December Constitution

Last updated

The December Constitution (German: Dezemberverfassung) is a set of six acts that served as the constitution of the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary. The acts were proclaimed by Emperor Franz Joseph on December 21, 1867 and functioned as the supreme law of the land until the collapse of the empire in 1918. Five of the Constitution's acts were replaced by the Federal Constitutional Law between 1918 and 1920; the sixth law, a bill of rights, is still in force.

German language West Germanic language

German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol in Italy, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and Liechtenstein. It is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages that are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch, including Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.

Constitution Set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed

A constitution is an aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity, and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.

Cisleithania The Austrian Empire without the Kingdom of Hungary

Cisleithania was a common yet unofficial denotation of the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in the Compromise of 1867—as distinguished from Transleithania, i.e. the Hungarian Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen east of ("beyond") the Leitha River.

Contents

Content

The December Constitution consists of

Imperial Council (Austria) Parliament of the Austrian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

The Imperial Council was the legislature of the Austrian Empire from 1861, and from 1867 the legislature of Cisleithania within Austria-Hungary. It was a bicameral body: the upper house was the House of Lords, and the lower house was the House of Deputies. To become law, bills had to be passed by both houses, signed by the government minister responsible, and then granted royal assent by the Emperor. After having been passed, laws were published in the Reichsgesetzblatt. In addition to the Imperial Council, the fifteen individual crown lands of Cisleithania had their own diets.

Bill of rights Proclamation of fundamental rights to citizens of a polity

A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and private citizens.

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen Official name for the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary

The official name "Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen" denominated the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary during the totality of the existence of the latter. This union is sometimes denominated "Archiregnum Hungaricum", pursuant to Medieval Latin terminology. Pursuant to Article 1 of the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868, this territory was officially defined as "a state union of Kingdom of Hungary and Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia". Dalmatia actually lay outside the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen and was part of the Austrian half of the Empire, but was included in the name due to a long political campaign seeking recognition of the Triune Kingdom which consisted a united Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen disintegrated after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.

The Basic Law on the General Rights of Nationals is a bill of rights stipulating, among other things, equality before the law for all the empire's ethnicities (articles 1, 2, 3, and 19), the end of all forms of serfdom (art. 7), freedom of the press (art. 13), freedom of religion (articles 14 and 15), freedom of assembly (article 12), and secrecy of correspondence (art. 10). It also established a limited form of due process; under the Basic Law, a person could not be arbitrarily deprived of the freedom of their person (art. 8), their property (art. 5), or the inviolability of their home (art. 9). [2]

Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that each independent being must be treated equally by the law and that all are subject to the same laws of justice. Therefore, the law must guarantee that no individual nor group of individuals be privileged or discriminated against by the government. Equality before the law is one of the basic principles of liberalism. This principle arises from various important and complex questions concerning equality, fairness and justice. Thus, the principle of equality before the law is incompatible and ceases to exist with legal systems such as slavery, servitude.

Serfdom status of peasants under feudalism

Serfdom is the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude, which developed during the Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages in Europe and lasted in some countries until the mid-19th century.

Freedom of the press freedom of communication and expression through mediums including various electronic media and published materials

Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exercised freely. Such freedom implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state; its preservation may be sought through constitutional or other legal protections.

The Basic Law of the Judiciary stipulated the separation of administration and judiciary and the independence of the courts. It also guaranteed the right of the people to participate in the administration of criminal justice; serious crimes would from now on require trial by jury. Last but not least, the Law established a system administrative courts, making executive acts of government subject to judicial review. [4]

The separation of powers is a model for the governance of a state. Under this model, a state's government is divided into branches, each with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with the powers associated with the other branches. The typical division is into three branches: a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary, which is the trias politica model. It can be contrasted with the fusion of powers in parliamentary systems and semi-presidential systems where the executive and legislative branches overlap.

Jury trial Type of legal trial

A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a lawful proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions.

The Delegation Law affirmed and ratified, for the Cisleithanian party to the conflict, the main outcome of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867: Cisleithania and Transleithania would act as a single monolithic entity for the purposes of international law; they would have a joint diplomatic service, a joint foreign office, and joint armed forces. Otherwise, the Kingdom of Hungary would be a fully independent separate country. [6]

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 Constitutional reform

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise partially re-established the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hungary, separate from, and no longer subject to the Austrian Empire. The agreement also restored the old historic constitution of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Kingdom of Hungary former Central European monarchy (1000–1946)

The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen I at Esztergom around the year 1000; his family led the monarchy for 300 years. By the 12th century, the kingdom became a European middle power within the Western world.

