IN DEFENCE OF MY CLIENT

The temporary exhibition In Defence of my Client – Budapest Bar Association 150 presents the 150-year history of the Hungarian legal profession and the regional bar associations. Alongside the memorial collection of the Budapest Bar Association, visitors can also admire some of the finest pieces from the collections of the HNMPCC Hungarian National Museum and the Police Museum. A unique feature of the exhibition is that following the call of the President of the Budapest Bar Association, numerous lawyers offered objects and historical documents from their personal collections, all connected to the history of the Hungarian legal profession, and now made accessible to the public for the very first time.

It was 150 years ago, on 20th February 1875, that the 430 founding members of Budapest Bar Association held their inaugural general meeting. Since its very foundation, the public body of Budapest Bar Association has had a significant effect on the Hungarian legal profession as a whole and on the overall development of law in Hungary.

1875 saw not only the founding of Budapest Bar Association, but also the establishment of public bodies in 27 regional centres (and then later in another one, totalling into 28 regional centres) by lawyers on the principle of self-government for the purpose of performing public functions under the notable Act XXXIV of 1874 (Code of Conduct for Lawyers). From 1875 onwards, only those who were admitted as members to one of the regional bar associations could practice law. For a century and a half, these regional bar associations have been protecting the interests of their professional members, while also acting as supervisory bodies in disciplinary matters.

The regional bar association system of the Hungarian legal profession has undergone significant changes – in geographical terms – over the past century and a half. The storms of history have torn away bar association seats that were part of the system along with the shorn parts of the country. Hungary’s bar associations were transformed by the ruling powers not only in the decades following World War II but – to a lesser extent – also after the political changes in 1989–1990. All this seems to show that the development and historical path of the Hungarian legal profession are inextricably linked to Hungarian society and Hungary’s statehood. The aim of our exhibition is to outline this journey as vividly as possible, even if we have to use – for lack of space and time – broad brushstrokes on some occasions. The famous cases of renowned lawyers are brought to life in the halls of the Hungarian National Museum’s Exhibition “The History of Hungary”, which traces the path of these lawyers from century to century. Visitors can also get a glimpse into the everyday reality and memorable occasions of lawyers’ lives, meet the first female Hungarian lawyer, and experience the suffering endured by lawyers of Jewish origin during the Holocaust and also by those who disagreed with the Hungarian communist regime during the communist-socialist dictatorship of the 1950s.

The exhibition also highlights the virtues of what is known as a “community exhibition”. At the call of Budapest Bar Association’s President, numerous lawyers have lent us dozens of esteemed artefacts, thereby evoking the past of the Hungarian legal profession, and this way making visitor experience more complete, enjoyable and personal.

From the 17th to the 18th century, elected public prosecutors (called fiscalis) operated in regional jurisdictions (counties, towns). Their duties included the legal representation of the county or town, as well as protecting the rights of those unable to support and to care for themselves (orphans, wards). In criminal law, their responsibilities included preparing indictments, representing the prosecution and overseeing the execution of sentences. The role of public prosecutors was twofold: in some cases they represented the prosecution, while in others cases the defence, and they would also sometimes act as lawyers for private individuals. Public prosecutors had no organisational connections either with one another or with the Director of Legal Affairs. József Katona, the author of the world-famous Hungarian drama Bánk bán [The Viceroy Bánk], was the first fiscalis of the Hungarian town Kecskemét between 1826 and 1830.

Acts XXXV, XXXVI and XXXVIII of 1723 and Act XXIV of 1729 all dealt with the appointment of, and representation by, lawyers (such appointment and representation materialised in verbal or written notifications addressed to the court regarding the appointment of lawyers to represent clients in proceedings in one or more cases). Other clients needed to present a letter of attorney issued before a court or “authentic place” of national competence.

Witch Trial of Szeged

Several important laws were enacted for the regulation of the legal profession in Hungary in the 18th century. However, the role of defence lawyers in criminal cases had not yet been established. One of the most prominent examples of this is the witch trial of Szeged: in this case the town prosecutor represented both the prosecution and the defence sides, and the accused had no defence lawyers of their own. Also, the jury was composed of the town council’s twelve members. This case is highlighted here for the very reason of presenting this undesired state of affairs: this situation can be called ground zero or starting point in the history of legal professionals.

