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PhD Studies in Law in Hungary–Difficulties and Possibilities (Before the 9th Academic Year of Géza Marton Doctoral School of Legal Studies)
38-53Views:141In this study the authors (Gábor Kecskés as the secretary of Doctoral School of Legal Studies at István Széchenyi University and Sándor Szemesi as the secretary of Géza Marton Doctoral School of Legal Studies at Debrecen University) examine the legal framework concerning doctoral schools of legal studies in Hungary as well as the specialties (and realities) of Géza Marton Doctoral School at Debrecen University. One of the main purposes of this article is to salute the beginning of the 100th academic year at Debrecen University, additionally the article tries to introduce how doctoral schools can fulfil the continuously changing (more precisely, tightening) requirements of the Hungarian Accreditation Committee, taking into consideration the unwritten expectations as well as the general interests of the host universities and the doctoral school itself.
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The Criminalisation of Active Bribery of Public Officials: A New KOL Research in Hungary
9-29Views:259The aim of the three-year project “Novelties of Criminal Law in Legal Consciousness” was to measure the knowledge and attitudes of lay people concerning criminal law including regulatory novelties with a questionnaire-based survey. In this paper, the authors analyse the responses to questions related to active bribery of public officials. The research has verified our hypothesis that the average person has a fragmented knowledge even about this sector of criminal law. However, this is partly due to the fact that the respondents – compared to the differentiation of the legal regulation – usually have schematic knowledge on the topic. The answers were strongly influenced by attitudes towards this type of criminality. It was not substantiated, however, that this knowledge is substantially affected by socio-economic factors, by media consumption or by encountering criminality. Our hypothesis regarding the novelty of regulation has been only partially proven: there are more than three times more people whose answers reflect the old regulation than the new one. However, this was not necessarily due to actual knowledge of the older regulation, but rather to the fact that it was more in line with respondents insensitivity to legal distinctions.
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Then and now: laws on first and second generation biometric systems
78-90Views:228Although the security benefits these technologies offer security benefits to our society, their widespread application can involves and clearly leads to serious legal issues and concerns, including technological encounters, disputes and grave concerns for individual citizens’ rights of privacy. Various forms of identification, such as driving licenses, passports, and other identity cards, are progressively being combined with biometric information used by ever-changing and more advanced systems. With no doubts, it can stated as well that the use of them will be spread to other sectors too. Therefore, It safe to assume that this noticeable prosperity of personal information will involve and ache for more advanced data protection measures, encryption technologies, and other safeguarding measures, both to inspire their acceptance and use by the civilian population and to keep this critical information from falling into the wrong hands.
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Knowledge of Law in the Hungarian Population Today and a Half Century Ago – A Comparative Analysis based on Kálmán Kulcsár’s Empirical Survey of 1965
11-28Views:248Knowledge of law is certainly one component of legal culture. Due to the support of the Hungarian Research Funds (OTKA) the authors of this paper carried out a comprehensive empirical analysis of this issue in Hungary. In doing so they strongly relied on Kálmán Kulcsár’s findings and insights stemming from his pathbreaking studies half a century ago.
The empirical study was carried out by the Szonda Ipsos Market and Opinion Research Institute in the framework of an omnibus questionnaire survey with a random sample of 1000 people in 2013. Thirteen questions essentially similar to certain questions used by Kulcsár in 1965 (for instance: Have you ever read a bill or an act? Have you ever participated in a judicial process? Who or which body enacts a bill in Hungary?) were posed in order to provide a possibility for the comparison of the actual results and those of Kulcsár.
We found that the general level of knowledge of law had increased substantially in the past decades. Knowledge related to constitutional law is the prominent example of this growth and it can definitely be coupled with the functioning of the democratic political system in the last 25 years. However, except from constitutional law, the growth of legal knowledge is due almost solely to the increased level of education and not a generally improved legal consciousness of the society.