The remaining laws dealt mainly with procedural details and miscellanea such as the immunity of Imperial Council delegates.

Genesis

Until 1848, the Austrian Empire was an absolute monarchy with no written constitution and no modern concept of the rule of law. In 1848, a wave of revolutions swept Austria; the revolutionaries demanded, among other things, constitutionalism and freedom of the press. By March 15, Emperor Ferdinand I had been forced to promise to meet these demands. On April 25, pursuant to this promise, Ferdinand proclaimed the Pillersdorf Constitution, named after its principal framer, Minister of the Interior Baron Franz von Pillersdorf. The Pillersdorf Constitution, written essentially by the cabinet with no consultation of any kind of elected council, was widely seen as inadequate and did nothing to stem the tide of revolutionary unrest. In December, Ferdinand was forced to abdicate. Among other desperate measures, he had already declared the constitution "provisional" in May and completely scrapped it in July.

Austrian Empire monarchy in Central Europe between 1804 and 1867

The Austrian Empire was a Central European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, it was the third most populous empire after the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom in Europe. Along with Prussia, it was one of the two major powers of the German Confederation. Geographically, it was the third largest empire in Europe after the Russian Empire and the First French Empire. Proclaimed in response to the First French Empire, it partially overlapped with the Holy Roman Empire until the latter's dissolution in 1806.

Absolute monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch holds supreme autocratic authority, principally not being restricted by written laws, legislature, or customs. These are often hereditary monarchies. In contrast, in constitutional monarchies, the head of state's authority derives from and is legally bounded or restricted by a constitution or legislature.

Rule of law Political situation where every citizen is subject to the law

The rule of law is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as: "The authority and influence of law in society, especially when viewed as a constraint on individual and institutional behavior; (hence) the principle whereby all members of a society are considered equally subject to publicly disclosed legal codes and processes." The phrase "the rule of law" refers to a political situation, not to any specific legal rule.

Ferdinand's successor, Franz Joseph, was determined to reassert absolute monarchy. By March 1849, he had taken back the streets and mostly neutralized the intellectuals. He still needed to sideline the revolutionaries' unauthorized constitutional assembly, the Kremsier Parliament, which had promulgated its own draft constitution, the Kremsier Constitution. Between March 4 and 7, to preempt the Kremsier Parliament, he proclaimed his March Constitution, seemingly giving in to most of the Kremsier demands. The Kremsier Parliament dealt with, he revoked his own constitution with the December 31, 1851 New Year's Eve Patent.

No written constitution left in force, Austria was once again an absolute monarchy. The empire, and with it the personal authority of the Emperor, was severely weakened by a series of diplomatic setbacks, the rise of civic nationalism, and the growing disaffection of the empire's Hungarian and Slavic subjects with the Habsburgs' rule. By 1860, Franz Joseph was forced to formally share power again. A new constitution, the 1860 October Diploma, granted more autonomy to the provinces and strengthened regional nobility; regional legislative and administrative authority would partially lie with each region's respective aristocracy. The October diploma proved to be too little, too late: it neither satisfied the nobles nor, in particular, the people of the Kingdom of Hungary. The 1861 February Patent made further concessions, again failing to pacify Hungary.

Hungary had come close to independence during the 1848 revolutions, had been beaten into submission only with the help of the Russian Empire, and had lived under what effectively was a military dictatorship ever since. In 1866, Austria was defeated in the Austro-Prussian War and lost its claim to being the leading German state, plunging the Habsburg dynasty and their German-speaking realms into an unprecedented identity crisis. The monarch's moral authority gravely damaged once more, unrest in Hungary threatened to erupt again. His back to the wall, Franz Joseph saw no choice but grant Hungary all but full independence in the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. To prevent the empire's non-Hungarian ethnicities from demanding similar levels of autonomy, Franz Joseph then had to return to constitutionalism and vest the empire's peoples with participation rights in the legislative and administrative process.

Abrogation

As a result of Austria's defeat in World War I, Austria-Hungary collapsed in October 1918. Both the Kingdom of Hungary and the Slavic provinces of Cisleithania broke away from the German-speaking core lands to form modern nation states. Many of the institutions established by the December Constitution collapsed; in particular, the Imperial Council could no longer function. Many of the provisions of the Constitution became moot outright. It was obvious the emerging rump state would need a new legal framework. On October 21, 1918, parliamentarians from the German-speaking regions convened to form a Provisional National Assembly (Provisorische Nationalversammlung) to manage this transition.

