F A C U L T A T E A D E D R E P T Çl Ç T IIN T E A D M I N IS T R A T I V E U N IV E R S I T A T E A D E
V E S T D I N T I M I Ç O A R A
C E N T R U L E U R O P E A N D E S T U D II
§1 C E R C E T Ä R IJ U R ID IC E
F A C U L T Y O F L A W A N A D M I N I S T R A T I V E S C I E N C E S W E S T U N I V E R S I T Y O F T IM I Ç O A R A
T H E E U R O P E A N C E N T E R F O R L E G A L S T U D IE S A N D R E S E A R C H
STUDII ÇI CERCETÄRI JURIDICE EUROPENE EUROPEAN LEGAL STUDIES AND RESEARCH
DREPT PUBLIC / PUBLIC LAW
CONFERINTA INTERNATIONALÄ A DOCTORANZILQR ÎN DREPT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF
PhD STUDENTS IN LAW Vol. II
Timisoara - aprilie (April) 2010
The emergence of bourgeois public administration in hungarian cities (1843-1867)
Norbert VARGA PhD, associate professor University o f Szeged. Hungary
The transformation of public administration was among the most important tasks after the Compromise of 1867. The legislators introduced measures for the establishment of the regional and local subsystems of the centrally subordinated state organisation. In terms of their antecedents, there was a significant difference between the organisation of municipalities before 1848 and in the dualistic era.
The rights of municipalities were fundamentally determined in their letters patent issued in the feudal period, which included their privileges, immunities and obligations Municipal organisations prior to 1848 were characterised by the following: a) they participated in legislation by way of their envoys; b) by virtue of their local authority, they were the only entities entitled to enforce laws and governmental decrees within their territory; c) they administered their internal affairs themselves, by way of their own officials; d) they elected their ow n officials; e) they were entitled to make new statutes within their territories; f) they had their own, authenticated seal and archives, as well as their own treasury to cover the costs of public administration.
Before the acts of 1848, the envoys of the counties each had a vote in the national assembly (diet), while those of the free royal cities had a single combined vote. It was due to this significant superiority that the old counties were called «the guards and the bastions of the constitution", since they were able to exercise, by way of their envoys, considerable influence over policymaking on the national level.’ Municipalities «prior to 1848 were not so much the partners of the autonom ous counties, bur rather tools in the hands of the monarch'
Prior to 1848, free royal citiei were directly under the supervision of the Council of rnor General, to which they submitted their minutes and their budget for approval, nicipalities were in a true state of guardianship, unlike counties.1 In addition, the supervision of the Hungarian Chamber was also exercised with respect to economic and especially financial
sures.
' E. Nagy, M a g y a ro m ig közjoga (Allam jog) (P u b ic la w in H u n ga ry (State law) Budapest 1907. p 3 64, Fó n a g y, M odernizáció é i polgárosodás M agyarország története 1849-1914-ig (M odernisation and bourgeois ént. The h isto ry o f H u n g a ry between 1 8 4 9 a n d 1914) Debrecen. 2001. p 7S; F. Sík. 4 vármegyeiOnkcvmánytat a dualizmus idejön / The ru le o f the county le v e l government in the dualistic e r a f In A Csizmadia. Jogtörténeti nynk l i A dualizm us korának állam ■ és jo g tö rté n e t kérdései /Studies in legal history II Questions o f stafe and history o f the dualistic era) Budapest. 1 9 6 8 p 139-ISO
1 A. Gergely, Területi autonóm iák - lokális önkormányzatok a X IX századi Magyarországon /RegKnal autonom ies authorities in 19th-century H ungaryj In. Jenő G ergely (ed): Au ton óm iák M agyarországon 1 8 4 8 -1 9 9 8
les in H u n g a ry 1 8 4 8 -1 9 9 8 ] Budapest, 2 0 0 4 p 4S
1 O n the histo ry o f D eb recen In th e Reform Age: G. Komoróczy, A reform kori D ebrecen [Debrecen in the Reform Hajdú-Bihar M e g y e i le v é ltá r Közlem ényei, n o 6 Debrecen, 1974 p 187-341.
The organ isation o f municipalities w as characterised b y the following The m ost important corporate b o d y w as th e council. The body of magistrates was in charge of tasks of public adm inistration an d justice, w h a t is more, they elected the m ost important officials of the city su c h a s th e chief justice, the m a yo r and the captain The other corporate body was the .elected c o m m u n ity “, the size of w hich w as adjusted t o the population, and which participated in tn,*
elections o f officials and the adm inistration of economic issues They had to be consulted on all m ajor financial and econom ic questions*. From am ong these two bodies, the council was the supe rior one.