On 23rd July 1728, six men and six women were burned at the stake in Szeged on charges of witchcraft. The punishment was enforced in a forested area outside the town, which has since been called Witch Island. There were at least twenty-one documented victims of the most famous witch trial in Hungary. At that time, witch trials were already becoming a thing of the past in Europe, which is why the trial in Szeged generated a huge uproar in Western Europe.

In Hungarian painter Miklós Barabás’ famous painting “The Laying of the Foundation Stone of the Chain Bridge”, many figures of the time can be recognised, and there are even contemporary drawings that actually name the people in this painting. The ten portraits showcased here are of men who were present at the laying of the foundation stone: they had lawyers’ qualifications, and most of them were also practising lawyers. Perhaps few people know that famous Hungarian writer Baron Miklós Jósika and one of the period’s Hungarian poet geniuses Mihály Vörösmarty both left the legal profession to achieve artistic glory in literature.

Many of the Young Men of March had qualifications in law, and some of them were also practising lawyers. During the Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight of 1848–1849, many of the men shown here took up arms and fought against the Habsburgs protecting their revolutionary ideas and Hungarian liberty.

In 1848, a significant part of the Hungarian legal professionals fought in the nation’s Revolution and Freedom Fight. In addition to the Young Men of March, the following persons are also worthy of mentioning: István Farkas, a lawyer from Pécs, fought as a second lieutenant in the Hungarian Forces; lawyer Sándor Kovács’ highest rank was ‘sergeant’; while Mihály Szalay, a lawyer from Komárom, was a lieutenant. Károly Kornis, a lawyer from Arad, served as a field-officer under Hungarian General Lajos Aulich. László Böszörményi from Nagykálló was a captain in Komárom Castle, while Captain Imre Szacsvay was killed in the Battle of Piski. János Major, a lawyer from Kassa, finally rose to the rank of captain. According to the register of Hungarian soldiers from Zala County, thirty-seven men with legal qualifications joined the Hungarian Forces from the county, and twenty-five of them were lawyers.

One of the most significant criminal penal cases in the history of Hungarian law is the blood libel trial of Tiszaeszlár. On 1st April 1882, a 14-year-old Reformed-believer servant girl called Eszter Solymosi was sent by her mistress Mrs. Andrásné Huri to the village shop to buy some paint. However, on her way home the servant girl disappeared. On that day, it was the Sabbath before Passover, and the Jews from the village and from the neighbouring settlements gathered in the Tiszaeszlár-based synagogue in the company of guests from faraway regions for electing their cantor and butcher. After a fruitless search for the girl, word spread throughout the village that the servant girl had been killed by the Jews on religious grounds. Listening to the rumours the girl’s mother filed a complaint with the village judge and later with chief constable of Tiszalök Jenő Jármy on 4th April, and accused the local Jews with killing her daughter. The authorities ordered a nationwide manhunt for the girl.

Not much later, the case was further complicated by the discovery of the body of a young girl: on 18th June raftsmen came across a body on the bank of River Tisza near the village Tiszadada. The dead person was wearing Eszter Solymosi’s clothes and was estimated to be 14 years old by the local doctor. The neck of the body was in fact perfectly intact.

The Royal Hungarian Curia ruled in part that it could not be established with absolute certainty that the body found was that of Eszter Solymosi, and in its overall judgment, delivered on 3rd August, the Curia acquitted the accused Jews. Upon a subsequent appeal, the final acquittal was granted on 10th May 1884.

The Trial of Tiszaeszlár attracted close attention across Europe and generated exceptional outrage. Not only Hungarian theologists but also the most distinguished Christian theologians elsewhere condemned the trial, which they called a remnant of medieval superstition.

Since its establishment, the most sensational criminal case of the Temesvár Royal Tribunal was the trial of Menyhért Farkas and his associates for the crime of forgery of public documents. For a short time, this case excited not only the Hungarian but also the international public.

The case is as follows: At the state lottery draw held in Temesvár on 6th July 1889, the winning numbers picked from the wheel of fortune were 44, 50, 55, 80 and 88. The lucky winner soon appeared in Vienna, and was paid 480,000 forints by the Austrian State Treasury.

