The International Legal Personality of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Hungarian Perceptions

International legal personality originally appeared as an attribute of states, however, from the 19th century onwards, other entities were also considered to have it. Regarding the international status of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, created by Austria and Hungary in the 1867 Compromise, different views emerged. Although the Monarchy appeared as a contracting party in most of the international agreements concluded by Austria and Hungary during the dualist era, the majority of Hungarian legal literature disputed whether the joint entity would be a separate member of the international community. The Hungarian position was primarily determined by the so-called public law-oriented thinking governing the relationship with Austria, which saw the recognition of the Empire’s international legal personality as a questioning of the country’s independence.