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• Book Review: Sipka Péter: Employer’s Liability in Theory and Practice

  171-178

  Nikolett Grósz-Wilhelm

  Views:

  73

  Péter Sipka’s book was published in 2021 by HVG-ORAC under the title “Employer’s Liability in Theory and Practice”. On the one hand the author analyses the system of liability in depth, on the other hand the author widely describes the court decisions. Thanks to the monograph the reader can get to know the legal institution of employer’s liability for damage to employee’s health in its complexity. In addition to the examination of labor law, the connections between occupational safety and social security are also described.

• Environmental Liability Law: Environmental Civil Experts’ view

  86-112

  Sándor Fülöp

  Views:

  135

  Environmental liability legislation, both the ELD in Europe and CERCLA in US, is burdened with significant compromises, but even if so, they are too leniently implemented. Moreover, rather scarce data are available on the liability cases and on the status of polluted sites, therefore the system is unable to amend itself. There is no reason to be surprised: expenses of protection or remedy of the polluted sites are enormous, the concerned industries would get into a poor competition position in the market if faced with too stringent liability. In the exceptional cases when their deeds are revealed and enforcement actions start, they still might retreat behind the bastions of limited responsibility of their companies. In such situations public participation is a vital element of any progressive outcomes. In the present study we examine the efforts of J&E, a network of public interest environmental lawyers to contribute to moving out the European environmental liability systems from their stalemate position and enhance their effectiveness.

• New attempts in EU law for the improvement of the consular protection of EU citizens in third countries

  9-23

  Adrienn Becánics

  Views:

  123

  The right of EU citizens to consular protection in third countries, where their Member State is not represented, is one of the most significant rights attached to the European citizenship. With the existing legal basis laid down in the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the right to consular protection of EU citizens has all the conceivable chances to be established uniformly by union actions and under the supervision of the European Court of Justice. The aim of the Council Directive (EU) 2015/637 is to lay down the cooperation and coordination measures necessary to further facilitate consular protection to unrepresented citizens of the European Union. Nevertheless the directive does not affect consular relations between Member States and third countries. The present paper focuses on the actions had been taken in this field from the treaty establishing the European Economic Community until the achievements of the Treaty of Lisbon and the aforementioned Council Directive.

• Editorial

  7-8

  László Fodor

  Views:

  126

  In the preface, the content of the given issue is described by the editor in the form of 5-6 line article descriptions (annotations). In addition to the latest changes to the journal, here is the explanation of the Latin phrase on the back cover.

• Social Psychology of Law

  158-162

  Angéla Gábri

  Views:

  214

  Book review on the book Hunyady György–Berkics Mihály (szerk.): A jog szociálpszichológiája – A hiányzó láncszem. ELTE Eötvös Kiadó, Budapest, 2015. 

   

• Energy audit: EU-Law and its implementation in Germany

  29-41

  Jan Hoffmann

  László Fodor(Translator)

  Views:

  179

  The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) No. 2012/27/EU establishes a set of binding measures to help the EU to reach its 20% energy efficiency target by 2020. Energy audits are an essential tool to achieve adequate energy savings (see art. 8. EED). The current study focuses on the EU legal requirement on Energy Audits and its implementation in Germany by the 2015 amended Act on Energy Services and other Energy Efficiency Measures (Gesetz über Energiedienstleistungen und andere Energieeffizienzmaßnahmen – EDL-G). The analysis is still relevant because of the infringement proceedings against Germany by the European Commission based on fragmentary transposition of the EED.

• The Importance of Health and Safety in the Liability of Employers for Damages

  175-191

  Kinga Tóth

  Views:

  207

  Employers are deemed responsible for the health and safety of their employees while they are at work. This study's focus is the exemption from liability based on the foreseeability principle introduced to the Labour Code in 2012. Despite the proclaimed policy change, courts have remained reluctant to grant immunity to employers based on Article 166 of the Labour Code in case of workplace accidents. The uncertainty of interpretation hinders the execution of the new policy and questions the importance of proper health and safety measures implemented by employers to avoid liability. The study focuses on recent case law and employers' practice. The first part analyses the conclusions establishing business decisions of the employers, further investigating the cost performance conduct: pay a fine or spend on safety and health measures. The second part of the study examines cases related to workplace accidents, which are divided into five groups. This group's special attention given to liability in case of extreme weather conditions, third-party accidents, work safety rule violations, accidents, employers' inspection obligations, and other cases.