On October 30, the Assembly proclaimed a provisional constitution. The provisional constitution did little more than establish the Assembly as a provisional parliament, establish the parliament's three-member presidium as the provisional head of state, and set up a provisional cabinet. Even so, most of the articles of the December Constitution were thus implicitly abrogated. [7] The act did not include any catalogue of basic rights, although it was followed on the same day by a resolution abolishing censorship and establishing freedom of the press, leaving the Basic Law on the General Rights of Nationals on the books. [8]

General elections on February 16, 1919 replaced the Provisional Assembly with a Constitutional Assembly (Konstituierende Nationalversammlung). On October 1, 1920, the Assembly passed the Federal Constitutional Law, confirming and formalizing the abrogation of the December Constitution. [9] [10] The Law not containing any new bill of rights either, the Basic Law on the General Rights of Nationals in still in force. Together with the 1955 Austrian State Treaty and the 1955 European Convention on Human Rights, ratified by Austria in 1958 and part of the country's body of constitutional law since 1964, it serves as Austria's bill of rights to this day. [11] [12] In particular, the promise of equality in Austria's current constitution is modelled on the analogue provision in the statute. [13]

Literature

Related Research Articles

Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire Set of revolutions took place in the Austrian Empire from March 1848 to November 1849

A set of revolutions took place in the Austrian Empire from March 1848 to November 1849. Much of the revolutionary activity had a nationalist character: the Empire, ruled from Vienna, included ethnic Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians (Ukrainians), Romanians, Croats, Venetians (Italians) and Serbs; all of whom attempted in the course of the revolution to either achieve autonomy, independence, or even hegemony over other nationalities. The nationalist picture was further complicated by the simultaneous events in the German states, which moved toward greater German national unity.

Frankfurt Parliament first parliament for all of Germany (1849-1849)

The Frankfurt Parliament was the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany, elected on 1 May 1848.

Emperor of Austria

The Emperor of Austria was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and continually held by him and his heirs until Charles I relinquished power in 1918.

The Christian Social Party was a major conservative political party in the Cisleithanian crown lands of Austria-Hungary and in the First Republic of Austria, from 1891 to 1934. The party was also affiliated with Austrian nationalism that sought to keep Catholic Austria out of the state of Germany founded in 1871, that it viewed as Protestant Prussian-dominated, and identified Austrians on the basis of their predominantly Catholic religious identity as opposed to the predominantly Protestant religious identity of the Prussians. It is a predecessor of the contemporary Austrian People's Party.

District (Austria)

In Austrian politics, a district is a second-level division of the executive arm of the country's government. District offices are the primary point of contact between resident and state for most acts of government that exceed municipal purview: marriage licenses, driver licenses, passports, assembly permits, hunting permits, or dealings with public health officers for example all involve interaction with the district administrative authority.

The Kremsier Parliament was a constituent assembly called in July 1848 in reaction to opposition to the Pillersdorf Constitution of 25 April 1848 and would last until its dissolution on 7 March 1849. Its main product was the Kremsier Constitution which was preempted by the imposed March Constitution.

Real union is a union of two or more states, which share some state institutions as in contrast to personal unions; however they are not as unified as states in a political union. It is a development from personal union and was usually limited to monarchies.

Habsburg Law Law of German Austria in 1919

The Habsburg Law was a law originally passed by the Constitutional Assembly of German Austria, one of the successor states of dismantled Austria-Hungary, on 3 April 1919. The law legally dethroned the House of Habsburg-Lorraine as rulers of the country which had declared itself a republic on 12 November 1918, exiled them and confiscated their property. The Habsburg Law was repealed in 1935 and the Habsburg family was given back its property. However, in 1938, following the Anschluss, the Nazis reintroduced the Habsburg Law, and it was retained when Austria regained its independence after World War II.

Weimar National Assembly 20th-century constitutional convention in Germany

The Weimar National Assembly was the constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 6 June 1920. The assembly drew up the new constitution which was in force from 1919 to 1933, technically remaining in effect even until the end of Nazi rule in 1945. It convened in Weimar, Thuringia and is the reason for this period in German history becoming known as the Weimar Republic.

Judiciary of Austria system of lawcourts in Austria

The Judiciary of Austria is the branch of the Austrian government responsible for resolving disputes between residents or between residents and the government, holding criminals accountable, making sure that the legislative and executive branches remain faithful to the European and Austrian constitutions and to international human rights standards, and generally upholding the rule of law. The judiciary is independent of the other two branches of government and is committed to guaranteeing fair trials and equality before the law. It has broad and effective powers of judicial review.

