Konštantín Čulen pred ľudovým súdom
(Konštantín Čulen Before the People’s Court)
Branislav Kinčok
Download PDFKINČOK, Branislav. Konštantín Čulen Before the People’s Court. In Historický zborník, Vol. 34, 2024, No. 2, pp. 59–72.
Abstract: Since the retributive criminal proceedings against Konštantín Čulen are still one of the least explored aspects of this important personality’s life, the presented study attempts to analyze the entire set of measures taken by the Czechoslovak security forces and Slovak retributive courts against Konštantín Čulen in 1945–1948. The introductory part deals with the creation and enactment of retributive legislation, paying particular attention to the issue of members of the Diet of the Slovak Republic. After 1945, they constituted the largest group of individuals to whom the retributive decree extended the jurisdiction of the National Court, even though they mostly represented rather moderate politicians. The study examines the activities of the Czechoslovak security forces searching for the former Slovak MP and the subsequent effort to extradite him to Czechoslovakia. It also examines the preparation and course of retributive criminal proceedings, which finally took place in the absence of the defendant before the People’s Court in Bratislava at the end of May 1948. Since the Czechoslovak state and security authorities were unable to get him before the retribution court in Slovakia, Konštantín Čulen managed to avoid the draconian sentence of 30 years imprisonment.
Keywords: Retributive Court; Konštantín Čulen; Diet of the Slovak Republic; National Court; People’s Courts.