SEPARATION OF POWERS AND THE POLITICS OF CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS, INCLUDING JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE

Abstract

Constitutional courts in Central and Eastern Europe played an important role in the democratic transitions of the early 1990s. As a logical political response to erstwhile communist regimes, these institutions were designed to be strong safeguards of individual rights against oppressive state power. The broad competences of, and the public trust in, constitutional courts rendered them significant players in the political arena. After two decades of stable functioning, constitutional courts and ordinary courts in both Hungary and Poland are facing serious political and legal challenges from the countries’ new political majority. Do these developments amount to a paradigm shift in the concept of constitutionalism, or are they signs of democratic decay? What is the responsibility of constitutional courts in the current situation and what is the proper attitude the courts should assume? This chapter examines these questions with special attention to the constitutional developments in Hungary.