Ladies and gentlemen, dear fellow citizens!

 

In the whole history of the human society – from which most primitively in up to the present modern democratic – we meet with the fact that those who have contributed to the development of the society in extraordinary way were elevated and were rewarded. This is right, and essentially this is the case today. On excellent scientists, artists, engineers and representatives of the social and political life are conferred titles and honourings which they may guide and/or carry in manner prescribed in the law publicly. They have the right to guide the academic, scientific and other titles to indicate to others to differ from them in certain way.

Nevertheless, against the nobles and their descendants the society has step motherly behaved. However, just they have been that which have exerted themselves in the past for the defence of the country when it had got in danger, they have been the initiators for creation of cultural, artistic and architectural works and the bearers of in general approved values of his time.

The nobility in his today's sense has started to develop in the period of the early feudalism. As a consideration for extraordinary actions or services, the ruler donations of material nature has made, with which on the one hand privileges had been connected, on the other hand obligations to perform still to military and other services. Thus the privileged layers of the citizens started to differ from others which have disposed of no such nobility prerogatives and obligations. Gradually, a feudal state order resting on irregular juridical relations started to develop.

Later when the sovereign about no more suitable donations has betaken himself, the rise in the nobility state occurred predominantly formally, on the basis of nobility letters. Because no donation of a property had been connected with such an act, the elevation to a noble rank in manner cited on top was only a moral recognition of salaries of person to be ennobled.

In the middle of the 19th century the gradual abolition of the social differences began. It was allowed by the law article No. V. from 1844 to take the public offices also by non-nobles. The general franchise and the choice of parliament representatives were introduced by the law article No. V. from 1848 on grounds of a House of Representatives. By the law article No. VIII from 1848 it was arranged that the public issues every citizen has to carry steadily and proportionally without exception. By the law article No. IX from 1848 the proprietary system, and therefore in the essentials also became the bondage lifted.

The nobility prerogatives and other unequal justice were abolished at the same time also by the law articles cited on top and the bases one on the same juridical relations of all citizens based middle-class society were laid down. The nobility in his classical historical form as a privileged social class has stopped to exist.

In the light of these facts the adoption of the law No. 61/1918 by which – after the setting of the Hungarian-Austrian monarchy - the nobility in the Czechoslovak republic at that time was lifted and the guidance of titles of nobility and marks of nobility as a part of the name were prohibited, was absolutely pointless, superfluous and self suitable. Namely, this law has abolished what there was not juridically long any more: the nobility with his formal signs in the form of marks of nobility and titles of nobility.

After 1918 originated a legal situation after which a graduate of the university might still keep the title lent to him of the doctor or those of the engineer to differ from those which have not finished a university, while that which has taken part in the past as an aristocrat either alone or by means of his forefather in the defence of the country, a university or library has founded, or, however, in important measure to the advancement of the science, technology or the country has contributed generally, the external signs of the social assessment of his salaries might not lead any more.

Unfortunately, this state outlasts in the Slovakian republic also today in spite of that that there are in Europe several countries in which the nobility takes his suitable place in the social life as well as in the political one. His situation corresponds of course to the demands of the today's modern concepts of human rights and basic freedoms.

In the Czechoslovak republic the law No. 141/1950 – the Civil law code came into force on the 1st of January, 1951. Up to his decree, the Hungarian customary law was valid in the area of the today's Slovakian republic. That's why the base of the membership of our association is formed by aristocrats of the former Kingdom of Hungary and her descendants. Except him aristocrats of the other countries which have acquired no Hungarian nationality (Indigenat) also have in our rows as extraordinary members his place. These members order the same rights and duties like the descendants of aristocrats of the former Kingdom of Hungary, so that the division of our members on well-arranged and extraordinary is purely formal and serves exclusively for evidence purposes.

Except given both member's groups longs for offering our association also to other fellow citizen’s space who are no aristocrats or have no knowledge about that, but the ideas of the nobility and his values are obvious to them, nevertheless. In this way - in the interest of the reaching of our objectives – we wish to win the wide public to us also and to offer at the same time opportunity for a public control of our activity.

In this mind we would like to appeal to the honoured public and invite everybody between ourselves who has interest to contribute actively to the revival the thought of the nobility.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

 

 

                                    Dr. Nicholas of  Praznovszky

 

                                    President of the Assotiation