There were a lso offices in this period for which they required professional qualifcations These offices included those of the town-clerk, the municipal attorney, chief engineer and the chief su rg e o n The foundations on w hich specialised administration was to develop can already be observed at th is time.
The p o w e r stru ggles between various bodies, a s well as the deficiencies inherent m th e regulation s o f public adm inistration, resulted in a situation in which it would have been ne ce ssary to rationalise th e organisation and procedures of cities as so o n as possible however th is w a s hindered b y the dicasterial system. The reform of free royal cities seemed politically t o o risk y In addition, th e leading layers of the municipal population w as not keen on reform either „To so m e extent th ey could have been justified in thinking that in the feudal diet the d iscu ssio n o f the m unicipal issues w ould take place ‘about them - without th em '” whicn claim w a s supported b y th e fact that the free royal cities only had a single vote m the lo w e ’ House It w o u ld have been necessary to reinterpret the relationship between the municipalities and th e central governm ent. The result of this w as the continuation of the earlier legal practice so m u c h s o that the m unicipal council as the m ost important corporate body survived also into th e dualistic era. T he definition of the scope of authority of certain municipal officials (mayor, to w n clerk) fu ndam en tally relied on feudal elements
In th e reform age. an increasingly pressing problem w as municipal reform, as a result o f w h ich in th e 1 8 4 3 / 4 4 session of the diet the issue w as already raised in the form of a bill. The o rgan isatio n of cities had to be regulated in such a w ay that they shoulc receive protection aga in st the .usurpation o f power exercised by the counties*“. The proposed law was introduced b y M ó ric Szentkirályi, and included the following important provisions Municipal statutes w o u ld be subm itted to the Council of Governor General The bill provided a precise definition a n d th e sco p e o f m unicipal ordinances. This meant supervision w ith respect to cities'. A significant part o f m unicipal citizens w ould have enjoyed civil rights The bill also precisely defined th e con d ition s of settlement in a city, as well as contained provisions on
• J Ruszoly. A u e g e d > n e p k e p vn e te o k o / g y ú lt i 1 8 4 8 1 8 7 1 [T h e representative n u m b l y o f U t g t < 3 1S48 1871].
Szeged. 1 9 8 4 p 7 O n the history o f municipal governm ent in tne reform ege I f * \ l i '. A . i r o \ > g ii g a ia i d e m o u r . : m u i a P ic se tt 1 7 8 0 1 8 4 8 /T he d e m o c r a t * n a tu re o f m u n icip a l go ve rn m e n t m P é c s 1 7 8 0 1 8 4 8 } In lis z to S ard s* (ed)- Tanulm ányok P é c s v ir o s törté n e tib ő l (Studies o n the history o f Pics) Pics. 1982 p 10S-111
’ I KajMr. A m e g y é t . i r o n o n k o r m in y ia t o k (1 8 4 8 -1 9 1 8 ) ¡H u n g a ria n m un icipal go ve rn m e n ti (18*8 -1 9 1 8 )1 B udap est 1992 p 35
• A Csizmadia, A m a g y a r v i r o u j o g R efo rm tore kvétek a m a g y a r . i r o n k o iig a t g a t ilb a n /Hungarian m uruopal l a w R e f o r m u l e n d e a v o u r* tn H u n g a r ia n m u n icip a l p u blic edmimttration/. Kolozsvár. 1941 p 135
' Id e m. p 142 -1 4 5 Supervisory rights were a lso given t o royal com m issioners whose funclKyi became im portant w h e n in 1733 th e m unicipal com m ission w as formed w ithin the Hungarian Chamber, which was in charge o * c o n tro llin g lire financial m ana gem ent o f the cities The right o( political supervision belonged t o the Council of G overnor General since 1723 K om or6czy. 1974 p 251, Tam Js Antal is also o f a similar opinion T A n t a l A debreceni n t p k t p v ie l e t i k o ig y ú t é i ( 1 8 4 8 - 1 8 6 7 ) A t 1 8 4 8 X X III tc vRgreha/tJia Debrecenben /The representative a o e m b iy o f D e b r e c e n 1 8 4 8 1 8 6 7 The e n fo rce m e n t o f A c t X X I I I o f 1 8 4 8 m D eb recen / Acta Jurtdka et Politica Tomus IX V Il Fast 1 Szeged. 2 0 0 5 p 5
in the city It defined the scope of authority of municipal bodies, m terms of cnminai.
