Møller J., Skaaning S.-E., Third Wave. Inside the Numbers, “Journal of Democracy”, 2013, vol. 24, no. 4.

Pappas T., The Specter Haunting Europe. Distinguishing Liberal Democracy Challengers, “Journal of Democracy”, 2016, vol. 27, no. 4.

Patyi A., Chapter X. The Courts and the Judiciary, [in:] The Basic Law of Hungary. A First Commentary, eds. L. Csink, B. Schanda, A.Zs. Varga, Claruss Press, Dublin 2012.

Rupnik J., Explaining Eastern Europe: the Crisis of Liberalism, “Journal of Democracy”, 2018, vol. 29, no. 3.

Rupnik J., From Democracy Fatigue to Populist Backslash, “Journal of Democracy”, 2007, vol. 18, no. 4.

Sartori G., Teoria demokracji, Wydawnictwo PWN, Warszawa 1998.

Scheiring G., The Foundations of Hybrid Authoritarian State Capitalism in Hungary, “Sociology”, 2020, no. 1.

Tóth C., Full text of Viktor Orbán’s speech at Băile Tuşnad, https://budapestbeacon.com/full-text-of-viktor-orbans-speech-at-baile-tusnad-tusnadfurdo-of-26-july-2014/, access 29 XI 2021.

Valenzuela S., Democratic Consolidation in Post-Transitional Setting: Notion, Process, and Facilitating Conditions, Kellogg Institute Working Paper #150. December 1990, https://kellogg.nd.edu/publications/workingpapers/WPS/150.pdf, access 3 XII 2021.

Wilkin P., The Rise of Illiberal Democracy: The Orbánization of Hungarian Political Culture, “Journal of World System Research”, 2018, vol. 24, no. 1.

Zamęcki Ł., Glied V., Article 7 Process and Democratic Backsliding of Hungary and Poland. Democracy and the Rule of Law, “Online Journal Modelling the New Europe”, 2020, no. 34.

Websites

Amnesty International, Hungary: Fraudulent fear rules among judges, https://www.amnesty.eu/news/hungary-fraudulent-fear-rules-among-judges/, access 3 XII 2021.

Eurobarometer, https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/screen/home, access 1 XII 2021.

Freedom House, Nations in Transit, https://freedomhouse.org/country/hungary/nations-transit/2020, access 26 XI 2021.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/bc.2023.8.49-72
Date of publication: 2023-12-04 13:26:34
Date of submission: 2021-12-10 09:15:00


Statistics


Total abstract view - 426
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF - 236

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2023

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.