PRINTER'S NO.  1351

  

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

  

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

No.

142

Session of

2011

  

  

INTRODUCED BY BLAKE, STACK, TARTAGLIONE, DINNIMAN, FARNESE, FONTANA, ERICKSON, RAFFERTY AND ALLOWAY, JUNE 14, 2011

  

  

INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, JUNE 14, 2011  

  

  

  

A RESOLUTION

  

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Congratulating the Republic of Hungary on the adoption of its

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first national constitution in its 1,000-year history.

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WHEREAS, The Government of Hungary has adopted its first

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national constitution ever, replacing the constitution put in

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place by the Stalinists in 1949; and

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WHEREAS, Prior to the Stalinist constitution, Hungary did not

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have a formal written constitution but was governed for nearly

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1,000 years by the Doctrine of the Holy Crown (Szentkorona-tan),

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a complex tradition that underlies Hungary's historical,

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unwritten constitution until the 1949 Soviet-drafted

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constitution; and

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WHEREAS, When Communism fell in the late 1980s, Hungary was

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the only post-Soviet state not to immediately establish a new

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constitution; and

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WHEREAS, At the Hungarian Round Table Talks in mid-1989, a

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document that would establish a multiparty system, parliamentary

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democracy and a social market economy was discussed but instead,

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on October 18, 1989, the National Assembly adopted a

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comprehensive amendment to the 1949 Constitution which would

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prevail until a new constitution was framed; and

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WHEREAS, The Government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban

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invited all registered political parties to submit drafts to the

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Constitutional Committee and participate in parliamentary

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debate; and

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WHEREAS, To solicit the input of the citizens of Hungary in

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the process of the drafting of the constitution and basic law,

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questionnaires were distributed to 8 million Hungarian voters,

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and 1 million were completed and returned; and

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WHEREAS, In April 2010, the Fidesz Party won a two-thirds

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majority in the elections, the number necessary to establish a

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new constitution according to the framework of the constitution

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in force; and

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WHEREAS, In place of a preamble, the constitution includes a

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"national testament" or "national declaration" that begins with

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the first line of Hungary's national anthem, "God Bless the

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Hungarian," and sets forth Hungary's religious and ethnic roots,

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the historic role of the Holy Crown in Hungarian life and the

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legacy of the 1956 revolt against the Soviets; and

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WHEREAS, The new constitution, the first national

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constitution to be drafted on an iPad, was adopted by the

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Hungarian National Assembly on April 18, 2011; therefore be it

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RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate the people of Hungary

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and Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the adoption of their first

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national constitution and applaud the democratic and historic

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process of drafting and adopting the new constitution of the

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people of Hungary.

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