Potential Legal Models for Splitting Up HNMPCC

A Comparison of Departure and Separation from the Perspective of the National Széchényi Library

Abstract

The study examines the possible legal models for restoring the status of the National Széchényi Library (hereinafter: NSZL) as an autonomous central budgetary institution in the context of the planned decentralisation of the Hungarian National Museum Public Collection Centre (hereinafter: HNMPCC). Based on the Hungarian Public Finance Act, it compares the two principal forms of division of a budgetary institution, separation by spin-off and separation by division, with particular regard to their implications for legal succession, institutional status, assets, employment relations and operational autonomy. The analysis also addresses the legal and treasury registration consequences of the 2024 integration and the importance of preserving the historical, professional and public-service continuity of the NSZL. The study concludes that both legal models may provide a framework for restoring the NSZL's independent legal personality, although they entail different advantages and risks. From the perspective of the NSZL, the decisive issue is therefore not the legal technique of the restructuring in itself, but whether the resulting institutional framework ensures the historical and institutional continuity of the national library and provides the human, financial, organisational and material resources necessary for genuine operational autonomy.