Károly Csemegi (1826–1899) was a Hungarian judge who was instrumental in the creation of the first

criminal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

of Hungary. Though born Jewish, he later converted to Christianity. After serving as a major and commanding troops in the unsuccessful

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although t ...

, he worked as an advocate in the countryside. Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, Csemegi became a high official in the new Hungarian Ministry of Justice, in which capacity he drafted the 1878 Criminal Code as well as the Code of Criminal Procedure. Soon after, he was appointed to the post of Presiding Judge of the Hungarian Supreme Court. Csemegi was also the founder and first president of the Hungarian Jurists' Association.

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1826 births 1899 deaths People from Csongrád 19th-century Hungarian people 19th-century jurists Hungarian jurists Knights Commander of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Converts to Christianity from Judaism Hungarian Jews Hungarian Christians Hungarian judges {{Hungary-law-bio-stub