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Organic laws and the principle of democracy in France and Spain
62-74Views:149During the last decades, several countries have entrenched a special subcategory of law, which is adopted by stricter procedural rules than that of the ordinary legislative process. These laws are enacted by qualified majority, by the consent of the two chambers of the legislature, and they are subject to mandatory constitutional review before their promulgation, or additional safeguards are implemented in the ordinary legislative process. In this study, I compare the experiences of two crucial legal systems, France and Spain, which provide two different frameworks of qualified law. My aim is to identify the most contested issues from the legal nature of qualified laws, and to seek the proper solutions of these issues, as well as an ideal model of qualified law. My contribution focuses on the relationship between qualified laws and the principle of democracy, and aims to open up new perspectives in this regard.
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The main factors influencing the level of the knowledge of law
71-95Views:202The paper deals with the level of legal knowledge among the Hungarian population measured with a representative survey asking questions regarding the knowledge of certain constitutional, civil, administrative and procedural legal rules releant in everyday life. Our findings are compared to a research carried out in 1965, using the same questions. Furthermore we analysed the relationship of knowledge level as a dependent variable with (i) socio-demographic (gender, age, education, etc.), (ii) media consumption (some 30 written, electronic and internet-based items), (iii) interaction with the legal system (read a law, consulted with a lawyer, participated in a trial) and (iv) civic activity. We found that the level of education is crucial, and interaction with the legal system has some additional significant impact, too. All other independent variables seem to have less significance or no impact at all. The relative strength of explanatory variables has largely changed in the past decades and in some cases even the direction of impact altered (for example women seem to be more educated about the law nowadays, in a sharp contrast to the 1965 data.)
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Towards a European Legal Scholarship. Recommendations of the German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) on the Development of Education and Research
54-61Views:124The German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat) in 2012 published its study „Perspectives of Legal Scholarship in Germany. Current Situation, Analyses, Recommendations”. The recommendations are preceded by empirical and quantitative descriptions that provide information on the current situation of legal study and research in Germany. The document emphasizes the importance of cooperation between theoretical and practical part of the legal education. The report considers that students should acquire the ability of critical approach to legal prac- tice instead of memorising the substantive legal rules.
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Effective and Actual? Analysis of Employment-Related Directives in the Legal Practice of the Curia of Hungary Regarding the Enforcement of Workers’ Rights
193-216Views:247In view of the special nature of the employment relationship, subordination of the parties results in a weaker legal position on the employees’ side. Certain guarantees of protection are absolutely necessary to compensate for this asymmetry, thus, among other things, the effectiveness of employees’ enforcement plays a key role. This is why our research seeks to answer the question whether some crucial employment-related directives of the European Union, as well as the broader European Union legal corpus also including legal practice. Furthermore we try to find the answer to the question that, how do these legal sources appear in the domestic legal practice, primarily in the relevant judgments of the Curia of Hungary, and the extent to which these references facilitate the effective enforcement of the workers’ rights.
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The Basic Thesis of the State Theory of Győző Concha: "Theory of Constitiution"
133-160Views:309Győző Concha’s book “Politika”, published in 1895, is still relevant for the understanding of the theoretical problems in constitutional law. Thus, it is important to analyse the peculiar use of constitutional terms in his theory in order to understand his unique interpretation of the concept of the constitution and its relevance for political and legal philosophy. The methodological goal of the research is to present the meaning of the concepts used by Concha, and to highlight their functional role. It is also an important question as to how Concha’s constitutional theory was incorporated into his political philosophy, and how these concepts are interpreted in today’s political and legal terminology. It is also the paper’s aim to “translate” Concha’s vocabulary and constitutional theory into the language used in 21st century constitutional theories, and to present and evaluate the relevance of his constitutional theory in understanding the current constitutional problems of political communities.