Ite and administrative law* The bill regulated the municipal assembly’s scope of tasks in sense. For the provisions of certain tasks, committees could have been set up In the tration of municipal affairs, the bill intended to establish the «stitution of mmor ties, which would have included municipal officials and representatives as well It also intended to establish independent civil guards, as well as discontinue the institution of
ital commissioners by w ay of giving supervision to the Council of Governor General The Upper H ouse did not support the bill due to the wide scope of crvit rights it would have granted and due to the changes m the governmental supervision For the grantn g of civil rights, they wanted to have a high rating on the basis of property, and they proposed that the stitution of inspector general be introduced The cities refused to accept that the government have influence on the running of the cities The efforts of free royal cities were aimed at freeing themselves from the guardianship of the government and to achieve the .living of Hungarian life within the frameworks of their own self-government*" They wished to extend the scope of provisions adopted b y the local authorities to be submitted for approval, which measures would have meant a limitation of the autonom y of the free royal cities
The powers of the inspector general would have been similar to those of the municipal Lord lieutenant, introduced in the dualistic era. since he would have chaired over the general assembly and the meetings for the re-election of officials, he would have had the authority to call to accounts negligent officials, as well as to retroactively examine the legality of elections
Finally, due to the failure to achieve results by w ay of several rounds of messages sent back and forth between the two Houses, the bill w as not submitted to the monarch for the royal assent The m ost important difference of opinion between the tw o houses concerned the granting of the civil rights, the introduction of the institution of the inspector general the approval of municipal ordinances and the regulations concerning the powers of cities It w as not only the Upper H ouse that did not like the liberal-minded bill, but the government ' tr. since the cities were making every effort to free themselves from the supervision of the
•nt10. The final regulation of the organisation of cities proved to be a failure, since parliamentary envoys only got to the .threshold" of the so lution '' N o agreement was i, because the cities were striving to break o u t from the dependency v The significance
£th* parliamentary debate was still very high, since they brought to the surface the problems municipal structures, which foreshadowed the subsequent realisation that the is o f free royal cities w ould have t o be settled
O n e can fully agree w ith the finding of István Kajtár that .in the regulation of municipal
»nt b y w ay of laws, legal solutions were influenced by very specific, power-related con siderations'» In m y opinion, this w as also characteristic of the later parliamentary
•Csam xtu 1941 p 143-146 tebm .p 153
l KomlOsy. E n vo y from Debrecen. submitted a petition signed by » 0 0 0 . O v a * citizens a g a n st the
lion o f Jews Csizmadia. 1941 p 1S9 1 6 0 The members o f the Upper Mouse ernsted by ell m eans o n the
! supervisory right of the governm ent I KajUr. A b u m o * r é r o v g u p U t /og> ' t o d f * * * t u u i u U u Í urOpaban es
t ¡The emergence of the ltg*i lyttem o f bourgeon mumey*! government m furope »nd * Hvngtryj m
' l e d ) Jogtörténet, eiOedtsok l (lectures o f legel history) Sodepest. 1 9 9 0 p 91 See also I XejUr Szemere I ét a varosok reformja fbertslan Szemere and m u n o p b l reform] In /One/ tuszoly (td ) Sttmere t o t a la n f t tore
i btomere and hn age] \ M.stolc. 1991 p 19?
" J *uMoly. A urged. nepktpvneieti kotgyúléi 1848 1871 /The representative assembly of Sreped 1848-18711 .1 9 8 4 p 8
>6. Debrecen 1848 1849 btn ]0ebrt<en m 1848 1849/ Debrecen. 19?« p 9
1 Kajtar. 1 9 9 ? p 4 4
tSi
debate o f the bills concerning free royal cities as well, which manifested itself m o«
prom inently in connection with the act on public municipal authorities
The m ost important corporate body of cities was the joint meeting o f the senate and the grand council, called the general assembly (generalis congregatio) The corporate meeting o f senators w as the senate, or minor council, while the third forum w as the grand council (conunumtai or electa iurata commumtai) O f course, there were also officials in the cities wtx were in charge of the enforcement The fact should n ot be neglected that in this period pub, adm inistration and justice were not separated, which means that course of justice were ai operating in the free royal cities’*.
