The political transformations in Hungary in the 20th century abounded in violent revolutions, periods of instability in the social order and changes in borders. This contributed to the transformation of the political system towards authoritarian orders and systemic forms close to "managed democracy". This situation facilitated the introduction of a state of emergency at a time when the continuity of the state and the stability of political institutions were threatened. Hungary belongs to a group of several European countries where the codification of the states of emergency was carried out in an extremely detailed manner. Such care - as it seems - results from the political experiences of Hungary in the 20th century and efforts to prevent legal distortions and over-interpretation in this field. The states of emergency are very precisely defined by the last of the 2011 constitutions adopted in Hungary. It specifically defines the prerogatives of the State Defense Council (Honvédelmi Tanács).