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Neighbouring Rights of Press Publishers: Issues Relating to Transposition
Views:254Press publishers spend billions on producing quality journalism each year. While the costs of producing well supported, quality journalism manifest in producing the original content, i.e. the very first copy, further costs – due to digitization – are negligible. Parallel to this, prosperous business models thrive on re-using articles in press publications, as well as optimizing them for search and social media platforms attractive enough to generate huge amounts of advertising revenue. But not for the those who actually make the content. The European Union seeks to persuade large digital companies to take part in the financing of European content, mainly through competition law or by taking steps to improve the competitive position of European companies. The rules relating to press publishers of the EU Copyright Directive of 2019 intend to serve this purpose and will be analysed in this paper.
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Unfair Termination Review During Probationary Period: The Case of Iraq in Light of New Judiciary Trends
75-89Views:272Probation is a trial period to test a new employee for a particular position. It is commonplace for many employers to stipulate that the contract begins with probation based on a mutual agreement with the employee. During the probationary period, more flexible standards are given to review unfair termination. Notwithstanding, a degree of protection insofar as it safeguards employees from the risk of unfair termination shall be granted. Article 37 in the Iraqi Labour Code No. 37 of 2015 permits the employer to test the employee for a maximum of three months if the latter has no professional certificate. The same article empowers the employer to terminate the contract if the employee has failed in the suitability test without setting any standards for such a test. In reviewing cases arising on the basis of unfair termination claims, the judiciary in some developed countries has come up with basic standards of the suitability test. This paper, therefore, attempts to examine Article 37 in the Iraqi Labour Code in light of the new judiciary trends and finally suggests redrafting the mentioned article to be more compatible with the rights of contractual parties.
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The Challenges of Cryptocurrencies in Substantive Criminal Law and Procedure
79-98Views:966The legal status of cryptocurrencies is a gray area in most legal systems, although criminals increasingly abuse cryptocurrencies to fund criminal activities. The study analyses solely the criminal use of cryptocurrencies. For example money launderers have evolved to use cryptocurrencies in their operations, therefore legislative changes at EU level, or the uniform application of existing anti-money laundering regulations have been required. In a trend mirroring attacks on banks and their customers, cryptocurrency users and exchangers have become victims of cybercrimes themselves. Conventional crimes may be committed via cryptocurrencies such as fraud and extortion. Darknet criminal markets use cryptocurrencies as payment instruments since they offer better anonimity and some of them greater privacy. They are less traceable and their decentralised system challenges law enforcement.
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A Case Study on the Interaction Between the General Data Protection Regulation and Artificial Intelligence Technologies
45-57Views:244This paper presents a general overview of the problems regarding the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) raised in the official published works of the European Union (EU) and interprets these problems from the perspective of the Hungarian experts as a case study. Even though a new regulation on AI has already been proposed at the EU level, the paper evaluates specific rules and principles regarding data protection since data is the lifeblood of AI systems and the protection of such data is a fundamental right enshrined in the EU legislation via the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The result of the study shows that the application of the GDPR on AI systems in an efficient and uniform way might be at stake since different outputs were generated by the experts to the same legal questions deriving from a scenario presented.
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Women at the Crossroads of Family and Employment Policies
Views:1338Labour market situation of young mothers highly depends on the convergence of family and employment policies. Since 2010 there have been important changes in the Hungarian policies in order to stimulate fertility and to enhance the female employment rate. In our research we combined legal and sociological methodologies to analyse the effect of these policies. We argue that Hungarian policy has been in a serious uphill struggle to find a balance between two contradicting principles: providing sufficient family allowances and maintaining labour market flexibility by weak protection of employees. This dichotomy of principles has led to an unsustainable employment policy and made women more vulnerable in the labour market. We suggest that the differences would be reconciled through labour reforms, measures concerning working time arrangements, part time work and protection against dismissal have to be revisited along with protection of fathers with young children.
