Act XXXVII of 1875 and Slovak Commercial Law. A Contribution to the 150th Anniversary of Its Adoption

The Act XXXVII of 1875 (the Hungarian Commercial Code) was the first commercial law regulation in Hungary, representing the initial comprehensive codification of commercial law within the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary (Slovakia). This legal norm stood out for its modernity and innovativeness in many respects, and its “legal destiny” was not halted even by the circumstances of the First World War and the subsequent dissolution of the dualistic state of Austria-Hungary. On the contrary, it found its application even in the newly established state – Czechoslovakia. Under the influence of the so-called first Czechoslovak law, Act No. 11/1918 Coll. (of laws and decrees), the former Hungarian law was received onto the territory of Slovakia through this reception norm. Among other provisions, the Act XXXVII of 1875 was thereby adopted, making it a valid part of the newly formed Czechoslovak legal order (with validity for the territory of Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia). Given the unfinished unification of commercial law during the interwar period, the regulation of this Act was subsequently adopted into the newly created, so-called Wartime Slovak State. In the area of application of its provisions, continuity with the preceding period was maintained, meaning no significant legislative interventions were made to its text. Following the renewal of Czechoslovakia, a “breakthrough” in relation to its application occurred only after 1948, due to the altered social, political, and economic direction of Czechoslovakia under the power of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ). The final stage of this legal norm’s existence was the adoption of Act No. 243/1949 Coll. on Joint-Stock Companies, and Act No. 141/1950 Coll. the Civil Code, which repealed it without replacement, thereby “burying” commercial law in Czechoslovakia for more than forty years. The only exception was the provisions concerning the legal affairs of cooperatives, which, however, served merely as a transitional regulation for the emerging People’s Cooperatives and were therefore also quickly repealed by Act No. 53/1954 Coll., on People's Cooperatives and Cooperative Organisations. Even though it was not readopted during the restoration of the market economy after 1989, Act XXXVII of 1875 represents the longest-standing and most effective commercial law regulation in the territory of Slovakia, leaving an indelible legacy.