• Approaching Possibilities of Quasi-Judicial Functions

  120-135

  Zsuzsanna Árva

  Views:

  93

  This article is about the possibilities of Quasi-Judicial Functions. The author bound administrative jurisdiction from court law enforcement.

• Risks and Adverse Effects: Decisions of the Italian Constitutional Court on the Compulsory COVID-19 Vaccination

  102-127

  Attila Horváth

  Álmos Ungvári

  Views:

  203

  In recent years, several judicial and constitutional court decisions have been handed down worldwide on the legality and constitutionality of the fundamental rights restrictive measures (including compulsory vaccination) imposed during the pandemic. Aside from Austria, Italy has imposed compulsory vaccination more widely than any other European country; moreover, the lack of vaccination has made it impossible for citizens to live their daily lives to such an extent that some scholars have even written of de facto compulsory vaccination. In December 2022, the Italian Constitutional Court ruled in three judgments against the petitions related to compulsory vaccination. After outlining the legal context and the scholars’ positions on mandatory Covid vaccination, this paper examines these decisions, focusing on the arguments on which the Court saw justification for compulsory vaccination.

• A Cutting-Edge” Criminal Procedure? : Some Reflections on the Modernization of Hungarian Criminal Procedure Law

  11-36.

  Mátyás Bencze

  Views:

  263

  The study analyses the new Hungarian Criminal Procedure Act that entered into force in the summer of 2018. One aspect of the analysis is whether certain institutions of the law fulfil the constitutional requirements of criminal procedure. The other aspect is a sociological one. The past decades have brought many new developments in the field of society, economy and technology. The study, therefore, also revolves around the question of whether the new Criminal Procedure Act provides an adequate response to these challenges. The main finding of the study is that the legislation made the first steps in the right direction, however it did not introduce all the changes that would be necessary for a fair and modern criminal procedure. Besides, the act reflects predominantly the interests of the authorities while the rights and interests of other participants of the criminal procedure are not taken into consideration with the same weight

• The Effect of the Nagoya Protocol in the Fight Against Biopiracy: Results and Challenges

  11-39

  Emese Újvári

  Views:

  172

  The Nagoya Protocol, which aims to enable the countries of origin to benefit from the utilization of their genetic resources they make available, entered into force in 2014. The present study examines the extent to which the Protocol has since proven to be an effective tool in curbing biopiracy, the most common problems that arise in this regard, and the conditions for more effective application.

• The Concept of the Responsibility to Protect, Is There Anything New under the Sun?

  67-78

  Anikó Szalai

  Views:

  183

  The concept of the responsibility to protect has emerged in the practice of the United Nations in the past years, inducing much criticism in the literature. The aim of the author was to present the concept in Hungarian and to analyze it from international legal point of view. According to the author the concept is just a paraphrased principle, responsibility has already existed under the relevant norms of international law. Nevertheless, the content of the obligation and responsibility is not fully clear, especially with respect to the exact meaning of prevention.

• Municipal Environmental Protection from a German Point of View

  159-165

  László Fodor

  Views:

  182

  Book review on Hebeler, Timo–Hendler, Reinhard–Proelβ, Alexander–Reiff, Peter (Hrsg.): Kommunaler Umweltschutz. 30. Trierer Kolloquium zum Umwelt- und Technikrecht vom 4. bis 5. September 2014. UTR Band 128, Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin, 2015.

• Likeness of Police Officers: Freedom of the Press and the Right to Facial Likeness at the Crossroads of Civil and Fundamental Rights

  110-128

  Zoltán Tóth J.

  Views:

  161

  The Constitutional Court of Hungary, proceeding in its new competence regarding the „real” constitutional complaint obtained from 1 January 2012, is allowed to adjudicate the motions initiated against concrete judicial decisions which are deemed to be contrary to the Fundamental Law of Hungary. Within this procedure the Constitutional Court places the protection of the freedom of expression and freedom of the press above the protection of personality rights. The Court consistently annuls judicial decisions that declare infringement of personality rights on grounds that a press agency published recognizable facial likeness of police officers being on duty during demonstrations. The present paper analyses the course during which the Constitutional Court does enforce the constitutional requirements elaborated in its former practice and, thereby, repeals the ordinary courts’ decisions if those favour the personality rights of police officers over the freedom of the press.

