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  • Additional Remarks on the Question of Civil Service Law as a Branch of Law
    120-133
    Views:
    454

    The study focuses on the relationship between civil service law and labour law. In Hungary, there have been significant changes in the last decade regarding the regulation of civil service law. The types of the civil service legal relationships have increased, the forums and procedural rules for adjudicating civil service law related disputes have changed, and the number of public employees providing public services has rapidly decreased. This is of particular importance because the existence of these branches of the law is determined by legislation as well. The study concludes that the ability of civil service law to become an independent branch of law will be determined not by 'internal' developments but by legislative ambitions.

  • The Role of the Local Goverments in the Changed System of Environmental Public Administration
    79-93
    Views:
    186

    This study investigates the transformation of environmental protection as a specialized administrative duty in Hungary, with special attention on the (changing) roles of local self-governments in this area. Following the outline of the general correlations within the topic, the study inspects several individual administrative fields, with attention given to the relationship with environmental protection policies. Our plan is to extend this analysis in the future, in hopes of covering additional specialised administrative areas as well. Our firm opinion is that the solutions provided by the sectorial approach inherent in our administrative system proved to be ineffective insolving today’s global issues. To ensure an effective environmental protection strategy, the organizations of public administration must be involved with larger roles assigned to them. Although the methods of regulation in this area are diverse, the most widespread approach proves to be the direct administrative intervention, even nowadays.

  • Sustainability – Law and Public Choice
    239-246
    Views:
    87

    Book review on Bándi Gyula–Szabó Marcel–Szalai Ákos: Sustainability: Law and Public Choice. (Europa Law Publishing, Groningen, 2014.)

  • Harmonization of Arbitration Laws in some Asian and European Countries
    68-77
    Views:
    163

    The present paper studies the relationship between domestic and international arbitration laws and the harmonization factor amongst some Asian and European jurisdictions. During the last decades, there has been a significant change and globalization in the world and with the expansion of businesses and trade a better dispute resolution mechanism is required in order to maintain the harmony in international trade. It has become a necessity to balance the domestic arbitration laws with the international ones. This brief paper identifies and comments on some of the areas where differences remain including differences in recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in various jurisdictions over the public policy defence, and where further examination and research to reach and solve disputes amicably might be useful.

  • Comparison of Enforcement Systems for the Violation of Fundamental Rights of Detainees Stemming from the Condition of Detention in Penitentiaries and the Right to a Fair and Public Hearing within a Reasonable Time
    90-110
    Views:
    131

    The violation of fundamental rights of detainees stemming from the conditions of detention in penitentiaries and the right to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time raise complex concerns, because in such cases the applicants have to submit a procedure under the Hungarian Prison Act or a lawsuit concerning the violation of certain rights relating to personality under the Hungarian Code of Civil Procedure or the Civil Code. The legal protection is uncertain, because the rules relating to prison conditions meet with rules of civil procedure and civil code rules. Court decisions do not help to find the way out of this incoherency. The questions mentioned in the present article raise serious dogmatic debates, casting doubt on the efficiency of the remedies.

  • The Criminalisation of Active Bribery of Public Officials: A New KOL Research in Hungary
    9-29
    Views:
    241

    The 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.

  • effects of Labour Law regulation on the employment Relations Based on the Connection between Social Rights and Labour Market
    26-40
    Views:
    191

    In the world of employment we can find several aspects that have effect on the labour market. Labour market cannot be independent from the legal regulation of employment; moreover – according to the tendencies – labour market processes basically define the role of labour law. A fundamental difference can be observed between the approach of Anglo-Saxon countries and researchers and the viewpoint of the continental law systems. In this paper the emphasized question is analyzed through these two different approaches according to the following premise: the Anglo-Saxon legal thinking defining the current development of labour law bears significant differences related to the labour law regulation – which means the direct regulation of labour market – and to the legal guarantees behind employment as well. From the viewpoint of the labour market two main questions are examined in this paper: on the one hand, the expected and necessary level and method of public intervention in connection with social rights, and on the other hand the deepness of the intervention of labour law into the social relations driven by the market.