A t the next session of the national assembly summoned in Poxsony (1847), the issue • the reform of free royal cilies w as raised once again The notion of introducing the pract„
of virilism w as already raised here, which was only accepted by the legislators m 1870 A even m ore neuralgic point w as the regulation of the issue of governmental supervise.p Originally, the representatives wanted to pass a much more detailed bill, which include provisions o n settling down, the regulation of the right of issuing municipal ordinances tl..- pow ers and classifications of cities, the granting of civil rights, the election and voting • of representatives, regulations on municipal police and courts of justice, the procedures i.
the re-election of officials and for conducting the parliamentary elections, as well as settlii the issue of the institute of the inspectorate general Such a detailed bill, including a s nu. , a s 170 articles, however, could not be discussed in the spring of 1848, and therefore shun, bill consisting o f only 3 0 articles w as crated, which included provisions concerning the most im portant issues o n ly1'.
In place o f the inspector general they wished to introduce the office of lord mayor tins office, however, w ould hav? largely been different in its nam e only, having very similar tas»
an d pow ers a s in the bill of 1843 It would have been the right of the monarch to appoint tin«
lord m ayor over one or several cities, w ho w ould have been under the direct control of the Council o f G overnor General The lord mayor w ould have supervised the system o f municipal public authority, chaired the general assem bly and the council, would have had authority to review the administrative practices of the various offices, as well as the right to appoint officials in the re-election process The w ay the scope o f powers of the lord mayor is settled show s very obvious similarities w ith the powers o f the lord lieutenant, as set forth in the 1870 act o n public adm inistration This is w h y we can say that the introduction o f the office of municipal lord lieutenant in the dualistic era w as not without antecedents, and in the implementation and regulation o f this the relationship between the government and the cities played an extremely im portant role.
The laws of 1 8 4 8 extended the exercise of political rights to all citizens These laws had a m ajor impact o n the organisation and the legal relations of the municipal authorities and caused important changes in them This is particularly true in the light of the fact that in free royal cities the municipal and local authority rights were extended to the entire municipal population, without any differences The work started by the Diet in the 1843/44 session could o n ly be completed in 1 8 4 8 In Act X X III o f 1848 they could not take over everything from the earlier bill, and several characteristic features of municipal life remained unchanged.1*
" Komordcry. 1974 p 197 2 . 6 O n m ayors o f S ie g 'd m Ih e reform age. see Va s v 198S p S3» Cf . Bruner.
S ie g e d to rttoete * X V W u t i e d rtg tt& l * i »879 ¿ r d o g ¡T h e t n t o r y o f S ie g e d r ro m the e n d o f the IB t h t e o t u y t o the f lo o d o f t a n } V o l ll Sieged. 1«99 p 81
"C s iim a d ie 1941 p 170
• I Kejtar. » 84 8 » 84 9 t i a X/X i/4ia<* m o d e rrU iid d n t /»848->949 and o u r 19th ctr>tury modemuaf««"/
fogtudoeitinyi KOllOny. M a y 1999. p 196
M .
small, r official!
the cat
i
Municipalities were placed in three groups o n the basis o f the sue o f their population medium-sited and large cities". The law also contained provisions o n the re-election of officials, and determined the group of offices subject to election the mayor, the chief justice, the captain-general, the lieutenant captain, the councillors, the town clerk, the municipal attorney, the keeper of the records, the land magistrates, the municipal accountant, the surgeon general and the municipal chief engineer However, the law contained n o provisions concerning the term of these officers' mandate, nor did it regulate the scope of the council's and the general assembly's powers Neither did it contain provisions concerning the organrtation o f the body of representatives and the election of its mem bers The major advantage o f this framework type of legislation over the municipal authorities act was that the organisation of Cities were defined independently of the counties W e can agree with the conclusion drawn by Andor Csum adia that Act X X III of 1848 .did not lump cities together w ith counties, as later public administration acts do. as it recognised that cities and counties often have very functions'* ** Aurêl Hencz also m entions as one of the m ost important advantage of the act that it did not m i* the status of counties and cities, as did the later public administration acts (e g Act X III of 1870) The rules of public administration o f 1848 left the earlier territorial units of public administration m place, and the territorial divisions that came into being a s a result of the traditions of public law remained in effect The laws fundam entally settled the relationship between the cities, counties and the responsible government in a satisfactory w a y ” The new political situation precluded the earlier, feudal type o f the operation o f local authorities, it was necessary to adopt to the endeavours of the governm ent .accordingly, the political type of the feudal, privilege-based autonom ies vanished in the smelt w orks o f the bourgeois transformation, at the boundary o f the new society”“