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Cognitive Sciences and Judicial Decision-Making
109-132Views:480Nowadays, judges are expected not just to administer justice, but to have skills and abilities to realize and be aware of standards and laws which can be discovered and analysed by the so- called cognitive sciences. In case we accept that “judges are human beings as well”, we must also assume that their minds and decision-making processes are subject to generally accepted scientific facts. However, cognitive sciences are less known in Hungary, and by using their fruitful results in legal procedures (e. g. in court trials) a greater level of objectivity can be achieved in adjudication which can lead to more accurate judicial decisions.
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Legal Regulation and Practice of the Non-Material Indemnification and Rehabilitation in the United Kingdom
165-183Views:151The article analyzes the specialties of the English legal system with a focus on the legal regulation and court practice of tort law, and especially the non material indemnification and rehabilitation of the bodily injured. The study starts with the description of the main characteristics of the tort law, the definition and jurisprudence of non material damages, like pain and suffering and loss of amenity and psychological damages are also reviewed in detail with respective court cases. The study also gives an analysis of the connection between tort law and insurance law, how one effects the other. Nowadays the indemnification process of the bodily injured cannot be full without rehabilitation. Like in most of the Western European countries, in the United Kingdom the rehabilitation process is a complex and centrally managed procedure with the help of state institutions and programs.
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Ideal image and the reality: the changing of career plan among stu- dents of law faculties in the university studies
81-113Views:192The present study examines how the image of profession changes for law students in the different stages of their connection with the profession. It assumes that at the beginning of their studies, law students have an idealised image of their chosen study program and the profession based on it. This image changes during the years of studying, and especially after graduation, it is shifted by work experience and by the factual state of the profession. Students of the Faculty of Law, especially law students identify themselves based on the internal and external elements of a prestigious profession, which was established hundreds of years ago. Due to their early career choice, their professional socialization during the first years at the university creates the ideal image of the legal profession, which they strongly relate to. The relationship of this ideal image to reality, and how different it is from the real situation of various professional groups of the legal profession is an important question. The present study answers this question based on the results of multiple empirical researches.
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Specialities of Collective Labour Disputes
217-232Views:176We are currently living in a period when technological, economic and other changes fundamentally influence the nature of legal relationships. There is no difference in the labour law palette, as atypical employment is gaining ground in law enforcement circles. In our view, this development cannot be derived solely on substantive law, but should also be presented at the level of litigation and, where appropriate, ADR procedures. Perhaps it is somewhat ironic that it is precisely the collective labour dispute, which is not popular in Hungarian civil society litigation law, in which the emergence of innovative dispute resolution methods can be observed from time to time. Therefore, our work primarily examines the extrajudicial practice of collective dispute resolution, complemented by the solutions used in the legal systems of some countries less researched by the domestic labour law environment. Our aim is to highlight the potential of ADR methods in collective disputes and to explore new, unknown opportunities for domestic law enforcement.
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Human Rights as Fundamental Sources of Patients’ Rights in Light of the Development of Hungarian and German Laws
157-168Views:267Medical practice affects human life and health, which are not just some of the key social values, but actually express the existence of a human being. Therefore, it is a requirement to set the legal standards to guarantee the preservation and respect of human rights during medical treatment. Patients’ rights provide specific types of human rights in the area of patient care. The German legal system grants the preservation of these rights in a contractual framework that cannot be breached. In Hungary, patients’ rights are listed in the Public Health Act. Despite the diverse methods in regulating patients’ rights, the underlying public policy considerations are the same in both systems. The goal of this study is to provide a comparative analysis on the development of the German and the Hungarian regulation of patients’ rights focusing on the consideration of human rights.
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The Role of the New Territorial Waste Management Authorities in the Eradication of Abandoned Waste
Views:19In March 2021, the Government further transformed the organizational side of environmental protection and created new waste management authorities. The national and regional waste management authorities are embedded in the county government office system. The responsibilities of the waste management authorities are multifaceted, however, implementing regulations are not available in all cases. Regional waste management authorities play a significant role in the elimination of abandoned waste. In recent years, in compliance with European Union regulations, landfills operating without a permit have been abolished. Sanctions imposed by the authorities in the case of illegally abandoned waste contribute to reducing the amount of illegally disposed waste. The new waste management authorities can promote the creation of a circular economy, but only if the legislator creates the missing legal and technical conditions.
