Informal Concentration of Powers in Illiberal Constitutionalism

The Case of Hungary

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21822334
AutoresZoltán Pozsár-Szentmiklósy (0000-0002-4976-471X, Eötvös Loránd University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2024
Volumen16
Número2
Páginas289-314
Fecha de publicación2024-08-01
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHague Journal on the Rule of Law (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1876-4045 • E-ISSN: 1876-4053
EditorialSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s40803-024-00205-8
OpenAlexW4392505133
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas32

Classic and new concepts of the separation of powers doctrine focus on the control of central political power. Institutional checks and balances are classic legal instruments of this control, especially the activity of independent state organs. In those countries where the political system is dominated by a populist government, the institutional checks and balances and independent institutions are under constant pressure. In a consolidated political system that has already departed from liberal constitutionalism and where constitutional institutions do function only in a formal sense (illiberal constitutionalism), institutional checks and balances lose their significance. However, in addition to the exercise of powers by independent branches of government, other legal institutions or actions can also have a significant impact on relations between branches of government, even informally. Therefore, the system of checks and balances can be described as a multi-layered structure with formal (classical) and informal elements. The article analyses in detail, how the use of informal constitutional amendments and national referendums—as additional institutions belonging to the complex system of separation of powers—instead of controlling the central political power, has contributed to the informal concentration of government power in Hungary in recent years

Constitutionalism · Democracy · International law · International political economy · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public international law · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements

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