During the time of the revolution and the war of independence, parliament rem oved its seat to Debrecen, which determined the local municipal p o lie / ' In accordance w ith the needs o f the revolution, various com m ittees were established The greatest significance of Act X X III of 1848 w as that it based the organisation o f cities o n the principle of popular representation In Debrecen the old general assem bly soon gave its place over to the new body of representatives, which created the judicial and administrative councils, th us separating the areas of justice and public administration They set up the office of the land magistrate, and then the elections were held"’ The procedure that took place in Szeged w as also similar. The council and the
• B. SartO» A tdz-pazpefji p o l ç t n "¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ 1 /O n the bour g oott nature o f p u b fc a t fM M r a fio a / ta Ferenc
M ito kti. Gyorgy Rank! (e d s ) A m a g y a ro u k g i pot* t n 111*"vendtzerek (Bourgeon pobucal systems in Hungary) 1981 p 276. Csumadia. 1941 p. 170. A H e n « . Teruletrendez*si rorekvdte* M a gyw oruA p on At
*04141> / o p U J M y o i i t aipettusAbOl ¡ I f f o m /or tertfement p ltn ru n g m H u n g try fro m (A * aspect o f I«pel
* o f p u b lK o & ru m iv s tto n } Budapest. 1 9 7 ) p 78 'C sU m a dia. 1941 p 171
■ H encz. 197) p 78 8 0
* » Mezey. A lU m o u t à t et auTonOmu C entraW aod e t o n to rm A n y u ta A ga XIX szdzad m atodd /ettben i A n d A u to n o m y C e n trstn A tm n » n d t o c sl A u to n o m y m th o to to n d hot/o f t f w t 9 t f u t M ^ y ] In JenA G4tgaty t A utondm uk Magyarorszkgon 1 84 8 1998 (Autonomies » Hungary 1848 1998) Budapest. 2 0 0 4 p 11-14
" M ore o n the organisation o f the war o t »dependence from Debrecen, the task* o f pubbe edmmrsJreOon and
•he Operation o f the national assem b ly SiaOO 19 4 8 p 6 0 9
“ t a w 14-ZZ Tamks Antal proved«* a more delated discussion ol the re election ol tSe oMwers and B e
o f e le c t » * representatives » Debrecen t A n ta l 2 0 0 5 p 14-22. T A n t a l Debrecen szabad brtty*4ros
•1 8 4 9 -b e n t t 1861 b e n /Attembfyo/ ro y A l fre e b o ro u g h o f S i e g e d * 18 4 9 and I8 6 f / I n RaAcs. (M m a n ( e d ) -Bihar M egyei levdU kr CtkOnyve (Yearbook o f Ha^Jufchar C ounty Azhrves] KXV1I Debrecen, p 1 )9 -1 5 0 .
* * 4 l A debrecen, loz-pazpacat ds a rwpkdpvuelec. torgyiUds 1848-ban /Adnm atrebon o f Debrecen and l assem bly » 1 8 4 8 J in K R a d « , (e d ) A Ha/du-fchar M e * « . I e * f t b r f .tenyve / Yearbook o f Ha/du-Bdiar
I X X V I Debrecen, p 61-63
general assem bly were in charge of administering the city. The latter was called the body representatives, because in addition to the officials, the majority of its m em bers were poison, elected on the basis of the principle of popular representation’’.
The introduction of the system of parliamentary government (Act III of 1848) necessitated the maintenance of municipal authorities. It has become necessary to bring these in harmony with the institution of the responsible government, which could only be realised in its entuct, after the legislation of 1848 in Act XLII of 1870/*
The enforcement of Act XXIII of 1848 raised several problems This was only framework type of legislation, which gave opportunities to the emergence of particularities In the opinion o f Béla Sarlós, the act was „of bourgeois nature in all of its provisions’' “ significance of ne w laws in 1848 concerning local authorities was that they ..created i v foundations of a bourgeois public administration, and in the free royal cities as well as Ml tow ns of settled (organised) councils, they introduced an entirely bourgeois type of publ adm inistration"“. According to István Kajtár, in 1848 it was only the foundations of moden m unicipal adm inistration that were laid H e justified this statement by reference to the la< • that the establishm ent o f the system of bourgeois local government raised a host of practical and legal problem s The reform of the cities remained not only o f „framework type", but also incomplete A lot of earlier, feudal institutions survived In his opinion, „in 1 8 4 8 -4 9 we car o n ly reckon w ith a bourgeois type of municipal administration that was under construction since w ith the mere declaration o f the foundations and the outlining of the frameworks clearly bourgeois legal system of municipal administration could not have taken a firm shapi yet“ " This conclusion is also supported by the fact that the municipal authorities act already contained detailed provisions concerning the organisation of cities, thereby filling in the gaps left In 1848.
