Creating Constitutional Consciousness in Post-Communist Society

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9411889 SCHEPPELE The late 20th century is witnessing one of the most revolutionary but peaceful political transformations in history, the transition from regimes of state socialism to regimes characterized by pluralism, democratic institutions, and the rule of law. This research project examines the creation of the rule of law in Hungary, which has moved farthest along the path toward creating a state where a written constitution meaningfully constrains and guides day-to-day politics. At the center of this transition in Hungary is the powerful Constitutional Court which has already acted aggressively to uphold a strong vision of human rights, separation of powers, and constitutional regularity. Acting on the basis of petitions from ordinary citizens, the Constitutional Court has struck down many statutes since 1990 on constitutional grounds; the Parliament has re-worked most of these to comply with the Court's interpretation of the Constitution. Analysis of the development and legitimation of this Court will make a major contribution to our knowledge of the role of constitutionalism in the democratization process. The PI will be examining petitions to the Court from January 1990 to see what it is that ordinary citizens in this new democracy believe a Constitution should do. The analysis will include what the Court does with these petitions, how they are turned into constitutional questions, and the effects of the Court's rulings on everyday politics in Hungary. ***