Conventional Representation in the Drafts of Hungarian Civil Code of the Early 20th Century

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to present the rules of conventional representation in the drafts of Hungarian Civil Code of the early 20th century. These drafts were the first attempts to codify Hungarian private law rules. Although the draft of civil code, which was published after 1900 and went through five versions, was not finally adopted by the Hungarian legislature, it nevertheless represents a significant milestone in the development of Hungarian private law. The drafts have had a significant impact on the critical study of Hungarian private law and later served as a model for the Civil Code of 1959 and the current Hungarian Civil Code. The rules on the representation of drafts have also largely influenced the conception of representation in later codes, especially the rules on agency contracts. Accordingly, the analysis of these rules is important not only from a legal-historical point of view but also for a better understanding of the law in force.