🇭🇺 LONG-FORM COMPARISON

Duties & Responsibilities of Hungarian Citizens

Fundamental Law of Hungary (2011) vs. Constitution of 1949 (as amended to 2011)

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I. Introduction

Hungary has had two major constitutional frameworks since World War II:

1. Act XX of 1949, which—although heavily amended after 1989—remained the formal constitution until 2011.
2. The Fundamental Law of Hungary, adopted in 2011 and effective since 1 January 2012.

Both documents define rights and duties.
Here we examine citizen duties, meaning obligations imposed on individuals toward the community, state, or society.

The difference between the two documents reflects:

• the ideological shift from a socialist state to a liberal-democratic system (after 1989),
• and later to a national-conservative constitutional identity (2011).

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II. Duties Under the CURRENT Fundamental Law (2011)

The Fundamental Law uses the term “responsibilities” (kötelezettségek) more often than “duties.” It frames obligations in a modern, rights-based framework but still assigns binding duties.

1. Duty to Defend the Country

Article XXXI

Key elements:

• All Hungarian citizens are obliged to defend Hungary.
• This includes:
  • performing military service during a state of national crisis;
  • performing unarmed service if military service conflicts with conscience;
  • participating in reserve service under certain conditions.

The duty can become active only in specific legal states (e.g., state of danger, war).

The Fundamental Law ties defense to:

• national sovereignty,
• territorial integrity,
• and constitutional order.

2. Special Obligations in Times of Crisis

Also in Article XXXI:

During:

• a state of national crisis,
• or when Parliament introduces preventive defense measures,

citizens may be required to:

• perform defense-related work,
• provide economic and material services,
• cooperate in civil defense (evacuation, emergency tasks, disaster management).

These obligations are regulated by “cardinal Acts” (laws requiring 2/3 majority).

3. Duty to Contribute to Public Needs (Taxes, Social Contributions)

Article XXX

This article expresses social solidarity:

• Everyone must contribute to public needs according to:
  • their abilities
  • their participation in the economy

This includes:

• taxes,
• social security contributions,
• fees and duties.

An important new concept (not found in the 1949 Constitution):

“When assessing the extent of the contribution, child-rearing must be taken into account.”

This reflects a demographic family-support principle of the Fundamental Law.

4. Responsibility for Future Generations – Environmental and Cultural Duties

Article P

This is one of the most distinctive duties in the new constitutional order.

Citizens (and the state) must protect:

• natural resources,
• agricultural land,
• forests and water resources,
• biodiversity,
• cultural heritage,
• and “common national assets.”

The article frames environmental stewardship as a shared constitutional duty, a modern concept influenced by sustainability principles.

5. General Social Responsibility

Article N states that:

• every person “shall be responsible for himself or herself,”
• and must contribute to the performance of community tasks to the best of their abilities and potential.

This is a broad moral/constitutional expectation:

• self-reliance,
• contribution to society,
• personal responsibility.

Though general, it is enforceable through underlying legislation (e.g., social security, public obligations).

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III. Duties Under the PREVIOUS Constitution (Act XX of 1949)

Although originally Soviet-style, the 1989 constitutional reforms made the 1949 Constitution democratic. Still, its structure differed sharply from the 2011 Fundamental Law.

1. Duty to Defend the Country

Article 70/H

Similar to today, it required:

• defending the country,
• performing military service.

Mandatory conscription existed (until it was suspended in 2004).
Conscientious objectors could perform civil service.

2. Obligations in Time of Emergency

This article allowed the state to require:

• military work,
• economic or material services,
• civil protection services.

This is extremely similar to the 2011 rules, which inherited most concepts.

3. Duty to Contribute to Public Revenues (Taxes)

Article 70/I

This article:

• required all citizens to contribute to public revenues,
• used the specific phrase “according to their income and wealth,”
• grounding taxation in a notion of fairness based on economic capacity.

Unlike the 2011 law, there was no mention of child-rearing or personal circumstances.

4. Duty of Parents to Ensure Children’s Education

Article 70/J

This article imposed an explicit, enforceable duty on:

• parents or legal guardians
  to ensure the education of minor children.

This parental duty is now addressed mainly in the Child Protection Act, not the constitution itself.

5. Obligation to Resist Unconstitutional Seizure of Power

Article 2(3)

One of the most striking duties of the old constitution:

If someone attempts to seize power by unconstitutional means, every citizen and body of the state has the right and obligation to resist.

This reflected both:

• post-communist anti-coup anxiety (after 1989), and
• a belief that constitutional order must be actively defended by the population.

The current Fundamental Law does not include a similar citizen obligation.

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IV. Structural and Ideological Differences

1. The 1949 Constitution emphasized:

• civic unity against anti-constitutional threats,
• parents’ duty for education,
• socialist-derived expectations of service and loyalty,
• tax fairness based on wealth/income,
• classic conscription.

2. The 2011 Fundamental Law emphasizes:

• sovereignty and national defense,
• environmental stewardship,
• shared responsibility across generations,
• family policy (child-rearing considered in contributions),
• general personal responsibility.

The shift reflects:

• conservative, national, and family-oriented values,
• constitutional identity linked to Christian heritage,
• a modern sustainability-based framework.

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V. Complete Summary List

A. Duties under the Fundamental Law (2011)

1. Duty to defend the country (Art. XXXI)
2. Duty to provide military, unarmed, or civil service during emergencies
3. Duty to contribute to public needs (taxes), adjusted for child-rearing (Art. XXX)
4. Duty to protect environment, natural and cultural resources (Art. P)
5. General responsibility for oneself and contribution to community tasks (Art. N)

B. Duties under the 1949 Constitution

1. Duty to defend the country (Art. 70/H)
2. Duty to perform emergency work or material services during crises
3. Duty to contribute to public revenues according to income and wealth (Art. 70/I)
4. Duty of parents to ensure children’s education (Art. 70/J)
5. Duty to resist unconstitutional seizure of power (Art. 2(3))

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VI. Concluding Interpretation

The Fundamental Law modernizes traditional constitutional duties by:

• framing obligations as part of community responsibility,
• adding strong environmental and generational duties,
• integrating family policy into taxation responsibilities,
• and focusing on national defense as a collective value.

The old constitution emphasized:

• protection of constitutional order,
• social and economic fairness in taxation,
• parental responsibility,
• and classic civic obligations (defense, education, emergency service).

Overall, the new constitutional framework places more emphasis on national identity and intergenerational responsibility, while the old one had more explicit civic duties directed toward the preservation of democratic order and social welfare systems.