Abstract
Since its establishment in 1990, the Hungarian Constitutional Court has played a pivotal role in shaping legal thought and practice, not only within Hungary but also in the broader European constitutional landscape. Among its distinct contributions is the clarification of key legal concepts – most notably, national sovereignty, constitutional identity, and ‘essential state functions’ under Article 4 (2) TEU. In doing so, the Court not only safeguards the normative core of the Hungarian state but also constructs a framework through which the historical constitution becomes a foundational element of national identity and legal continuity. These elements are essential to understanding diverging Member State positions within the European Union, especially regarding contentious issues such as migration and integration. This research aims to explore the content and constitutional function of Hungary’s historical constitution, its relationship to sovereignty and identity, and how similar dynamics manifest in other Member States. Ultimately, this study engages with the broader question: how can the EU reconcile national constitutional identities with the demands of supranational governance?
Keywords: constitutional identity, sovereignty, essential state functions, European Union, historical constitution
I. Introduction
A constitution can be defined as a set of laws that legally represent the ideals of a state, in a written or unwritten format, which makes a constitution either codified or uncodified.[2] Of these two formats, the former is the most widely used, laying down rules on how the state should be run, what rights citizens have, and many more vital issues that ultimately allow a country to exist. States such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom have uncodified constitutions, which result in a unique legal system: any law passed by parliament has the potential to be of constitutional significance.
The term ‘constitution’[3] can be found earlier than the existence of what we now consider to be modern written constitutions – such as that of the United States of America. Early versions of constitutions generally denoted ‘the condition or situation of a state’, as shaped by ‘historical development, natural features and legal order’.[4]
[1] This research was carried out using the European Constitutional Communication Network (ECCN) database, within the framework of the research project of the Comparative Constitutional Law Research Group at the National University of Public Service.
[2] Francis D. Wormuth: The Origins of Modern Constitutionalism. Harper & Brothers, 1949. 3.
[3] Horváth Attila: A magyar történeti alkotmány tradíciói, Alkotmánybírósági Szemle, 2011/3. 45–57.
[4] Dieter Grimm: Constitutionalism, Past, Present and Future. Oxford University Press, 2016. 44.