The revolution prevented the legislators in 1848 to flesh out the individual provisions with detailed content. The act was hardly translated into practice at all, since after the fall of tin- w a r of independence, the new achievements of public administration were also swept away
The governm ent commissioners, by w ay of limiting the rights of self government, also hindered the enforcem ent of this a ct10.
The governm ent com m issioners were representatives o f the central power, who supervised adm inistration of cities with a certain regularity”. This institution was a layer between the governm ent and the local authorities, which carried out its tasks in accordance
'* Rustoly. 1984 p 8 11. 14, 17-38 , J Ruwoly. A V ir o l é í p o t g ira V j l o g a lo l l Ir iio k S ie g e d rb l / T h é o ti o i l i n ' Sele< l e d w ritm gi o n Sie g e d / Sreged. 1999 p 7
H M o re on the emergent# o l the bourg#©.* State organ.satlon A Gergely. A i 1 8 4 8 a i m agyar p o lg in
» H a m u e r v e t e t ¡T h e b o u rg e o n t u i e o rganisation o f »848/ In Ferenc Pólósáéi. György R in k i (eds ) A m a g y a ro m ig polgári illamrends/erek (Bourgeon political *y*le rm in Hungary) Budapest. 1981 p S 0 -8 0
" I Gazdag. D e b re ce n i vA rospolH ika I8 2 S - I8 4 8 O ru à g g y û lé ii u ta V tiso k. tudósítások (M u n icip a l p o lity >n D ebrecen 1 8 2 3 - » « 4 « 0rc>re> a n d rep o rts /rum Parliam ent/ Hafdó-Bihar M egyei l e v i l l i - Koilem#nyei. no 2 0 D ebrecen. 1 98 9 p 1SS-158
" S a r ló * . 1981 p 2 7 6
" Idem. 2 76 K o n g a ig a t á s é s hatalom polltika a duahxm us ren d u etè b en ¡P u b lK adm inistration a n d p o w e r pohtKS in the dualistk iy*tem/ Budapest. 1976 p 78
" Kajtir 1 9 9 ? p S3
" A Csizmadia. S Karciay. M a g y a r o m i g kóiigatgatása /Publk adm inistration In H ungary/ Budapest 1946 p ?S.
I M e/nerks. I Torday. A m a g y a r k ó n g a rg a tá s szerver 1 867-1937 ¡T h e organs o/ H un garian p u b l« administration/
Budapest. 1937 p S7-S8
“ A. Gergely. 1981 p S 0 -8 0
* ' R us/oly 1984 p 11
8S4
with the objectives of the government“ . The minister of the interior used this possibility because the question of providing superintendence was not properly regulated Often a commissioner of regional scope o f authority was subsequently given nationwide powers (e.g. Count Kázmér Batthyány)'*. The centralisation efforts of the government were manifested In the creation of the institute of government commissioners, whose chief task was to solve problems arising due to the deficiencies of the system of public administration In the interest o f the above, government commissioners were given broad powers u As a result, the cities regarded the activities of government commissioners with quite a bit of resentment, similar to the later introduced lord-lieutenancy.