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Some Labour Law Aspects of Psychological Contract Theory
50-69Views:233The aim of this paper is to present the central-topics of psychological contract theory, focusing on the relevant labour law contexts. The main research method used is an examination of relevant studies, articles and monographs on the topic, a secondary analysis of empirical research data systematically compiled by the authors, and an exploration of the main labour law aspects and contexts. The difference between an employment contract and a psychological contract is that while the former is a written, legally binding contract, the latter is a theoretical, abstract construct that contains the mutual and implicit expectations of the parties. A psychological contract therefore falls into the category of "extra-legal" contracts, but in certain cases, especially in the event of breach of contract, it may have legal relevance.
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Legitimacy and Competency Issues regarding the Labor Unions and the Works Councils
65-80Views:179The study focuses on the separation of two classical institutions of collective labour law: the labour unions and the works councils. Traditionally, labour unions are associations intended to represent and protect the collective interests of workers; works councils are units that exercise the workers’ participation rights, and are mechanisms where the employees can influence the decisions of the employer at the workplace. The distribution of traditional union and works council authorities, however, is not that obvious, especially from a practical point of view. The study strives to highlight those areas where the unions and the works councils appear as opposing parties, especially focusing on works agreements with normative power, from a practical and an international comparative perspective, and to offer solutions de lege ferenda.
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The Relationship Between Psychoactive Substance Users and Animals
Views:30The purpose of the study is to present the wide-ranging relationship between psychoactive drug use and animal welfare based on a literature review. The relationship between drug users and animals is on the one hand under-researched, and on the other hand there are no developed protocols regarding the issue, even though the issue has significant human health and animal welfare effects. There is little awareness of how the positive health and psychological effects of animal keeping could be properly applied to the recovery of people suffering from addiction. There are encouraging initiatives, but there is a lack of a systemic approach to the issue from the side of academic life, professionals and the state, from the protocols, and from the training of people in the helping professions. In Hungary, both psychoactive drug consumption and animal keeping have a detailed and developed legal background, however, the mapping of their connections is still pending. While the literature focuses more on the aggressive actions that addicts may be prone to, practitioners tend to emphasize the supportive force that a companion animal can provide in recovery. In light of all of this, further studies on the subject are recommended, and it would be worthwhile to consider the systematic, more consistent and conscious integration of the use of animals at the legislative level and into some therapeutic protocols.
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Digitization at Work: Expanding Horizons with Loopholes
61-80Views:488The focus of the study is on the emergence and spread of digitization in employment. In this context, the study presents the forms of work that use digitization. On the other hand, it describes the labour market effects of digitalization. The study looks in detail at how COVID-19 has changed the role of teleworking and the home office in employment. This is followed by the presentation of the Hungarian labour law regulation, which deals exclusively with telework. The study makes two proposals to address the codification gap. On the one hand, in connection with application-based work, the introduction of the status of a person with a similar legal status to an employee, which was regulated in the draft of the Labour Code. On the other hand, to impose employer obligations (retraining, job offers) in connection with the spread of automation and robotics in order to prevent dismissal.
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Is the New Regulation Justified? Applicability of the New Rules of Self-defense in Case-law
129-147Views:288In the history of the regulation of self-defense, Act C of 2012 has resulted in the most substantial change. The greatest innovation in the act is the introduction of the situational self-defense, which creates an irrebuttable presumption that the unlawful attacks carried out under certain circumstances shall be considered as attacks against life. The new regulation has been criticized a lot, mostly because there are fears that the new rules of law will be misused. Through the case-law of the Supreme Court relating to self-defense in the last ten years, this study intends to reveal whether it was justified to include the situational self-defense in the new law or whether the concerns in connection with situational self-defense can be considered legitimate.