Pál SÁRY of all the substantive and procedural rules that gained authority through judicial application, even without formal legislative sanction. The work's prologue defines basic concepts such as justice, law, jurisprudence, judging, etc., using many Roman legal ideas. The first part deals mainly with noble private law, but the nobility's cardinal privileges are also included here. The second part contains the rules for nobles' litigation. The third part details town and serf law, as well as Transylvanians' special law. The courts began applying the Tripartitum, and it became mandatory in practice, despite the fact that the king had not promulgated it as law. It was soon translated into Hungarian and Croatian. Werbőczy's work had a decisive effect on legal life for several centuries. In Czechoslovakia, the Tripartitum was a source of civil substantive law until 1950, when the first Czechoslovak civil code entered into force. In addition to the Tripartitum, other collections of customary law, which were also compiled in the region, are also worth mentioning. The law code of Poljica is the most important historical source for the Republic of Poljica, which was an autonomous community in central Dalmatia (near modern day Omiš, Croatia). Its provisions, which were written in different times, contain norms of constitutional, criminal, civil, and procedural law and describe the social and economic relations of Poljica in the 15 th through 18 th centuries. The research on the customary law had an eminent representative in the humanist jurist Viktorin Kornel of Všehrd, who compiled an outstanding law book around 1500. His Knihy devatery (Nine books on the laws, courts, and tables of the Bohemian country) describes the Bohemian court organization and procedure, and also presents the rules of private law and partly of criminal law. The Korektura Taszyckiego of 1532 can be highlighted among the collections of Polish customary law. In most cases, town laws were based on legal customs that German settlers had brought from abroad, which they could continue to use under royal privileges. Towns that were founded subsequently often took over older towns' laws, creating 'town law families.' In this system, the law court of the 'mother-town' became an appellate court for the 'daughter-towns.' We can get a detailed picture of legal life in medieval and early modern towns based on their law books. Some significant town law books from the East Central European region are the focus of the fifth chapter of our textbook, which was written by Jakub Razim and Lenka Šmídová Malárová. The mid-14 th -century law book of Brno (or the law book of Jan the notary) was compiled for sworn men and magistrates, who were responsible for exercising judicial authority. This Latin compilation of municipal law and practice with court decisions is systematized by subject and divided into alphabetically arranged sections. The book's author, who worked as a notary in the Brno town office between 1342 and 1358, also applied Roman law, especially where local rules were absent. Use of the Brno law book spread quickly in Moravia and Bohemia, where it was abbreviated by Jan of Gelnhausen. The author of the Buda law book (Ofen Stadtrechtsbuch) was probably Johannes Siebenlindner, a juror at the Buda (Germ. Ofen) town court and later a town judge, Pál SÁRY the Habsburg rulers of Hungary and Croatia were also Czech kings. Between 1569 and 1795, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries in Europe. This real union ended in 1795, when its territory was divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Hungary's situation within the Habsburg empire changed several times. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 reorganized the Habsburg monarchy as a dualistic real union. The Croatian-Hungarian Settlement of 1868 governed Croatia's political status as a territory of Hungary. In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. The First World War ended with the disintegration of Austria-Hungary. The Kingdom of Hungary suffered a huge territorial loss. The kingdom of the Serbs, Croatians, and Slovenians was created, and Romania was reorganized, acquiring vast territories. The independent country of Czechoslovakia (the First Czechoslovak Republic) was formed by the unification of the Czech, Slovak, and Carpatho-Ruthenian territories. The Second Polish Republic was established. However, this situation did not last long. The region was gradually reorganized through a series of decisions taken by the great powers (e.g., the Munich Agreement, the First and Second Vienna Awards, and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact). After the Second World War, the political conditions and state borders changed again, and the region's countries became part of the Soviet bloc. Between 1949 and 1991, economic cooperation between the socialist countries took place within the framework of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon). In 1955, the Warsaw Pact established the military organization of countries belonging to the Soviet sphere of interest, which operated until 1991. Based on this treaty, Soviet military troops could be stationed in socialist countries. The fall of communism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union brought about a significant change in the region's political and international relations. Most European private law systems today are codified, but there are also noncodified systems (in the common law system, for example, private law is not codified). The seventh chapter of our textbook, written by Emőd Veress, provides us with a history and comparative analysis of private law codifications in the East Central European region. The region's private law codes were mostly influenced by the French (Napoleonic) Civil Code of 1804, the ABGB of 1811, and the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB), which entered into force in 1900. For example, the Serbian civil code of 1844 was strongly influenced by both the Austrian and French codes, the Romanian civil code of 1864 was inspired primarily by the French code, and in the case of the Polish code of 1964, the effects of the German, Austrian, and French codes can all be demonstrated. The intensity of model following varied for each code. Our region is generally characterized by a dualistic solution, i.e., civil law in the narrower sense and commercial law are regulated by separate codes. However, there are also examples of the application of the monistic principle; the new Romanian civil code (Act 287 of 2009) and the new Hungarian civil code (Act V of 2013) switched to monistic regulation, breaking with the dualistic system (the latter code discusses the substantive rules of commercial companies among legal persons). The last chapter of our book, authored by Ewa Kozerska, analyzes the legal situation of the churches in the period between 1945 and 1989 in relation to Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, and Poland. Although the socialist constitutions declared freedom of religion, in reality, the holders of political power did everything to spread the atheistic worldview and suppress religious life. Church properties were confiscated, church schools were nationalized, religious education was abolished, and monastic orders and religious associations were dissolved. The activities of the churches were significantly restricted and placed under strict state supervision. The holding of clerical positions (mainly episcopal appointments) was subject to a state license. Catholic priests were forced to join movements loyal to political power, the papal envoys were expelled, and contact with the Vatican was hindered. Resisting priests and monks were imprisoned, and show trials were often held for political purposes. Secret service agents prepared detailed reports on all manifestations of religious life. Churchgoers suffered many disadvantages. Religious life thus took place in an atmosphere of constant fear. It is no coincidence that Karol Wojtiła emphasized these words in his first Mass after his election as Pope: "Do not be afraid." The activities of the Holy Pope, who showed direction and gave spiritual strength, contributed significantly to the political changes of 1989. This textbook is the fruit of successful international cooperation. The creator and director of this joint work was my dear colleague, head of the Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law, János Ede Szilágyi, to whom I am very grateful for his principled guidance. I received useful advice from Emőd Veress in defining specific topics, for which I am also grateful. Of course, I am very grateful to the authors of the chapters for participating in our joint project and doing careful, high-quality work. Thanks are also due to the reviewers for their helpful comments. Historical maps are very important for studying legal history. The fourteen maps in our textbook are the work of Zsombor Bartos-Elekes, who, as a cartographer, also commented on the maps and compiled a list of the names of the cities on them. Special thanks to him for his precise work. We hope that our textbook will enrich many students with knowledge. It is our sincere hope that by studying the history of law, our readers become better suited to practice their chosen profession.
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