Electronic Library of Scientific Literature
Electronic Library of Scientific Literature
Vol. V / No 1 / May 1996
National consciousness is one of the essential components of the movement
of a human society. Objectively, it is an inevitable link in accepting
natural and social conditions by a human being. Thus, it is not an ideal
fiction as the product of a cognitive activity, but a real value as the
assumption and simultaneously the resultant of a creative human activity.
Thus, it is natural, that with changing social conditions the possibilities
and the heading of the formation of national consciousness are changing
as well. The calm surface of national life has been stirred up by the changes,
which were brought about both by the collapse of the fascist powers (Germany,
Italy, Spain, Japan) after the end of World War II and by the fall of former
socialist block after the November Revolution. Movements and tendencies
were excited, within which relatively often initiatives were taken over
by nationalistic orientated groups, who have intensified their national
intolerance up to an ethnic cleansing and a physical extermination of other
nations. The Slovak national movement has been an extraordinary positive
example of how to take advantage of an emerged space of freedom and it
has resulted in the creation of the Slovak Republic as the first democratic
state in the history of Slovaks.
The national movements has considerably different forms and dimensions
in America, mainly in the United States of America. A new American nation
is formed from a plenty of ethnic groups here. There are no obstacles in
its democratic conditions to be thrown in the way of creation of ethnic
communities, which are founding their educational societies and libraries,
building churches and temples, publishing newspapers. In spite of this,
the citizens in this country primarily feel themselves to be Americans.
The highest form of national movement is contemporarily represented by
the European integration proceeding. An integration makes greater demands
on a right orientation in the conditions of national existence, maintains
a critical justification of possibilities and thus reinforces the significance
of national consciousness in this proceeding.
pp. 3–15
Slovak Republic is a newly emerged subject of the international law.
It has been recognised de iure by the contemporary international community
and accepted as a fully qualified member for both multilateral and bilateral
relations in all fields of international life as well.
The author of the study presented occupies himself by one of these domains
— cultural diplomacy, the basis of which one are the cultural agreements
between and among states, as representing significant components of international
relations and international policy.
Both bilateral and multilateral cooperations in the domain of culture are
considered priorities of the foreign relations of the Ministry of Culture
of Slovak Republic. In the frame of multilateral cooperation we are extraordinary
interested in a close multilateral cooperation with UNO, EU, CoE and UNESCO
as well as with other international organisations, which are contributing
to the reinforcement of international cultural relations through their
standardising activity.
Cultural agreements as well as other legal documents (declarations, resolutions)
are legal instruments of this cooperation between and among states and
international organisations.
In the further part of his paper the author describes the preparatory proceedings
of inter-state cultural agreements and gives individual concrete examples.
pp. 16–23
To maintaining both international peace and security remain the first-rank
and fundamental aims of all the humankind. These aims get their new significance
in today's conditions, they are completed with new meanings and they require
to find out new ways and new means to reach it.
The problem of elimination of the threat of a nuclear war is placed into
the forefront by the political realism, while the question of how to secure
international and national security is required. When justifying the questions
of war and peace, the sovereignty of states, the untouchableness of their
frontiers as well as their right for either an individual or a collective
self-defence were always put the emphasis upon by states. Then from this
latter the author derives, that both physical and moral ability of a state
to defend itself successfully against an external source of threat should
be understood under the term of national security. A liable and firm national
security is directly combined with ensuring international security. The
several states' approach, that the security could be ensured only through
a military power, while its limitation or reduction, could lead to its
substantial degradation, is unsustainable.
The humankind can find itself on the verge of a new stage of development,
which can even more substantially influence the development of military
technologies. Those resorting to considerations of limited, quick or tedious
nuclear wars are still under the influence of worn-away stereotypes, when
a war was an immense misfortune, but there was no threat of destruction
of the humankind as there is today. The nuclear age dictates a new political
thinking inevitably.
pp. 24–33
The political and economic development of cities exactly in Slovakia
was in a decisive way determined by the lively political and historical
events, which were taking place in the 16.-17.centuries. A dense urbanised
network of cities of all public law categories extended on a relatively
small geographical area as compared to Hungary as a whole. Free royal cities
were among those most frequently represented — the cities of the first
category — as the most developed merchant, mining and artisan cities. The
most significant group of them were so-called civitates tavernicales
(tavernical cities), whose designation is derived from the designation
of a highly ranked public administrator — magister tavernicorum
(tavernicus), who presided their appellation court. A relatively high number
of them is an expressive indicator of a significant function of Slovakia
as well as of its active contribution to the political, economic and legal
development of Hungary. Moreover, after the Battle of Mohács in
1526 the genuine Hungarian Kingdom was impersonated by the territory of
Slovakia and Bratislava, after Budapest having been occupied by Turks,
became the official seat of central administration and state power of the
Hungarian state. It was due to this fact, that the cities in Slovakia and
namely their economic potential were, on one side, becoming a significant
factor in the power and political struggle for the Hungarian throne. The
significance of their role in the political life of the country thus increased.
On the other side, as a result, the impact of an unfavourable internal
political situation compelled them to protect the whole system of immunities
and privileges, which had been constantly violated by various interventions.
