The Diet of the states is composed of four orders, viz. the prelates ; the lay-barons and the magnats; the repre sentatives of the counties, each county sending two mem bers ; and the representatives of free cities. They are in vited to the diet, in the name of the king, by letters of con vocation dispatched by the chancery ; and these letters often contain a statement of the different points that are to be there discussed, that the counties and free cities may give proper instructions and powers to their deputies. According to the constitution, no one but a noble, that is, one who possesses landed property, can sit and deliberate in the diet. When assembled, all the members are con sidered as upon an equality, neither baron nor bishop hav ing any privileges more than a simple gentleman. They meet in separate chambers : the chamber of magnata, where the palatine presides, and which is composed of the prelates, the.barons of the kingdom, the governors of coun ties, and all the counts and barons who may be members of the diet ; the other deputies, who arc the most nu merous body, constitute the chamber of states, where the grand judge presides. 'When a motion has passed both chambers, the king has the power of confirming or re jecting it, his approbation being necessary to give it the force of a law.
The internal police of the kingdom is administered by the supreme aulic chancery, the council of government, and other subordinate courts. The first sits at Vienna, and is composed of an aulic chancellor, vice-chancellor, and ten aulic counsellors, all chosen by the king. Of the counsellors, two arc bishops, two magnats, and six nobles. It is the organ by which the king exercises his royal au thority, and directs the political affairs of the interior. It expedites all letters-patent, granting favours and privi leges, and also all diplomas, nominating to vacant bishop rics, ecclesiastical benefices, and other offices. The coun cil of government sits at Buda, and consists of the palatine, who is president, and 24 counsellors. It has the superin tendance of all inferior courts, and of all matters regard- , ing general police and public safety, and the inspection of churches, universities, &c. ; it encourages agriculture, in dustry, and commerce ; and decides in all matters of litiga tion respecting the services of peasants towards their lords, 8
The subordinate courts are those of the counties and free cities. Each county has its governor and two vice-go vernors, a procurator, and vice-procurator- fiscal, a receiver general and assistant, a notary, &c. The governors are appointed by the king, except in the cases of the palatine, the primate, the princes Esterhazy and Bathyany, the counts Kobari, Illeshazy, Palfy, Nadasdy, Schonhorn, Csaky, Erdody, and baron Revay, who are hereditary go vernors of counties ; the other magistrates are appointed by the county, and are renewed every three years. The go vernor convokes the county whenever he thinks it neces sary, and all the nobility within its bounds have a right to deliberate and vote. The subjects which are there dis cussed, regard the police and agriculture of the county; the election of their deputies and magistrates; the levying of contributions and imposts ; and the publication of the decrees of the diet, and of the council of government.
The magistracy of a free city consists of a judge, a burgomaster, a counsel, a notary, &c. to whom arc en trusted the administration of justice and police within the royalty.
The tribunals of justice, which possess general juris diction throughout the kingdom, are the septeniviral table, and the royal table. The septemviral table consisted for merly only of'seven members, but it is now augmented to twenty-two, of whom the palatine is president. It is only a court of cassation, and receives processes by appeal from the royal table and inferior tribunals. The royal table, where the grand judge presides, is composed of seventeen members, nine of whom must be present, in order to con stitute its decisions valid. It pronounces on all disputes respecting property, the maiming or murdering of nobles, and crimes of high treason. It is also a court of appeal, and holds four sessions during the year.
The inferior and special judicatories are the four tribu nals of the circles, which decide only in civil cases, having no criminal jurisdiction ; the county tribunals, which have also four sessions, and take cognizance of all matters civil and criminal, except in cases of high treason ; the district tribunals; the city tribunals; and the tribunals of individual no bles. Croatia has also a court of appeal, called tabula banalis, which sits at Agram, and of which the ban of Croatia and Sclavonia is president. It has the same• jurisdiction within these provincts as the royal table at Pesth, with this differ ence, that an appeal may be carried from the tabula banalis to the royal table.
The bases of Hungarian jurisprudence are the corpus funs Hun,garici ; decretzun tripartitum Verboeczianum, and decisiones curiales. The corpus juris Hung. is a collection of all the decrees passed by the diet from the commence ment of the monarchy, and was first formed in 1584. Since that time it has received so many additions, that it is in creased one half; but, latterly, these laws have been so ill digested, and so intermixed with other matters, that the confusion which is thus occasioned renders the study of them both difficult and laborious. The decretum tripartitum Trerboeczianum, is a colleetion of customs introduced into the administration of justice, which, by long usage, have received the force of laws. This collection was made by Verboecz, the grand judge in the reign of Ladislaus II,; and though it has been rejected as a national code by seve ral diets, yet, through the course of time, it has acquired such reputation, that it is actually acknowledged through out the kingdom, as forming a legitimate part of Hunga rian law. The decisiones curiales are the decisions of the judges of the royal table on certain questions to which no existing law could be directly applied. They were collect ed by order of Maria Theresa in 1769 ; and, after having been revised by the septemviral and royal tables, were pub lished under the title of planum curiale.