The related investigation, nevertheless, revealed that Menyhért Farkas arrived in Temesvár on the day of the draw, and he had booked a room at Koronaherceg Hotel. There he met his widowed accomplice, Mrs. Nándorné Telkessy, and her 11-year-old daughter Margit. They dressed the girl in a boy’s clothes, and they went to the lottery office, where the draw was to take place. The winning numbers were always picked from the wheel of fortune in front of a commission appointed for the purpose by a boy sent from Gizella Orphanage. This boy, however, was sent home on that day by lottery official József Püspöky, who acted as another accomplice of Menyhért Farkas, and so Margit Telkessy, the girl in a boy’s clothes, was made to stand at the wheel of fortune. Meanwhile, the fourth accomplice, lottery official Károly Szobovits, loaded the numbers into the wheel of fortune. But he placed ten numbers, selected by Menyhért Farkas, in wooden cases previously painted slightly darker than the others. Little girl Margit, who had previously been trained by Menyhért Farkas to do the drawing as formerly instructed, picked six of the dark cases from the wheel. This way Menyhért Farkas could earn twenty terno wins, with 24,000 forints each, thus making a total of 480,000 forints in cash.

Intriguingly, Károly Eötvös was the defence lawyer in both the Tiszaeszlár and the Lottery Trials.

On 19th December 1925, the Hungarian Telegraphic News Office issued the following news item: three Hungarian citizens were arrested in the Netherlands because they had been found in possession of counterfeit one thousand French franc banknotes amounting to ten million francs. 

The Dutch authorities first arrested retired colonel Arisztid Jankovich, who was trying to exchange two counterfeit one thousand franc notes and was holding a foreign courier’s passport. Soon afterwards, György Mankovich and György Marsovszky, both holding forged Romanian passports, were arrested: they were found to be carrying suitcases full of counterfeit French francs.

The trial for counterfeiting the notes began on 30th April 1926. The judge sentenced Windischgrätz to four years of imprisonment and fined him for 10 million Hungarian crowns. The other twenty-two lesser defendants received only brief prison sentences. The two main defendants of the case were granted a pardon by Hungary’s Regent Miklós Horthy in 1928. The ensuing scandal seriously damaged Hungary’s international reputation.

Election poster. Jenő Gál was one of the candidates for the Hungarian Independent National Democratic Party in a Buda-based voting district, 1930s HNMPCC Hungarian National Museum

On the night of 12th September 1931, a serious rail assassination took place in Biatorbágy: twenty-two people lost their lives and seventeen were seriously injured in the incident. An explosive device detonated at a railway viaduct over a small valley on the outskirts of the village of Biatorbágy. The blast destroyed a section of the railway track, and caused the locomotive and the first six of the eleven carriages of a high-speed train bound for Vienna to end up in the deep valley. After the detonation, investigators found the explosive device and came upon a letter detailing a communist plan of action. The perpetrator of the bombing, joint-stock company director Szilveszter Matuska, who at that time was living in Vienna, was also present at the spot of the incident. During his first interrogation he claimed that he had been travelling in one of the train carriages that crashed. Even if he had immediately aroused the suspicion of the investigators, he managed to clear himself this time. Matuska was finally arrested in Vienna on 7th October 1931. Following interrogations and his confession, his trial was held in Vienna in June 1932. At the trial, Matuska acted as if he had mental disorders, but was ultimately declared sane by expert doctors. On the penultimate day of the main hearing, the defence asked for an acquittal because “the accused was suffering from a mental disorder which precluded him from having free will at the time of the commission of the offence”. The acquittal could not be achieved, and on 20th November 1934 the judge sentenced Matuska to death.

From 1938 onwards, the marginalisation of persons with Jewish origin began to take place in intellectual jobs, which obviously affected the legal profession as well. Act IV of 1939 stipulated that the number of Jewish persons admitted to bar associations, and to engineering, medical, press, theatre and film arts chambers should not exceed six per cent of the total number of members of the respective association or chamber. As long as the number of Jewish members of an association or chamber does not fall below six per cent of the total number of members of the association or chamber in question, no persons of Jewish origin were to be admitted as members of said associations or chambers. According to the same law, the proportion of Jews on the boards of such associations or chambers may not exceed six per cent. If the number of Jews among the managing officers and among the members of the executive bodies of such associations or chambers exceeded six per cent, the mandate of the Jewish officers and members of such executive bodies and electoral boards was terminated, and the places having become vacant in such a way had to be filled through elections.

