Imperial Legislation and Emperor’s Self-Defense - Codification Efforts and Tendences in European and Hungarian Criminal Law at the Turn of the 18th and 19th Centuries

The primary protection of the existence of the state, its fundamental institutions, and fundamental values from direct attacks has always been one of the most important tasks of the state. Since these protected institutions and values depend on the historical era and social system, it can be said that the definition of crimes against the state is always determined by the current, valid conception and structure of the state. The strict but often unregulated and outdated requirements for the crimes of treason and insult to the monarch, as well as the broad interpretation and application of procedural rules, which were often interpreted as royal prerogatives, ultimately led to an uncontrollable and arbitrary situation, with extraordinary jurisdictions and harsh punishments for extraordinary crimes. The legislature of the 18th and 19th centuries attempted to create modern rules that incorporated the doctrines of the Enlightenment and natural law, and were expected to precisely regulate political crimes.