• Kelet és Nyugat között: Örményország és Szerbia az európai és eurázsiai integrációban

  96-106

  Daniel Haitas

  Flóra Fazekas(Translator)

  Views:

  336

  Kelet-Európában megfigyelhető, hogy egyes államok két jelentős regionális integrációs szervezettel is kapcsolatok kiépítésére törekednek: az Európai Unióval és az Eurázsiai Gazdasági Unióval. A két szervezet bizonyos értelemben egymás versenytársa, ugyanis mindkettő igyekszik saját szervezetét vonzóvá tenni az érintett államok számára. Vannak azonban olyan kelet-európai államok, amelyek elköteleződnek amellett, hogy az egyik szervezettel mélyebb együttműködést alakítsanak ki, ugyanakkor megpróbálják a másikkal is fenntartani, sőt akár szorosabbra fűzni kapcsolataikat. Jelen tanulmány célja, hogy ezeket a folyamatokat Örményország és Szerbia példáján mutassa be.

  Örményország teljes jogú tagként csatlakozott az Eurázsiai Gazdasági Unióhoz, ugyanakkor az Európai Unióval is kapcsolatokat épített ki: 2017-ben átfogó és megerősített partnerségi megállapodást kötöttek. Szerbia ezzel szemben az Európai Unió tagjelölt állama, amely már megkezdte a csatlakozási tárgyalásokat is. Emellett azonban fenntartja szoros kapcsolatait az Eurázsiai Gazdasági Unióval olyannyira, hogy egy szabadkereskedelmi megállapodásról folynak köztük a tárgyalások. Mindkét államra igaz tehát, hogy eredetileg egyértelműen elköteleződtek valamelyik regionális integrációs szervezet irányába, ugyanakkor a másik szervezettel is a kapcsolatok mélyítésére törekednek. Jelen tanulmány e kapcsolatok alakulását tekinti át, bemutatva az Eurázsiai Gazdasági Unió létrejöttét és intézményi sajátosságait is.

• Rest Periods in EU Labour Law

  Gábor Kártyás

  Views:

  28

  The paper aims to approach the dilemmas of EU working time rules from the novel perspective of rest periods. It examines the functions and nature of rest periods in EU law, with special regard to the ECJ’s recent judgment in the MÁV-Start case (C-477/21). The analysis tackles the question whether rest periods should be regarded as a right or an obligation of the worker and visits the issue of the possible role of a separate right to disconnect. The analysis ends with some conclusions.

• The Constitutional Obstacles before the Promulgation of the Rome Statute

  45-59

  Marco Pesci

  Views:

  322

  July 17, 1998, can be considered as one of the most important milestones of the international judicial structure: it is the day when the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was adopted by 120 states out of 148. Article 86 of Statute explicitly states that „States Parties shall […] cooperate fully with the Court in its investigation and prosecution of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.” As in the case of every international treaty, the principle of pacta sunt servanda enshrined in Article 26 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties states applies, which explicitly states that “every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith.” As has been pointed out by the Permanent Court of International Justice, contracting states must make all the necessary internal measures which are required to fulfil its international obligations rising from a binding treaty. One could ask, why is this quite obvious argument important in the case of Hungary? Well, Hungary has ratified the Statute but still has not implemented it in its internal legislation. This can be considered as a serious constitutional omission, since if the Court would require the cooperation of Hungary – e.g. in the case of an arrest warrant – and it would not be able to fulfil it because of the lack of the internal legal norms, it would be considered as international legal responsibility of Hungary. In this article, I try to explore the reasons behind this omission and outline the possible solutions.

• Editorial

  7-8

  László Fodor

  Views:

  95

  In the preface, the content of the given issue is described by the editor in the form of 5-6 line article descriptions (annotations). In addition to the latest changes to the journal, here is the explanation of the Latin phrase on the back cover.