A review of the data of personal origins shows that the proportion of Budapest Bar Association’s lawyers with Jewish origin was 52%, and therefore 1,695 lawyers, 44 deputy lawyers and 214 trainee lawyers fell within the scope of Act IV of 1939.

Between 1939 and 1944, the situation of lawyers of Jewish origin continued to deteriorate in terms of practising their jobs, and in 1944 it eventually became impossible for Jewish lawyers to practice their profession. Also, during the Holocaust many lawyers of Jewish origin and their families perished. Marble plaques in Budapest Bar Association’s seat commemorate those Jewish lawyers who were murdered in the genocide of World War II.

Imre Nagy was Hungary’s Prime Minister when the Hungarian Revolution and Uprising of 1956 broke out. With the support of the Soviet Union, Imre Nagy and his associates were tried in 1957 by the Moscow-supported Hungarian Kádár regime.

The Kádár regime prepared a list of politically reliable defenders: it was from this group of defenders that the accused could choose their lawyers for themselves. In fact, Dr. Imre Bárd, who defended Imre Nagy at the trial, was an ardent communist. Before World War II, he defended illegal communists, and after 1956 he served as the government commissioner of Budapest Bar Association. He was seventy-four years old at the time of Imre Nagy’s trial: he was already seriously ill when he took the case, and then died in July 1958. Dr. Imre Bárd gave a brave speech at the court, perhaps knowing at the time that he had nothing left to lose.

In the show trial, Imre Nagy, Miklós Gimes and Pál Maléter were sentenced to death and to total confiscation of their property. Sándor Kopácsi was sentenced to life imprisonment, while Ferenc Donáth to 12 years, Ferenc Jánosi to 8 years, Zoltán Tildy to 6 years and Miklós Vásárhelyi to 5 years of imprisonment. The defendants all pleaded guilty, except for Prime Minister Imre Nagy. József Szilágyi (1917–1958) and Géza Losonczy (1917–1957) are also considered as victims of the trial.

The trial of the Martfű Monster connects to the sexually motivated serial killing of women in Martfű and in the neighbouring settlements between 1957 and 1968. In 1957, János Kirják was convicted for the murder of the first victim, and it was only the conscientious work of his defence lawyer, Dr. Ferenc Lánczi, a lawyer from Szolnok, that saved János Kirják from the death penalty: János Kirják was finally sentenced for life imprisonment. In 1967, Dr. Zoltán Szabó, senior investigating prosecutor at the Szolnok County Chief Prosecution Office, found some connection between three murders already under investigation, two other non-fatal attacks and a murder committed back in 1955 (a 19-year-old woman called Erzsébet Nemes was killed). Dr. Zoltán Szabó became convinced that a serial killer was at large in the Martfű and Tiszaföldvár region. The investigation was re-launched, and – thanks to this – Péter Kovács, the actual perpetrator, was caught, who confessed his crimes. János Kirják was released from prison, but Péter Kovács was sentenced to death and then executed. It is noteworthy that at the time, both the press and the judicature avoided using the term ‘serial killing’. This was so as serial killing was incompatible with the nature of man in the idealistic socialist-communist society of contemporary Hungary, and could only be a thing of “Western capitalist society entangled in its moral decay”.

It was 150 years ago, on 20th February 1875, that the 430 founding members of Budapest Bar Association held their inaugural general meeting. Since its very foundation, the public body of Budapest Bar Association has had a significant effect on the Hungarian legal profession as a whole and on the overall development of law in Hungary.

1875 saw not only the founding of Budapest Bar Association, but also the establishment of public bodies in 27 regional centres (and then later in another one, totalling into 28 regional centres) by lawyers on the principle of self-government for the purpose of performing public functions under the notable Act XXXIV of 1874 (Code of Conduct for Lawyers). From 1875 onwards, only those who were admitted as members to one of the regional bar associations could practice law. For a century and a half, these regional bar associations have been protecting the interests of their professional members, while also acting as supervisory bodies in disciplinary matters.