These circumstances determined generally an active participation of the
cities in the political, economic and legal life of the country. They partook
more intensively in the solution of various matters and controversial situations
through civic emissaries, a highly developed institution in the organisational
structure of the cities. Even with a lag of centuries, credit can be given
to their highly estimated abilities, toughness and skill when solving various
situations and problems. Therefore the requirements for their skill and
personal spotlessness fully corresponded to the developedness of the organisational
forms of this institution. These requirements were given emphasis not only
from the part of a given municipal council, as a highest municipal self-governing
organ which used to entrust their emissaries with pursuing duties by
cum plena facultate authorising documents and binding instructions,
but from the part of the subjects with which the cities entried in negotiations
as well. The activity of civic emissaries is referred to practically at
all more significant bodies of state administration and various institutions.
As we have on the basis of abundant references pointed out, the activity
of civic emissaries was focused on three main domains: towards the Royal
Court and central dignitaries of state administration, towards the activity
of country's Diet and towards tavernical court as a appellate judicial
body of the tavernical cities.
The activity of civic emissaries towards the Royal Court was determined
both by the circumstances, resulting from the relations between the sovereign
and the cities, and the consequences of the specific political situation
of a given historical era. In the cases of violations of civic privileges,
the cities searched for protection from the part of either the sovereign
or the tavernicus. That is to say, that this latter one was in charge of
a part of sovereign's jurisdiction in the domain of the supervision over
cities and a judicial jurisdiction as well. The tavernicus' competencies
were also those of a mediator between the sovereign and the cities in the
domain of civic privileges protection. It was therefore the cities' concern
about how to influence his designation, so as this dignitary to be sympathetic
with their interests. The civic emissaries at the Royal Court were charged
of this task. The means chosen in order to protect the interests of the
cities varied from commonly formulated standpoints, common meetings of
emissaries to both complaint grievance and redress petition submissions
to the sovereign or the tavernicus. The activity of emissaries at the Royal
Court were completed by their partaking in forming statutory documents,
legal codes and civic rights codification as well as their sanctioning
by the sovereign. It was one of the demonstrations of protection of cities
from an unfavourable impact of political events in the country on the system
of rights and privileges. Those most skilled and those best law-educated
emissaries were selected, while not only a diplomatic skill but an extensive
and practical knowledge were required from them as well.
Similarly, the jurisdictional competence of central state administration
dignitaries made further space for the operation of civic emissaries. A
wide scale of political, legal and economic matters used to be negotiated.
Also here did the emissaries show their skill and abilities. Various ways
of their proceedings and means were chosen, from interventions, submission
and conveying information to the submission of written petitions and resolutions.
From the viewpoint competence, the Diet, as a supreme legislative body,
held its significant position in the relation with cities. It is to say,
that the activity of this body directly referred to and defined the legal
form of the position of cities in all fields of their life. The task of
emissaries in this body was not easy due to the facts that, on one side,
organisational structure of the Diet did not guarantee a stabile representation
of cities and, on the other side, they disposed, regardless the number
of the cities present, of only one vote in the voting procedure. Therefore
the selection of emissaries was subject to strict criteria and an goood
informatedness on public matters was inevitable. Due to an increased compelling
force of the nobility the activity of emissaries was presumably focused
on opposing to the legal documents, which used to violate the immunities
and privileges of cities. In this matter effective forms of common organised
proceedings were chosen by the emissaries, e.g. legal documents passed
by the Diet were contradicted by protest at competent bodies or common
gatherings of all the interested cities were organised, etc. They submitted
the claims for sanctioning of privileges and amended legal codes.
The tavernical court, seated in Bratislava from 1531, as second-stage judicial
appellate body of tavernical cities which represented a separated domain
of the activity of emissaries. The delegated emissaries of relevant tavernical
cities were the members of judges' board. Not only controversial issues
of citizens, but actual problems of all the domains of city life as well
were treated at these courts. Already from the nature of this activity
can be deduced that the emissaries, apart from a good informatedness on
public matters, presumably were connoisseurs of civic law. many of them
worked actively in judicial practice of municipal councils as first-stage
courts. They acted so as to hinder the influence and regulations of the
aristocratic law from its penetrating into the judicial practice of this
court. Except for this activity, the emissaries made themselves useful
as skilled legislation creators. Their common legislative activity is apparent
in the creation of statutes (ius statuendi) as legal norms
which, apart from procedural matters, governed actual social and economic
issues of cities as well.
It can be deduced from individual domains of the activity of emissaries,
that the exactness of their mission and pursuing the given tasks were determined
by the complexity of political, economic and legal position of the tavernical
cities in Slovakia in historical turmoil of the contemporary events of
both internal and international political character. The invention of their
approaches to demanding tasks, a wide scale of methods, means, measures
and sophisticated proceedings has undoubtedly become a source of knowledge
a experience for next generations in the domain of diplomacy.
pp. 34–48
The author of the paper presented, who is an employee of the Ministry
of Economy of Slovak Republic, has prepared a brief analysis of the Central
European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA). The whole wording of the document
is published (per partes in three sequels) in the part Dokumenty, pramene
(Documents, source).
The CEFTA Agreement was signed among Czech Republic, Hungarian Republic,
Polish Republic and Slovak Republic on December 22, 1992 and entried into
force from January 1, 1993. The gradual trade liberalisation, i.e. customs
abolition in mutual trade among contractive parties, has been the aim of
the CEFTA Agreement. The advantageousness of the commercial cooperation
has shown itself within 3 years. The mutual sales turnover among CEFTA
countries has increased. From the viewpoint of Slovakia, this increase
was by 6% in 1994 and by almost 20 in 1995.
The author gives a detailed analysis of the 1995 activity of the CEFTA
association in the further part of his paper, he refers to the activities
of the Slovak Government for 1996, when Slovak Republic will become the
presiding country of the CEFTA association.
pp. 49–58