Restored, expanded, and ceremonially reopened, the Professors’ Portrait Gallery at the University of Szeged Faculty of Law and Political Sciences once again pays tribute to the scholars who helped shape the faculty’s intellectual legacy. Unveiled by Prof. Dr. Tamás Antal, Vice-Dean for Academic and General Affairs, the renewed first-floor gallery now features 101 distinguished professors and once again welcomes visitors after storm damage in 2019 cast uncertainty over its future.
The renewed and expanded Professors’ Portrait Gallery was inaugurated on May 14, 2026, in the first-floor stairwell of the main building of SZTE’s Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at a ceremony attended by professors, former deans, representatives of the legal profession, relatives of former faculty members, and invited guests. Welcoming attendees, Prof. Dr. Tamás Antal, Vice-Dean for Academic and General Affairs, emphasized that the date had been chosen with particular care: May 14 falls close to May 12, a milestone anniversary in the shared history of university education in Kolozsvár (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania) and Szeged, reflecting the university’s historical relocation from the former to the latter.
Prof. Dr. Tamás Antal placed the ceremony in a broader historical context, emphasizing the importance of preserving the faculty’s traditions and honoring the intellectual legacy of the professors who were instrumental in defining its scholarly community.
“May 12 has marked turning points in the history of our university on more than one occasion. On that day in 1581, Stephen Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, signed the founding charter of the college in Cluj. Centuries later, in 1872, the Hungarian Parliament established the Royal Hungarian University of Kolozsvár. The university – later renamed Franz Joseph University – was authorized to begin operations through a royal decree issued by Emperor Franz Joseph, once again on May 12.”
“Decades later, in 1919, another defining moment unfolded in the university’s history,” Professor Antal continued. “On May 1, the head of the Romanian Governing Council in Sibiu and the official overseeing education ordered professors from all four faculties to swear allegiance to the Romanian state – otherwise, the university would have to leave Cluj. Not a single Hungarian professor took the oath. As a result, on May 12, Romanian authorities forcibly took control of the university’s institutions in Cluj. This brought the university’s chapter in Cluj to an end and marked the beginning of a search for a new home – one that would last more than two years, until the institution finally found its place in Szeged in 1921.”
“An earlier inauguration of the portrait gallery took place in late May or early June 2001,” Prof. Dr. Tamás Antal recalled. “That ceremony was the result of years of dedicated work, inspired by an idea that arose during preparations for the university’s 75th anniversary. In 1996–1997, the university published an almanac that continues to serve as a valuable reference to this day. It was this publication that inspired the Faculty of Law – then the only faculty at the university to undertake such an initiative – to honor its former professors in this distinctive way.”
The Vice-Dean also highlighted the extensive effort behind the creation of the original gallery. The scholarly coordination of the project and the search for photographs were led by József Ruszoly, then head of department. With the internet still in its infancy at the time, the portraits had to be traced through meticulous archival and traditional research. When the pantheon was inaugurated in 2001, it featured 86 portraits. Initially, photographs of six professors were still missing; since then, all but one have been found, with only the portrait of Rezső Werner still awaiting discovery.
Prof. Dr. Tamás Antal reflects on the history and renewal of the Professors’ Portrait Gallery.
Back in 2001, the faculty’s technical infrastructure offered little support for producing the portraits: there was not even a color photocopier available, let alone a color printer suitable for creating such displays. To bring the gallery to life, the faculty turned to Károly Kokas, now retired Deputy Director-General of the University of Szeged’s Klebelsberg Library and Archives, for professional assistance.
Introducing the expanded gallery, the Vice-Dean reflected on both the pride and the spirit of remembrance embodied in the growing collection.
“Sadly, the number of portraits has grown from 86 to 101 over the years, as many of our mentors and colleagues have passed away,” the Vice-Dean noted. “The faculty leadership has consistently maintained that their legacy should be preserved with the same care and respect shown to those commemorated before 2001. The portraits are arranged according to the year each professor was appointed to a university chair – rather than by birth or death – beginning with Áron Berde, the first professor appointed in 1872.”
“It also became a cherished faculty tradition to mark the addition of each new portrait with a commemorative gathering featuring a laudation and the ceremonial unveiling of the portrait. Since this tradition has been suspended since 2019, we are especially pleased to honor two professors whose portraits have not yet been formally unveiled: Professors Ferenc Nagy and László Bodnár. Their family members have joined us for today’s ceremony as well, and I extend to them my warmest welcome and deepest respect,” Professor Antal concluded.
The laudation honoring Professor Ferenc Nagy was delivered by Prof. Dr. Zsolt Szomora, Professor at the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Science at SZTE’s Faculty of Law and Political Sciences:
Professor Ferenc Nagy was born in 1948 in Kiskunfélegyháza, a town north of Szeged, and passed away in the spring of 2020 at the age of 72. His life and scholarly career were deeply intertwined with the University. In 1972, he joined what was then the Department of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law as a teaching assistant, beginning an academic path that would take him through every rank of university life. He became head of department in 1992 and was appointed professor in 1995.
Professor Nagy reached the highest milestone of his academic career in 2018, when he was awarded the title Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He belonged to a generation of scholars shaped before the age of widespread digitalization and before today’s intensely competitive pace of higher education. His work was marked by patience, depth, and intellectual discipline. As he often reminded his students and colleagues, every legal scholar – indeed, every social scientist – must begin by “reading half a library.” Those who worked with him were fortunate to witness this scholarly approach firsthand.
