Hungarian Officials (Succession) Case (No 1)

• Jurisdiction: Republica Checa
• Date: 01 March 1926
• Docket Number: Case No. 67
• Court: Obsolete Court (Czechoslovakia)

Supreme Administrative Court of Czechoslovakia.

Case No. 67

Hungarian Officials (Succession) Case.

State Succession — Succession in regard to Officials — Payment of Salaries Withheld by the Former Government.

The Facts.—The plaintiff, a former Hungarian official, was, when serving in the army, made prisoner of war, and the Hungarian authorities thereupon suspended the payment of his salary. After his return from captivity in October, 1920, the plaintiff was taken over into the Czechoslovak civil service.1 The Czechoslovak authorities paid him his salary from 28 October, 1918 (the date of the establishment of Czechoslovakia), holding that as regards the salary

due before this date, it was the existing Hungarian Government which was responsible in accordance with the stipulations of Articles 186 and 188 of the Treaty of Peace of Trianon. The plaintiff sued to recover arrears of salary in respect of the period of his captivity prior to 28 October, 1918

Held: By the Supreme Administrative Court, that the plaintiff's action must fail. The Czechoslovak State was not a continuation of the former Hungarian State, and it did not succeed to the legal position of the former Hungarian State. A claim against the Czechoslovak State for the fulfilment of the obligations of the former Hungarian State could arise only in case the Czechoslovak State had, in a binding manner, expressed the will to take over the pecuniary obligations resulting from the appointment of the officials of the former Hungarian State. That, however, was not the case.1

¹ (1) The taking over of the former Austrian, Hungarian, and Austro-Hungarian officials into the Czechoslovak civil service was regulated as follows: (a) as regards the former Austrian and the former Austro-Hungarian officials, the law of 7 February, 1919, No. 74, provided that all officials and permanent employees of the former Austrian State and of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and of their undertakings and institutions, so far as they were on the day of the promulgation of this law appointed to these offices within Czechoslovak territory (with the exception of Slovakian territory) by a Government other than the Czechoslovak Government, should be entitled to become Czechoslovak officials and employees, provided that they made application within the period of one month and made during the same month the prescribed solemn declaration; (b) similar provisions were enacted in regard to the former Hungarian officials, although...