After the fall of the war of independence, the organisation of cities was regulated in a peculiar way. which was in line with the arrangements and purposes of neoabsolutism. The Hapsburg Empire aimed at creating a centralised system of public administration W ith the advancing of Wmdischgratz, royal commissioners appeared in the cities They did not eliminate the earlier bodies of public administration, but did reorganise the way they operated They counted on the support of the elite loyal to the dynasty. This system partly meant a step back from the provisions of Act XXIII of 1848, since they instituted appointment-based organs in place o f elected bodies This period was characterised by a large degree of centralisation and legal overregulation. The scope of powers o f cities was significantly curtailed in comparison with earlier times, while the powers of the supervising authorities were broadened
In Haynau's period of military rule, the country was placed under military administration with the system of civilian public administration abolished and the country divided into five military regions In his ordinance, minister of the interior Bach urged the introduction of the statute of 1849. and he also wanted to effect several statutes to be issued for the most important cities The provisional rules introduced in 1849 placed the free royal cities under the supervision of the lord-lieutenant, which meant a step back from the earlier system in the administration of cities In his general order of 1850. Geringer established administrative regions with Pozsony (today's Bratislava). Kassa (Kosice). Sopron and Nagyvárad (Oradea) as their seats O n the top of the Hungarian public administration was the lieutenant-governor The majority of free royal cities were governed by the county chiefs, while those listed above were under the supervision of the regional lord lieutenants.n The appointed official was nsible for mediating the will of the central administration toward several counties, as .1 as ensured that it was enforced Its powers included the appointment and dismissal of ipal officials, exercising disciplinary rights, suspending unreliable officials, supervising the of the officials in the district, promulgating the provisions of the government, as well as ing decisions concerning complaints submitted against organs of public administration * The regions were subdivided into counties, each of which was headed by a county chief At the St level of public administration were the districts, with the district com m issioners having title o f m agistrates of administration*'.
S S i f t » B e / t j U n \ i n r p e a k o t m à n y b i i t a i i ¡ n l à i m é n y 1 1 8 4 8 à p n ü i■ U f p t a m è t r l If 0/ B t r t t l in S it m t r e m lhe u l t b l u h m t n l o/ rh t inU 'Iutron o f ç o t t t n n t n i cotm ruiuonftt (Apni if p lt m b t r 18)/. I n ¡ ö n t i Ruw oly (kJ ) Szemete Bertalan t i kota [Bertalan Szemete and N i age| I M á k o k . 1991 p 2 2 4 r - " Kajtâr. 1 9 9 ? p 51
“ G t f f e ly A . 1981 p 72
"Kajtir. 1992 p $6
1 J. Síita, A kOiigélÇitAi tfvtktnyiéft ét i/ervezeie a n*o*buolut>imui eiid /eWPen (1849-1854) [TT* aOn-ty
i o/public sdminniniion in thr fini h*lfof fhe nto*btoMnt e*a/ In iêms Meze* (rd 1//lectures o/Irqtlhmcuy] Budapest. 1990 p US
' O S M hegyi. A n t o t b u o lu t iim u i rendszere » 8 4 9 »867 ¡T h t system o f n to è b w lu t n m »84 9-1867/ m *«
G yörgy R i n i i ( * J i ) A m t g y r o n t A q i p o t ç à n A lU m t tm tu tft A /Bowrgeo.» poU tK »! m M B ! p 9 2
•SS
Neoabsolutism by and large eliminated the foundations of the bourgeois pUb„t administration, still in its early state of development, but it should be noted that some of t elements were later utilised by the re organising municipal administration. W ith the treat,0„
o f financial administration, the development of specialised public administrative functio-.
started. Separate rules applied to state officials The body of civil servants w as established 0r the basis of the Austrian model Foreign administrative officials were brought to the country w ho were familiar w ith the new rules and were able to .think in the w ay of the empire The objective w as to create a layer of administrative officials representing the Austrian o f thinking, in the interest of which they have defined new rules of qualification- A part municipal administration became more specialised and more organised”.
Geringer wanted to establish a committee whose task was to settle the status o’
cities A provisional draft (Provisorische Instruction zur Regelung des Gemeindewesens den königlichen Freistadten und in den ubringen Gemeinden mit geregelten Magistraten Kronlande Ungarn) w as prepared in 1851. and w as entered into effect. They introduced the
principle of virilism, which was aimed at protecting the interest of the wealthy layers ’h change also remained in bourgeois system o f public administration, and became an importár:
factor in the formation of the general assembly40
Cities were divided into two groups The first one included the five seats of tm- abovementioned regions, with all other cities in the second group. The seats were remove, from the supervision o f the district and county authorities and placed directly undei th.
