The paper is dealing with the constitutional and historical importance of Act I. of 1946. In 1946 Hungary has changed its form of government. The passage of Act I of 1946 has defined Hungary’s form of government as a republic. In addition to the creation of a republic, the legislation provided powers for the president of the Hungarian Republic. Moreover, the Preamble of Act I. of 1946 was the first document in the Hungarian constitutional history which summarized and declared the most important natural and inalienable rights of the citizens.

The article concerns the constitutional position and political role of the President of the Republic of Poland. Though the Author concentrates on the current constitution of Poland, that entered info force in 1997, he also reviews all the constitutions (and important amendments to these constitutions) that were adopted over the last century, so after Poland had restored its sovereignty in 1918.
The analysis is concentrated not only on the constitutional position and political role of the Polish president, but also on the way he was (and is) elected. The Author tries to prove a thesis that the actual political position of the head in the state in Poland depended and still depends not only on constitutional provisions, but also on specific political circumstances, and even the character and personality of the people holding this office.

The reasons for success or failure in establishing states after WWI: Poland and Czechoslovakia versus the Ukraine

The main goal of this paper is to show the crucial facts which led to the establishment at the end of the First World War of two sovereign states: the First Czechoslovak Republic and the Second Polish Republic. An attempt has also been made to provide background information on the reasons why the Ukraine did not gain independence in the time in question.

Příčiny úspěchu nebo neúspěchu v budování států po I. světové válce: Polsko a Československo versus Ukrajina

Russia is a state with a multi-ethnic federal structure inherited from the USSR. Implementing an ethnic policy that would unite and integrate its citizens is one of its most important goals. Among Russia’s federal subjects are also national republics pursuing their own ethno-political concepts, either conciliatory or conflictual. Tatarstan and Chechnya are examples of such republics. With the use of the comparative method, the article is an attempt at demonstrating many factors that have an impact on the shaping and implementing of the ethnic policy through such criteria as the status of the republics, the concept of the nation, and ethnocentrism, historical memory, the role of Islam and its politicization, and the language policy. The article also outlines their consequences and possible future scenarios.

Commonwealth Realms as a Relic of the Past. Change of the Political System in Barbados

After 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s Commonwealth Realms reign, only 15 countries remain, counting the United Kingdom. Barbados gained complete autonomy, becoming a republic after 55 years of independence. The purpose of this paper is to provide an outline of the process that took place in Barbados, from the time the British decided to settle on the Island, until it became a republic. The main research method used by the author, is source analysis and the point of reference is the Barbados Constitution Amendment Act of 28.09.2021, whereby from 30.11.2021, Barbados becomes a republic and all duties previously exercised by the Governor-General are exercised by the President.

This article provides a comparative analysis of the implementation of referendums in Ukraine and the Baltic states during the first decade of independence. The article contains a historical and political aspect regarding the reasons and results of referendums introduced in the specified countries. The article provides a separate analysis of the political features of the introduction of referendums in Ukraine, which consisted, first of all, of pressure from the president on the parliament, with the aim of the latter adopting decisions necessary for the head of state. Such pressure on the parliament, in the form of a referendum initiative by the second President of Ukraine, was aimed at increasing its powers, especially with regard to influence on the government, and a proportional decrease in the powers of the Verkhovna Rada. This was most clearly manifested during the period of formation and approval of the text of the Constitution of Ukraine, in which all the «rules of the game» in the aspect of checks and balances of the highest institutions of state power were to be agreed upon. The experience of the Baltic countries in the first decade of restored independence had less practice than in Ukraine regarding political confrontations between the highest bodies of state power. The Baltic countries finally agreed on the main powers of the main institutions of power during the first two years of their restored independence and confirmed them in referendums. Further, their plebiscites consisted more in solving issues of national than exclusively political importance.