Péter Smuk

18038996100

Publications - 5

Crisis and constitutional politics in Central Europe

Péter Smuk

Publication Name: Frontiers in Political Science

Publication Date: 2025-01-01

Volume: 7

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

This paper aims to examine the impact of significant crisis situations on the constitutional framework over the past decade, including financial crisis, migration, pandemics and war. The paper focuses on the Visegrad countries, especially Hungary, and analyses the constitutional amendments adopted and the relevant constitutional court decisions. By examining the justifications for the amendments and decisions, it is possible to observe the efforts of legislators and governing parties to overcome difficult governance situations in crisis management. The study aims to interpret the relationship between constitutional responses to social crises and crises of democratic political systems, and argues that the inherent feature of constitutional changes triggered by crises is that they remain part of the political system in the longer term. In turn, their impact determines not only the resilience of states and societies, but also the direction in which democratic systems evolve.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.3389/fpos.2025.1545816

Do We Like Majority Decisions? Aspects of the Majority Principle in Voting on the Different Levels of Political Systems

Péter Smuk

Publication Name: Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law

Publication Date: 2022-01-01

Volume: 10

Issue: 1

Page Range: 409-423

Description:

This article aims to review the constitutional justifications for majority requirements arising from the democratic principle, and to analyze some current controversial cases. Although the qualified majority requirement is not a new institution in either the national constitutional systems or the functioning of the EU institutions, the democratic legitimacy of majority voting faces several challenges. In order to present aspects that should be re-evaluated in the light of certain new political strategies, this paper analyses the majoritarian requirements in the Treaties, in the rules of procedures of the European Parliament and also case studies pertaining to the constitution-making majority in Hungary and the controversial case of voting on the Sargentini-report. On the basis of this assessment, we may confirm but also reconsider the majority principle.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.5553/HYIEL/266627012022010001023

Law pertaining to political parties and political pluralism - Freedom of the foundation and functioning of political parties in post-communist Hungary

Péter Smuk

Publication Name: Acta Juridica Hungarica

Publication Date: 2007-03-01

Volume: 48

Issue: 1

Page Range: 71-85

Description:

This paper studies the law pertaining to political parties in Hungary, from the viewpoint of establishing and maintaining of political pluralism. In the period of 1989-1990, the transition from the one-party system to the democratic and pluralistic state of law could be followed up relative to the development of the law pertaining to the political parties, which is based on the rules that foreclose the contingent development of unconstitutional political system. The paper reviews the concept of the political party according to the constitutional law, the normative framework of functioning and the regulations of the internal organization of political parties. The provisions of primary importance concern: a) equality of political parties, b) forbidden purposes and instruments, c) rules of incompatibility, d) state subvention. Rules concerning the internal organization require the openness and the prevailing of democratic will-making also inside the political parties, so contribute to the maintaining the democratic competition of political parties. The author emphasizes the factors that determine multiparty-system, and argues that electoral thresholds and the effective method of state-financing of political parties contest the principle of equality and harm the fair-competition. Thresholds and subvention are both based on the effectiveness of political parties-though being capable to prevent the party system and the parliament from fragmentation, nonetheless, they prefer extensively, if not unconstitutionally, the political parties in the Parliament, so they can be seen as being designed to protect the current political elite. © 2007 Akadémiai Kiadó.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1556/AJur.47.2007.1.5

The 4th Global Conference on Parliamentary Studies: Current Scientific Discourses on Parliaments in a Digital Age

Péter Smuk Áron Ősze

Publication Name: International Journal of Parliamentary Studies

Publication Date: 2025-01-01

Volume: Unknown

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

This report intends to summarize the academic discussions on actual parliamentary issues at the conference that took place in Athens, 13 June 2025.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1163/26668912-bja10115

Three models of sovereignty-protection

Péter Smuk Tamara Álvarez Robles

Publication Name: Rechtskultur

Publication Date: 2024-01-01

Volume: Unknown

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 515-533

Description:

This paper discusses three approaches of what we call sovereignty and the protection thereof. The classical concept of sovereignty needs a multi-layered analysis in order to understand recent developments in different legal-political discourses and narratives. We suggest to take into consideration the following layers that are interconnected in various ways. The first aspect is the classical sovereignty concept of the 19th–20th centuries, which, after the consolidation of nation states, acts against attacks or interventions targeting the constituent elements and functions of the state (territory, population, legitimate government-jurisdiction). This model uses the mechanisms of the United Nations in addition to the classical nation-state defence and diplomatic instruments. Another layer notes the developments in Euro-Atlantic integration: recently we observe the sovereignty disputes within the European Union fuelled by the identity-discourse. The third dimension understanding sovereignty disputes is to characterise operations in cyberspace in the 21st century, targeting not only defence and critical infrastructure, but also democratic discourses. In this paper, we will review the main features of these sovereignty layers, with a particular focus on the lessons to be drawn from supranational and cyberspace disputes. The EU Member States’ toolbox, together with recent developments in sovereignty, identity and democracy protection, will be assessed in the light of European constitutional standards.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: DOI not available