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Dr. Zoltán Megyeri-Pálffi

University of Debrecen

Curriculum Vitae

Zoltán Megyeri-Pálffi studied law and political science at the Faculty of Law of the University of Debrecen, where he received his doctorate degree in 2012 at the Géza Marton Doctoral School. Since 2008, he has been working at the chair for legal history there. Since 2013, he has held the post of assistant professor and teaches Hungarian administrative and constitutional law history as well as general legal history. Further, he has been studying architecture since 2011 at the technical faculty of the University of Debrecen. Dr. Megyeri-Pálffi was guest researcher at the faculty of law of the University of Vienna and most recently at the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History in Frankfurt. His research interests lie in law and architecture, legal symbols and name law. From August 2015 to March 2016, Zoltán Megyeri-Pálffi was Fellow at the Käte Hamburger Center for Advanced Study in the Humanities “Law as Culture”.

Research Project

The Relationship between Law and Architecture

Zoltán Megyeri-Pálffi’s current research focuses on the relationship between law and architecture. His interrelated examination is based on the legal system’s effects on architectural configuration. To analyze these, the research will explore some hypothetical questions regarding the influence of legal and administrative functions on architecture. Questions to be examined include how the spatial construction of juridical/administrative buildings might contribute to legal proceedings, how architectural configuration follows the rules of legal procedure, e.g. by considering the spatial requirements of a jury, and how the work of specialized architects, such as Gyula Wágner in Hungary, as well as symbols like Lady Justice shape the appearance and impact of juridical/administrative buildings. Answering these questions requires knowledge of both the development of legal procedure and the history of architecture and will also contribute to a comparative analysis of the development of legal systems (and in a wider sense: “legal cultures”) in Central and Western Europe.

Publications (selected)

  • A debreceni Magyar Királyi Törvényszék egykori épülete [The Former Building of the Hungarian Royal Court in Debrecen], in: Bartha Ákos und Szálkai Tamás (Eds.): Interdiszciplinaritás a régiókutatásban IV, Debrecen 2014, pp. 31-46.
  • Név és jog. A névviselés jogi szabályozásának fejlődése Magyarországon [Name and Law. The development of the legal regulations of naming in Hungary], Budapest: Gondolat Kiadó 2013.
  • Kaszárnyától a Campusig. A Kassai úti laktanya története [Campus out of Barracks. The history of the cavalry barracks in Kassai Street], in: Bartha Ákos, Szendrei Ákos und Szálkai Tamás (Eds.): Interdiszciplinaritás a régiókutatásban III, Debrecen 2013, pp. 57-71.
  • A házassági névválasztás jogszabályi és motivációs háttere Debrecenben [Legal Background and Motivations for the Selection of Marriage Names in Debrecen], in: Bartha Ákos, Szendrei Ákos und Szálkai Tamás (Eds.): Interdiszciplinaritás a régiókutatásban II, Debrecen 2012, pp. 89-107.
  • Névváltoztató bihari nemes családok a kora újkorban Jogtörténeti vonatkozások [Name Changes of Aristocratic Families in Early Modern Bihar. Legal historical context], in: Bartha Ákos, Szendrei Ákos und Szálkai Tamás (Eds.): Interdiszciplinaritás a régiókutatásban I. Debrecen 2011, pp. 41-52.
  • A bejegyzett élettársi kapcsolat bevezetése Magyarországon [The Introduction of the Registered Partnership in Hungary], in: Görgényi Ilona, Horváth M. Tamás, Szabó Béla und Várnay Ernő (Eds.): Collectio iuridica Universitatis Debreceniensis VIII, Debrecen: Debreceni Egyetem ÁJK 2010, pp. 181-199.