“The final decision should be done by the cognizant minister!” The Prelude of the Hungarian Administrative Court’s Cessation in 1949

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe the political and legislative procedures that led to the Administrative Court’s cessation by Act II of 1949, based on documents found in the archives and the Parliament, as well as existing literature of the topic. After World War II, the legal remedy of administration by independent judicature began to slowly dissipate as more and more cases were handled by forums controlled by the executive power. The Administrative Court intended to guarantee the fulfilment of basic rights declared in Act I of 1946, all the while the executive branch gained more power under the newly built Stalinist Administration, especially internal affairs and the secret services. The new regime claimed that the Administrative Court “stood in the way of democratic advancement”; for them, an Administrative Court which was “independent and only in service of law and justice” was an unwelcome institution, thus its fate was termination.