CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | H.M., Kaushik |
|---|---|
| Title | Justice After Transition: Constitutional Courts and the Rule of Law After the Collapse of Communist Regimes in Europe |
| Summary | This thesis aims to investigate the factors which influence the adjudication of constitutional courts during political transitions. By assessing judgements from the constitutional courts of Germany, Czech Republic and Hungary after the collapse of the communist regimes in Europe, the thesis grounds philosophical debates of ‘rule of law’ in socio-political realities. This thesis identifies the theoretical and practical influences the courts were under while deciding these cases. Four factors were found to be influential in understanding the courts’ decisions. First, the nature of transition shed light on why a particular constitutional court opts for a retributive approach and others do not. The higher the involvement of the masses during the transition, the more likely was there to be a punitive approach. Second, recent historical experience of dealing with transition from an authoritarian regime also affects the judicial approach to the case. As was evident from the German case, the political/judicial approach adopted to come to terms with the Nazi past was influential while dealing with the authoritarianism of the communists. Third, most prominent in the Hungarian case, how the president of the constitutional court conceives the authority of judiciary held significant explanatory power while assessing the judgement. Lastly, it was found that constitutional courts attempt to convey the symbolic value of ‘rule of law’ after a political transition. This motive of the courts is itself a factor which explains the outcomes and reasoning of the cases selected. |
| Supervisor | Böckenförde,Markus |
| Department | Legal Studies LLM |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/hm_kaushik.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University