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The Hungarian Constitutional Crisis

Political philosopher János Kis gives a talk at Humboldt-Universität on May 12, 2011

The Rule of Law Center at Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (Social Science Research Center Berlin) and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin invite everyone interested to a talk by political philosopher János Kis on May 12, 2011.

János Kis: "The Hungarian Constitutional Crisis"
Thursday, May 12 at 2:00 p.m.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Room 3031
Main building, Unter den Linden 6, 10117 Berlin


On April 25, 2011 the Hungarian President signed into law Hungary’s new constitution, scheduled to enter into force on January 1, 2012. The constitution is widely understood to be more than an instrument to overcome technical deficiencies of the old constitution. It is celebrated by some as the constitutional consolidation of a conservative revolution. Others insist it is in deep tension procedurally, substantively and symbolically with basic commitments to liberal democracy, that are the foundation of the European Union. In his lecture Kis addresses the constitution's troubling aspects and thus explains why it should be a concern for European citizens and their governments.

The political philosopher János Kis teaches as Distinguished Global Professor of Philosophy at the New York University and Political Science and Philosophy at the Central European University, Budapest. During the communist regime in Hungary, he was one of the most notable dissidents, as chief editor of the underground magazine „Beszélő“. In 1988 he was one of the founders of the liberal party Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége (SzDSz) and party leader in 1990/91. Kis left the party in 2002,
when the socialist Prime Minister was exposed as a former secret agent. He has translated Rousseau, Kant and Fichte into Hungarian.



FURTHER INFORMATION
Prof. Dr. Mattias Kumm
Faculty of Law
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Unter den Linden 6
10099 Berlin
Email: mattias.kumm@rewi.hu-berlin.de
Phone: +49 30 25491- 256