The regional bar association system of the Hungarian legal profession has undergone significant changes – in geographical terms – over the past century and a half. The storms of history have torn away bar association seats that were part of the system along with the shorn parts of the country. Hungary’s bar associations were transformed by the ruling powers not only in the decades following World War II but – to a lesser extent – also after the political changes in 1989–1990. All this seems to show that the development and historical path of the Hungarian legal profession are inextricably linked to Hungarian society and Hungary’s statehood. The aim of our exhibition is to outline this journey as vividly as possible, even if we have to use – for lack of space and time – broad brushstrokes on some occasions. The famous cases of renowned lawyers are brought to life in the halls of the Hungarian National Museum’s Exhibition “The History of Hungary”, which traces the path of these lawyers from century to century. Visitors can also get a glimpse into the everyday reality and memorable occasions of lawyers’ lives, meet the first female Hungarian lawyer, and experience the suffering endured by lawyers of Jewish origin during the Holocaust and also by those who disagreed with the Hungarian communist regime during the communist-socialist dictatorship of the 1950s.

The exhibition also highlights the virtues of what is known as a “community exhibition”. At the call of Budapest Bar Association’s President, numerous lawyers have lent us dozens of esteemed artefacts, thereby evoking the past of the Hungarian legal profession, and this way making visitor experience more complete, enjoyable and personal.

The seat of Budapest Bar Association, designed by renowned architects Flóris Korb and Kálmán Giergl, was completed in 1896.

The house suffered severe damage after World War II, which necessitated its reconstruction: it was at that time that the first reconstruction of the building was completed.

Once again, members of Budapest Bar Association demonstrated their emotional attachment to the building and, despite contemporary indigent circumstances, the members donated a large sum of money to the reconstruction. Even if post-war renovation works were completed on the building already in 1947, Budapest-based lawyers did not own the building for long: in 1952 – during Hungary’s communist Rákosi era – the house was nationalised. Fortunately, following nationalisation, Budapest Bar Association was able to continue using the spaces in a large part of the building in its capacity as a tenant.

After the political changes of 1989–1990, President of Budapest Bar Association, János Bánáti, started negotiations with the State Privatisation and Asset Management Company to regain ownership. Eventually, the Bar was granted ownership of the building in a quasi free-of-charge manner: the Hungarian Lawyers Association was ready to agree to the deal, and – in the scope of this transaction – it was also willing to sign an exchange agreement with the Hungarian Bar Association. The exterior of the building was then renovated in 2009.

For the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of an association for Budapest-based legal professionals, by February 2025, the stately seat of Budapest Bar Association had undergone complete interior renovation partly financed through members’ contribution.

Inspired by the idea of the celebratory exhibition commemorating Budapest Bar Association’s 150-year anniversary, Gábor Tóth M., President of Budapest Bar Association, issued a call to Hungarian lawyers: he asked members of the community to lend for display at this exhibition those objects of theirs that are related to the legal profession. Many enthusiastic lawyers responded to the call, and this section of the current exhibition presents the most intriguing pieces from among these contributions.

 Margit Ungár’s First Case of her Own 

Margit Ungár first appeared in the courtroom in January 1929 on behalf of an aggrieved Újpest fan against Újpest Sports Club. The sports club hosting the match between Újpest and Ferencváros (which game opened the 1928 football season) had sold far more tickets than there were seats. The situation of overcrowdedness caused spectators to fight in the stands: fist fights broke out, sticks, knives and umbrellas were brought out, and the entire buffet stand collapsed in the chaos.

At least ten people were seriously injured in the brawl and many had their clothes ruined. A total of one hundred and fifty victims applied for compensation from the stadium owner, i.e. Újpest Sports Club, but their claims were rejected. Director of Hungarian Petroleum Refining Ltd. Pál Fekete filed a lawsuit against the club in the Újpest district court for his torn jacket, and hired Dr. Ungár as his legal representative.

Dr. Ungár won the case. The judge ruled that the stadium owner had a duty to ensure the comfort of visitors, and ordered Újpest Sports Club to pay 80 pengős in compensation to the injured party.