supervision of the regional lord lieutenant Mayors were appointed to lead each city“
The .resurrection" o f Hungarian local authorities already started with the issuance o‘ r v October Diplom a in 1860 The foundation w as this was provided by the regulations of Ib48 but due to the protraction of the process of the compromise the reform of the cities could r : take place a s quickly a s would have been necessitated by the system of public administration
During the provisional government of Schmerling, they once again created bodies consisting of appointed members, and placed the cities under the supervision of the Council of Governor General4' The provisional rules, restoring in effect the system o f public administration of the 1850s, entered into effect on 5 November 1861 The significance of the acts of 1848 is also shown by the fact that Hungarian constitutionality was restored after 1861, which also included the modernisation o f 1 8 4 8 It was subsequently that the political negotiations started as a result o*
which the public law construct of the compromise was achieved41
In the neoabsolutist era, the city of Debrecen w as deprived o f m o st of its rights of self- governm ent and government commissioners were appointed to run the city The . Cí v i sCity*
w as m ade part of the Nagyvárad region, and then became a centre itself. W ith the exception o f the council, which w as placed under the control of the lord lieutenant, the corporate bodies o f the city were abolished. The justice system and the financial m anagem ent of the city were
- Id e m p 9 4 9S - K j jt ii 1990/« p 9J
* Sashegyi. 1981 p 8 4 M e n « Aurél «(so discusses the introduction of raw virilism and its significance idem 19/3 p 8 6 This regul«t»on applied * i all cities Kajtir. 1990/« p 93
■ 'Mène/. 1973 p 8 6 87
“ O n the transformation o f the counties m this period, see I SdpCa. TOrekvdiek a virm e gytk p o fit*»
ila l a k t t is ir a Tetve telek. j a v a s U io K törvényei ¡fff o n s fo r the p o lilK a l transform ation o f co un tie s Drafts. proposais laws/ Budapest. 1995 p 7 0 113
" J Calintai, A dualista illa m re n d u e r k ,a la k ító in a k e g y* s k t r d t s n ¡Certain issues o f (he form ation of the d ualn tic system o f go ve rn m en t! In feren c AVOsier. G y t r g y Banki (e d i ) A m a g y a r o m ig / p o lg in illamrends/eret /Bourgeois p o litica l systems in H ungary/ Budapest. 1981 p 144
reorganised“ The city of Szeged was also m ade part o f the Nagyvárad region, which was under the supervision o f the chief commissioner. Som e citizens o f Szeged wanted their city also to receive privileges similar to those o f Debrecen, however, their w ish was not granted The blueprint for the modernisation o f public administration in Szeged w as drawn up by Antal Gartner (clerk at the Council o f Governor General), on the basis o f which the organisational units of the council were created.“ After 1861 it w as also the general assembly and the council that provided for the m ost important tasks The general assem bly based on popular representation was abolished, and councillors received their position by w ay o f appointment Som e free royal cities (including Szeged and Debrecen) created bye-laws (standing orders), the provisions of which were taken into consideration in the reorganisation efforts of 1872. This was the period when the cities attempted to counter the absolutistic control exercised over them Legislation always paid attention to the existing political situation These power relations were closely linked to the com prom ise o f 1867. O n e could also observe the enforcement o f certain power-related, political licenses.
The creation o f the new public administration act w as a pressing issue due to the framework nature of Act X X III of 1848, a s well as the state organisation o f the compromise.
The legislative provisions had to be drafted in such a w a y that the cities should not be able to used their licenses against the government. This requirement w as realised by w ay of Act Kill of 1870, which meant a curtailment of the rights o f local authorities. The cities, however,
•emforced their role a s constitutional defenders
Poor to the Act o f 1870 (on municipal administration) there were a few legal institutions
;hat had an effect o n the public administration o f the dualistic era The earlier system of public administration could not be ignored, in fact, the provisions laid dow n in the acts of 1848 served as the point of departure from which the reform of public adm inistration and the process leading to the adoption o f the municipal administration act could be started.
Jr. Barta. O ebrecen a x e b u o lu V im u s k o r ib e n ( 1 8 4 9 1 8 6 7 ) (D e b re c e n tn the A b u tlu tnt era) in Gorut P ile r tö rté ne te 1 8 4 9 - 1 9 ) 9 ¡T h e h n t o r y o f D e b re c e n 1 8 4 9 -1 9 1 9 1 3 Debrecen, 1997 p 11-39
- . A io n k é n y u r e l o m k o r ib e n ( 1 8 4 9 - 1 8 6 0 ) ¡ I n t h e n e o ib io l u t n t ere (1 8 4 9 -1 8 6 0 )1 In I n d i e C e i l ( t d ) 1 8 4 9 - 1 9 1 9 (T h e h isto ry o f S ie g e d ) 3 1 Szeged. 1991 p 21