Constitutional Court (Austria) constitutional court of Austria

The Constitutional Court in Austria is the tribunal responsible for reviewing the constitutionality of statutes, the legality of ordinances and other secondary legislation, and the constitutionality of decisions of certain other courts. The Constitutional Court also decides over demarcation conflicts between courts, between courts and the administration, and between the national government and the regional governments. It hears election complaints, holds elected officials and political appointees accountable for their conduct in office, and adjudicates on liability claims against Austria and its bureaucracy.

Provisorische Zentralgewalt Government of Germany 1848/1849

The Provisorische Zentralgewalt was the provisional government of the Frankfurt Parliament (1848–49). Since this all-German national assembly had not been initiated by the German Confederation, it was lacking not only major constitutional bodies, such as a head of state and a government, but also legal legitimation. A modification of the Bundesakte, the constitution of the German Confederation, could have brought about such legitimation, but as it would have required the unanimous support of all 38 signatory states this was practically impossible. Partially for this reason, influential European powers such as France and Russia declined to recognize the Parliament. The delegates on the left wanted to solve this situation by creating a revolutionary parliamentary government, but, on 24 June 1848, the majority voted for a compromise, the so-called Provisional Central Power.

German Empire (1848–49) German national state (in establishment)

The German Empire was a short-lived nation state which existed from 1848 to 1849.

The Pillersdorf Constitution was a constitution of the Austrian Empire that was promulgated by Minister of the Interior Baron Pillersdorf on 25 April 1848. It called for public, oral, and jury trials.

Johann Nepomuk Berger (politician) austrian member of Down Austrian regional parliament, member of Austrian empire council, local politician and lawyer

Johann Nepomuk Berger was an Austrian lawyer, politician and writer.

House of Lords (Austria) upper house of the Cisleithania (Austria-Hungary) Parliament

The House of Lords was the upper house of the Imperial Council, the bicameral legislature of the Austrian Empire from 1861 and of the Cisleithanian (Austrian) half of Austria-Hungary upon the Compromise of 1867. Created by the February Patent issued by Emperor Franz Joseph I on 26 February 1861, it existed until the end of World War I and the dissolution of the Dual Monarchy, when on 12 November 1918 the transitional National Assembly of German-Austria declared it abolished. It was superseded by the Federal Council of the Austrian Parliament implemented by the 1920 Federal Constitutional Law.

Statutory city (Austria) administrative division of Austria

In Austrian politics, a statutory city is a city that is vested, in addition to its purview as a municipality, with the powers and duties of a district administrative authority. The city administration thus functions as both a municipal government and a branch of the executive arm of the national government. As resident of a statutory city would, for example, contact a city office and interact with city employees to apply for a driver license or a passport.

Federal Constitutional Law (Austrian act)

The Federal Constitutional Law is the centerpiece of the Austrian Constitution, it comprises the Constitution's most important legal provisions. The act defines Austria to be a democratic parliamentary republic with free multi-party elections and universal suffrage. It characterizes Austria as a federation (Bund) consisting of nine federal states (Bundesländer) but vests the supposed states it creates with comparatively little autonomy.

References

  1. ↑ Gesetz vom 21. December 1867, wodurch das Grundgesetz über die Reichsvertretung vom 26. Februar 1861 abgeändert wird; RGBl. 141/1867
  2. 1 2 Staatsgrundgesetz vom 21. December 1867, über die allgemeinen Rechte der Staatsbürger; RGBl. 142/1867
  3. ↑ Staatsgrundgesetz vom 21. December 1867, über die Einsetzung eines Reichsgerichts; RGBl. 143/1867
  4. 1 2 Staatsgrundgesetz vom 21. December 1867, über die richterliche Gewalt; RGBl. 144/1867
  5. ↑ Staatsgrundgesetz vom 21. December 1867, über die Ausübung der Regierungs- und Vollzugsgewalt; RGBl. 145/1867
  6. 1 2
  7. ↑ Beschluss der Provisorischen Nationalversammlung für Deutschösterreich vom 30. Oktober 1918 über die grundlegenden Einrichtungen der Staatsgewalt; SGBl. 1/1918
  8. ↑ Beschluss der Provisorischen Nationalversammlung vom 30. Oktober 1918; SGBl. 3/1918
  9. ↑ Full text of the Federal Constitutional Law on the web site of the Chancellery
  10. ↑ Full text as of January 1, 2014, with English translation on the Chancellery web site
  11. ↑ Konvention zum Schutze der Menschenrechte und Grundfreiheiten; BGBl. 210/1958
  12. ↑ Bundesverfassungsgesetz vom 4. März 1964; BGBl. 59/1964
  13. ↑ "Dezemberverfassung". Austria-Forum. March 27, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.