The Hungarian National Museum holds many interesting photographs of lawyers living their family lives, going hiking or hunting, or even getting married. In fact, these photographs are accompanied by several interesting documents and texts, which are digitally presented in the scope of this exhibition. Caricatures by lawyer József Füzér, on loan from Budapest Bar Association, are closely related to the theme of this section.

The Ladányi Trial

In June 1950, proceedings were initiated against several leaders of the Hungarian Social Democratic Party based on trumped-up charges. The main defendant was József Kálmán with twenty-one other defendants at the trial. They were primarily Social Democrats portrayed as right-wing politicians, i.e. the most active representatives of the Hungarian Social Democratic Party’s group gathering around anti-communist party politician Károly Peyer. This was also the time when the former Social Democratic Party group in the Hungarian Parliament was terminated, and in fact this show trial was to form the basis for further cases against Social Democrats. Concerning the trial, it is noteworthy that what those reviewing the trial were later able to prove was no more than that these “former municipal hall based counter-revolutionary elements” regularly met and talked to one another. Some of the defendants in the Kálmán Trial included Ferenc Szeder, who served as the Social Democratic Party’s Secretary General until 1944, Vice President of the Hungarian National Bank József Büchler, former State Secretary for Agriculture Ferenc Takács, President of the Municipal Board of the Central Pension Fund of State-owned Companies Antal Szakasits, former Director General of the Institute of Insurance for Private Employees Árpád Gáspár, former President of the Hungarian Bar Association Dr. Ármin Ladányi, Director of the Hungarian Railways Géza Király, and Anna Kéthly’s parliamentary secretary Paula Sima (Anna Kéthly, who was already in custody at the time, was identified as the main recruiter). According to the indictment, these people, who were already expelled from the party, were counting on the Social Democratic Party to regain its legitimacy. It was claimed that the Western powers would not stand idly by, and there would be negotiations in the UN on the issue of Hungary – and for this reason the above persons planned to develop and draw up state, administrative and ideology-related topics and issues in order to have an election programme ready for the next general elections, if needed. With respect to Gyula Pozsgay, former political and then Administrative Secretary of State for Commerce and Transport, and relating to former President of the National Institute for Social Insurance József Kőműves, another thread of the conspiracy came to the fore. Pozsgay represented Károly Peyer’s line of politics, and campaigned in Pécs in 1947, before the elections, on behalf of the Hungarian Radical Party. According to the prosecution, the conspiracy’s cover organization was a group of right-wing Social Democrats operating under the name “Petőfi Freemason Lodge”. Through Gyula Pozsgay and his associates, investigators tried to reach Károly Peyer supporting emigrants in order to uncover connections and links. In the court case of József Kálmán and associates, former Secretary of State for Defence Vilmos Zentai was also prosecuted. Vilmos Zentai was forced to confess at several trials, mostly during military trials, which he later recanted during his rehabilitation. Zentai was convicted on the grounds that he recruited high-ranking military officers during his time as state secretary, including Colonel Erik Bodrossy, Major Generals János Török and Mihály Tóth, as well as Erna Dumbovich, László Virág and Marcell Kőváry. The verdict concluding the trials also referred to informing on the government, which led to the exposure of the leader of the Movement of Hungarian Communist Youth Gyula Kulich during World War II. According to Vilmos Zentai’s confession, in 1948, when he was expelled from the party and removed from his position as state secretary, he maintained regular contact with right-wing Social Democrats, worked with Pálffy and Sólyom, and regularly provided espionage data to Brankov. The case of Vilmos Zentai illustrates how the military line of trials was incorporated into the trials of Social Democratic leaders. From all this, it is clearly evident that the persecution of right-wing Social Democrats was closely related to the cases against Rajk, Sólyom, and their associates. The verdict was delivered in September 1950, and Ármin Ladányi was sentenced to twelve years in prison. He was rehabilitated in 1955. The Supreme Court retried his case in 1957, and he was acquitted for lack of evidence.

Curators: Dr. Gábor Tóth M., Vilmos Gál, Zoltán Balahó
Project Manager: Annamária Szakács
Graphic Design and Visual Concept: Béla Hegyi
Translation: Dr. Mátyás Bánhegyi
Virtual Exhibition: Anna Kinde, Rita Kovács, Erika Vidovenyecz