First Paragraph
Over several centuries, the lack of capital has been one of the serious problems of the Hungarian economy. Consequently, credit was an important element of economic life. Until the second half of the 19th century, the conditions under the still-prevailing feudal system were unfavourable for establishing a credit system. In the second part of the 19th century, however, an economic boom changed the conditions. As a result of the new economic situation, new legal rules were needed. In 1875, a Commercial Code was enacted and the drafting of a new Civil Code started. For historical and economic reasons, Austrian and German law was influential. Several drafts of a Civil Code were produced and presented to the Parliament, but none of them were voted on until 1959. In other words, until World War I the Civil Law as a whole remained uncodified and a special kind of judge-made law prevailed. Nevertheless, some Acts of Parliament regulated specific fields of social and economic life.
Recommended Citation
Attila Harmathy, Secured Transactions in a Country of Transition: The Hungarian Experience, 27 Penn St. Int'l L. Rev. 757 (2009).