Kim Lane Scheppele examines the legality of Hungary's new constitution

Constitutional scholar Kim Lane Scheppele visited Central European University to discuss the legality of the newly-enacted Hungarian constitution. In a four-pronged argument, she says the new basic law is fundamentally flawed and out of synch with the country's previous governing document.

Prof. Scheppele was a guest of CEU's Political Science Department, and is the first in their series of lectures, "Hungary in the Spotlight."

Learn more about all our special speakers and guests online at http://www.ceu.hu, and watch the whole lecture at http://youtu.be/M_swtZNgjTc.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• central
• european
• university
• budapest
• hungary
• kim
• lane
• scheppele
• constitution
• unconstitutional
• liberal
• democracy
• orban
• fidesz

[kashmir87]

@akucsai That's right, you don't. But that's what the current government is doing, they are changing the rules just because they can. You were saying...?

[akucsai]

You don't change the rules, just because the players changed. She is a rent-a-speaker.

[socalmagyar]

The key points are (1) that there is a concerted move toward single-party control of institutions that should concern Hungarians with memories of pre-1989 and (2) that the first MDF government (also center-right) and subsequent MSZP government both made radical change *more* difficult when they had the opportunity to push for it, in stark contrast to the present government. It's very hard to see the new constitution and basic laws as anything other than a naked power-grab.

[pavolhardos]

@antedei "the constitution you are talking about was accepted by democratically elected members of the Hungarian parliament" aww, poor thing, you missed the whole point of the talk, didn't you?

[antedei]

Dear Madame, please note and accept (because you are a liberal, are not you?), that the constitution you are talking about was accepted by democratically elected members of the Hungarian parliament.

Just imagine please, what would happen if somebody would give a formal university lecture in the USA about the unconstitutional Constitution of the people of the United States? I guess that person would be urinated.