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“THE ‘ETERNAL CANDIDATE’ — THAT WAS ME”: INTERVIEW WITH KAROLY BARD
regret I did not study history. I truly believe that you can only do good science if
you are well versed in things historic. So there is a simple answer: I’m interested
in this topic and I had never dealt with it in depth before. And perhaps I needed a
new area of research, having already written too much on criminal procedural law.
V. Z. K.: You defended your doctoral dissertation at the Hungarian Academy
of Sciences last year, entitled Victims’ dignity and defendants’ rights. Reading
the reviews I was struck by the impression that I think radiates beyond your
dissertation and perhaps characterizes your entire career. Let me tell you my
impression and correct me if I’m wrong. The disputants say that while your
familiarity with international literature is impressive, you did not reflect on the
Hungarian scholarship or the domestic legal practice to the degree expected. (This
criticism is also voiced in respect of your earlier works). I jotted this down and then
took another look at your CV and came to the conclusion that you really liked
living in Budapest, but on an intellectual level, you were more at home in the
international scholarly community. You never left Hungary for too long, but your
scientific work took you to the most renowned international institutions, such as
the UN, the HEUNI or the OSCE. Am I correct?
K. B.: The disputants were right: I should have reflected more on Hungarian
scholarly findings. As far as your conclusions are concerned, I can only say, I
really liked travelling abroad before the change of political regime. It’s true that I
couldn’t stand conferences and the small talk between presentations, and instead
of going to the conference reception and dinner I usually retreated to my room to
read. But I loved real academic work. I was often abroad and worked for several
international organizations and thus had a considerable international network.
Alas, my foreign colleagues are getting older and going into retirement, so this
network is starting to wane.
In Hungary, however, I dropped out of academic life in 1990 with my position
at the Ministry. Next came COLPI, where I spent half of the week abroad and
although I was quite frequently at ELTE, I lost touch with a lot of Hungarian
colleagues. I didn’t have particularly strong ties to the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences, either, | was not present in Hungarian academic life, for at CEU it is
basically only the publications in English that count. This is why I submitted my
doctoral dissertation this late. Still, I don’t think I could ever leave Hungary.
V. Z. K.: Speaking of the criticism your work received, let me ask one last question
on this point. Your colleagues routinely stress that your writing is extremely clear,
smooth and exciting. It is not uncommon for lawyers to nurture literary ambitions
that are clearly discernable from their writings. Does this apply to you? How do you
see yourself: as a lawyer with a writing gift, or a writer who chose law as his muse?
K. B.: ’m a slow writer and I never wanted to write literature. It’s just that I truly
believe that it is possible to write plainly about complex professional issues without
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