Prof. Dr. Zsolt Szomora reflects on the life and scholarly legacy of Professor Ferenc Nagy.
The Hungarian Scientific Bibliography database (MTMT) shows that Professor Ferenc Nagy’s work extended far beyond the image of a traditional scholar: his records include 322 publications and more than 1,000 independent citations. He was also a highly respected educator who left a lasting impact on generations of legal professionals and taught hundreds – perhaps thousands – of students specializing in criminal law. His influence reached well outside the Szeged region, earning him nationwide recognition as an exceptional teacher.
The criminal law textbook Professor Nagy co-authored with Géza Tokaji – widely known simply as the ‘Nagy–Tokaji’ – served for years as a core text at law faculties across Hungary, including Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. Following the introduction of Hungary’s new Criminal Code in 2012, he joined a major textbook initiative alongside leading scholars from other institutions, including Mihály Tóth, Ervin Belovics, and Balázs Gellér. The resulting volume on the new Criminal Code became a key reference work, and Professor Nagy’s contribution to its General Part has had a lasting impact: second-year students are still studying from the posthumously published 2020 edition.
Reflecting on Professor Nagy’s scholarly legacy, Prof. Dr. Zsolt Szomora emphasized that several defining areas of Hungarian criminal law scholarship became strongly associated with Professor Nagy’s work, including the theory of sanctions – particularly legal measures – and the question of life imprisonment without parole. After the turn of the millennium, he devoted many years to the Criminal Law Codification Committee, serving as co-chair alongside Kálmán György, while continuing his extensive research on criminal liability and the theory of crime.
Ferenc Nagy’s name also became closely associated with the Hungarian interpretation and development of the principle of nullum crimen. In post-1990 Hungarian constitutional and criminal law scholarship, the principle that there can be no criminal liability or punishment without law gained firm intellectual foundations in large part through his work.
Professor Nagy’s legacy took on added significance in the years following his death. He passed away two months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and did not live to witness the introduction, in 2021, of what Prof. Dr. Zsolt Szomora described as a highly questionable and unconstitutional pandemic-related criminal emergency decree. According to Szomora, the measure led courts to suspend criminal proceedings involving hundreds of defendants at 10–12 courts nationwide, while judges petitioned the Constitutional Court of Hungary to strike it down.
“We sought to express criticism of the decree through many channels,” Prof. Dr. Szomora said. “For me, it is an especially meaningful coincidence that we are able to unveil the professor’s portrait today, because as of midnight on May 14, 2026, rule by decree officially came to an end in Hungary.”
The portrait of Prof. Dr. Ferenc Nagy was ceremonially unveiled in the presence of his family.
Next, the laudation honoring Professor László Bodnár was delivered by Dr. Szilvia Kertészné Váradi, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of International and European Law:
“We have gathered today to place a portrait – the portrait of an outstanding scholar, teacher, and human being – in a setting worthy of the contribution it represents. It reflects not only a life’s work and intellectual legacy, but also the lasting impact Professor László Bodnár had on the community around him. He was among Hungary’s most distinguished scholars of international law. His publications, written in several languages, contributed to the advancement of international legal scholarship and deepened understanding of key issues in European integration, including the relationship between national, European Union, and international law.”
Dr. Szilvia Kertészné Váradi honored Professor László Bodnár’s distinguished career and the enduring legacy he left to future generations of legal scholars.
“Professor Bodnár’s scholarly work transcended the boundaries of academia and left a lasting impact on legal practice as well. His career bridged theory and practice: while he was a leading figure in Hungarian scholarship on international and European Union law, he also earned significant recognition abroad, with international forums frequently drawing on his expertise as an advisor, collaborator, and lecturer. Yet his academic achievements represent only part of his legacy. He placed his knowledge in service of the broader community, and it is difficult to fully capture what he meant to our department.”
“As Head of the Department of International and European Law, Professor Bodnár created an inspiring professional community where generations of students learned not only the foundations and complexities of EU and international law, but also that knowledge comes with responsibility and vocation calls for humility. As an educator and department head, he led with extraordinary breadth of knowledge, precision, practical insight, and genuine care for his students and colleagues. He did far more than lead a department – he built a community shaped by intellectual curiosity, humanity, high standards, and encouragement.”
“Professor Bodnár’s scholarly legacy remains both an inspiration and a lasting responsibility for us all. His memory lives on not only within this Faculty, but also in the values, knowledge, and integrity of those who had the privilege of knowing him. May future generations who pause before this portrait see in him a scholar whose life’s work remains a worthy example to us all. We preserve his memory with gratitude and respect,” Dr. Szilvia Kertészné Váradi concluded her laudation.
The portrait of Prof. Dr. László Bodnár was unveiled in the presence of his wife.
As the ceremony drew to a close, Prof. Dr. Tamás Antal, Vice-Dean for Academic and General Affairs, unveiled the inscription accompanying the completed Professors’ Portrait Gallery. Invoking the ancient Roman saying, “The glory of our ancestors is a light for posterity,” he emphasized the gallery’s enduring purpose: to honor the faculty’s distinguished heritage while inspiring future generations who will continue to shape its legacy. The inauguration concluded with a standing reception.
Original Hungarian article by Imre Vida-Szűcs
Photos by István Sahin-Tóth
