Detention and bail in a forgotten proposed bill of Criminal Code

Abstract

The first act of comprehensive codification of both criminal law and criminal procedure in Hungary was the draft bill of Criminal Code in1795. In the same time, the drafting of the first Criminal Code started also in Transylvania. This was the Transylvanian bill of Criminal Code of 1811 that has not been published in Hungary or otherwise elsewhere in Hungarian so far. These two bills have partly common roots, the Transylvanian bill of Criminal Code is linked to the Hungarian legal traditions in several ways, while it also has its Transylvanian legal characteristics. Furthermore, it is also true for both bills that the elements and influence of the old, feudal law and the Enlightenment appear side by side. On the 210th anniversary of the Transylvanian proposed bill, it may be interesting to examine some of its provisions. In the present essay I analyse the proposed bill’s provisions concerning detention and bail. After analysing all these provisions we can state that the fundamental elements and principles of many legal institutions, forms of procedure and detailed rules are almost invariably reflected in our legal solutions today.