Budapest

The law school building of the University of ELTE in the heart of Budapest (Photo: Endre Domaniczky)

The young Ferenc Mádl – demonstrating his highly developed diplomatic skills – travelled to the Hungarian capital in August 1953, where he asked the newly elected Dean of the Law School at the University of ELTE, Miklós Világhy, for help. After listening to him, Professor Világhy decided to support the talented student, who was able to continue his studies at the ELTE Law School from the autumn of 1953.

But Professor Világhy, one of the greatest Hungarian expert in the field of civil law of the 20th century, did not only help him to change universities. In the course of the university years, he became one of the most important mentors for Mádl, who as one of his students started to prepare for an academic career.

The watershed year was 1955, the spring of which saw the final year student Mádl win the national law student competition with his thesis. Although, being of rural origin and lacking political support, he did not manage to stay in the country’s most important law school, he was already respected within the scientific community, and after a brief detour into different local courts, he was able to continue his career at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from early 1956, with the support of his former teachers.