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61 Hung. J. Legal Stud. 1 (2020)

handle is hein.journals/ajur61 and id is 1 raw text is: Hungarian Journal of Legal Studies 61 (2020) 1, 1-22
DOI: 10.1556/2052.2020.00306                                                    AKADM 1I KLADO
The use of comparative law in the practice of the
Hungarian Constitutional Court: An empirical
analysis (1990-2019)
ESZTER BODNAR*
Premium postdoctoral scholar, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, ELTE Eotvos Lorind University,
Hungary
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Received: October 7, 2020  Accepted: November 27, 2020
Published online: June 8, 2021
© 2021 The Author(s)
ABSTRACT
Courts conducting constitutional review do not work as 'ivory towers' any longer: they are part of the global
dialogue on constitutional ideas and thoughts. This dialogue includes an exchange of experiences with
fellow constitutional and apex courts, as well as the close observation of developments in foreign consti-
tutional and legal systems, scholarship, and international trends. The Constitutional Court of Hungary has
been an active participant in this dialogue since the Court's establishment in 1989, albeit with varying levels
of intensity and goals. Moving beyond the often anecdotal observations in this field, the paper aims to
conduct a deep analysis of how the Court uses comparative law in its work (during the preparatory phase
and the drafting of final decisions) and examines the factors that may influence the Court's practice in this
area. Such a clear overview can assist proponents of the use of comparative reasoning to contravene the
increasing amount of criticism of the practice's legitimacy and selectivity.
KEYWORDS
constitutional courts, comparative law, international judicial dialogue

Corresponding author. E-mail: eszter.bodnar@ajk.elte.hu

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