• Data Protection Requirements in the Relationship between Temporary-work Agency and User Undertaking

  70-82

  Anita Boros

  Barnabás Székely

  Views:

  141

  In temporary agency work the relationship between the temporary work agency and the user-undertaking is often not adequately or correctly understood in the context of the processing of personal data. This leads to a deterioration of protection of personal data as well as labour market rights and obligations. The purpose of this study is to explore when we can speak about a controller- processor, a joint controller or a controller- controller relationship, which will clarify who has to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure and to be able to demonstrate that the processing is performed in accordance with the Regulation.

• About the German Energy Transition

  111-119

  László Fodor

  Views:

  114

  Conference report Energiewende in der Industriegesellschaft. 29. Kolloquium zum Umwelt- und Technikrecht, Trier, 2013. szeptember 5–6.

• Editorial

  7-9

  László Fodor

  Views:

  121

  In the preface, the content of the given issue is described by the editor in the form of 5-6 line article descriptions (annotations). In addition to the latest changes to the journal, here is the explanation of the Latin phrase on the back cover.

• Access to higher education and right to free movement in the case-law of the CJEU

  134-156

  Ildikó Bartha

  Views:

  130

  This article examines the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning the right of EU citizens to gain access to higher education in other EU Member States. The case-law plays an important intermediary role between various EU policies, often contributing to their more effective implementation in this way. The paper presents an obvious example for that as legal principles developed by the Court in free movement and antidiscrimination cases essentially facilitate the promotion of student mobility that is one of the fundamental objectives of the Bologna Process and the Union‘s education policy. At the same time, free student mobility may go against national education policies and interests and Member States are often reluctant to accept that the rulings, despite the limited competencies conferred upon the EU to take measures in the education sector, set narrow boundaries for national actions. The analysis also seeks to indicate those factors which have an influence on the Court‘s sensitivity towards interests and policy autonomy of the Member States in the field of higher education.

• The Types of Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organizations: The GONGO Phenomenon

  141-158

  Izabella Deák

  Views:

  211

  My study describes the conceptual dividing lines and differences between one of the most important actors in civil society, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and government-organized non-governmental organizations (GONGOs). Furthermore, it classifies the different types of GONGOs (professional, diffuse, “democratizing”, “lobby”). Following the classification, it becomes clear that to various degrees, the different types of GONGOs are excellent tools in the hands of governments to reshape the structure of the civil society which articulates critical views of the government.

• Legal interpretation issues regarding the status of the trade unions

  79-95

  Imre Szilárd Szabó

  Views:

  659

  The unique purpose and role of trade unions is the protection of the employees’ social and economic interests. As compared to the previous concept, the applicable labour code introduced a conceptually new approach with respect to collective labour law, including the purpose of trade unions, reducing the trade unions’ rights to such a minimum level which shall be generally granted for a civil organization operating in the interest of a certain purpose. In my study, some legal interpretation questions –without the ambition to be exhaustive – that arise in practice come  under analysis, which highlight in a crystal clear manner the question as to what sort of practical issues are raised and interpretation possibilities are opened by certain items of the Hungarian labour law regulation in connection with the legal status of the trade unions and the exercise of their rights.

• The Legal Status of Macro-prudential Authorities in the Member States of the European Union

  János Kálmán

  Michal Janovec

  Views:

  40

  The study examines the main components of the organisational framework for macro-prudential management in the Member States of the European Union. The organisational design of macro-prudential management is a matter for the Member States, which can themselves be grouped into different models. The study first presents the international and EU standards and recommendations on the status of macro-prudential bodies in the Member States, then summarises the basic, theoretically relevant features of the status of macro-prudential bodies in the Member States, presents the analytical methodology of the study and finally analyses the features of the status of macro-prudential bodies in the Member States according to the methodology defined. The study concludes that there is a tendency for the EU macro-prudential body to standardise the basic elements of the status of macro-prudential bodies. However, the process of unification of the content of the institutional framework is still at an early stage and a variety of legal solutions can be identified for each of the substantive aspects. The study concludes that the institutional framework of macro-prudential policy can be described by a coordinated unification of the substantive pillars, with different formal features, but with different legal solutions.