  • The assertion of fundamental principles relating to civil law notaries in the 21st century with special focus on Hungary
    25-45
    Views:
    176

    In our present paper, we tried to introduce the principles of notaries through the Hungarian notary's glasses. We did this through the challenges of the 21st century. Prior to the detailed description of the principles, we introduced the position of the Hungarian notary, where we also discussed the provisions of the Hungarian Constitution. Subsequently, more important legislation on Hungarian notary was mentioned and we discussed the diverse notarial procedures. In this connection, it is important to note that not only the notarial deeds are found in the Hungarian notary's procedures, but also the keeping of notarial registers. The paper deals with the responsibility of notary, the notary's and advertising relationships, the emergence of electronization and digitization. The paper presents the most important principles of notaries, including the principle of independence, impartiality and public authenticity.

  • Customary Law Obligations and Dispute Resolution Methods under International Law relating to Conflicts over the Shared Use of Transboundary Aquifers
    23-48
    Views:
    203

    Our paper aims at analyzing the current stance of public international law concerning the utilization and management of transboundary aquifers. 97% of the Earth’s drinking-water supplies are locked up in aquifers placing the question in the spotlight as to, which ways States should utilize and apportion them in a manner consistent with public international law? The paper argues that bilateral and regional agreements ensure most effectively States’ mutual cooperation regarding transboundary aquifers, and they are also essential in providing for clear dispute resolution mechanisms. The paper addresses the obligations of States under international law and examines the efficiency of the possible international dispute resolution methods regarding international water conflicts. The paper also provides an overview of all existing bi- and multilateral aquifer agreements and draws some comparative remarks.

  • The Client and Authority Proceedings in the Digital Era
    74-101
    Views:
    138

    The study examines the digital transformation of Hungarian administrative procedure and the advance of automation. Based on statistical data, the study highlights that in connection with digital public administration procedures, the importance of customer-focused services appears as the standard of digital public administration. Digitalization is dominated by electronic contact options, online information and submission of electronic requests, rather than complete automation of administrative procedures. The study focuses on digital authority procedures from the point of view of how this manifests itself primarily for the client: how to satisfy the need for information, how to contact the authorities and how to initiate the procedure. In addition to the legal bases, this part primarily focuses on the possibilities. After that, the consequences of digital solutions (automation) for making substantive decisions from the customer's point of view are discussed; this part of the study therefore concentrates more on the normative side of the processes and finally analyzes this. As a result, it states that automatic decision-making is mainly used in case of registrative acts based on official records and decisions embodied in decision-type documents, but there are already examples of the automation of the decision-making mechanism in connection with the production of facts. Although more complex automation is just spreading its wings, in connection with the rapid technical development and innovations of recent years, the legal system must keep up with digitalization and not give in to it.

  • Risks and Adverse Effects: Decisions of the Italian Constitutional Court on the Compulsory COVID-19 Vaccination
    102-127
    Views:
    210

    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.

  • Public Hearing as a Safeguard of Fair Trial in Criminal Proceedings
    46-61
    Views:
    150

    The primary aim of my paper is to examine the questions related to the institute of public hearing. As we know, publicity is one of the most important safeguards of fair trial in criminal procedure. In my opinion, it is necessary to examine these procedural questions in a scientific depth in the light of both the case decisions of the High Courts and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. The study examines one of the important pledges of a fair trial, the effectiveness of the basic principle of publicity in the criminal procedure. It explores the principle from a dogmatic point of view, and also in the light of both the European standards and the regulations currently in force. It mentions the limitation and exclusion of publicity, and the legal consequences of violating publicity in a great detail. Classic legal institutes are shifted into new dimensions by the technical improvements of the modern world and the media broadcasts from courts, and the paper points it out that for the sake of having an undisturbed court hearing and verification, some modifications on certain legal regulations may be justified. The study also mentions the standpoints of legal literature regarding the notion of publicity in detail, and by summarizing them it attempts to define the notion of the given basic principle as per aspects of law science, considering the characteristics of the 21st century. After the establishment of law theory principles, besides introducing the regulation in force and touching upon court practice, my paper analyzes questions that are more and more current, especially due to the reports by the electronic media, which sometimes cannot only disturb the order of the court, but also the procedure of verification. So, after the examination of basic hypotheses and the legal institute, it draws the conclusion that the development of the legal institute justifies the modification of the procedural law in the future, especially in connection with informing the press.

  • The Continuation of the Employment Contract or the Development of a New Contract?
    12-28
    Views:
    202

    Labor law has not been able to dispose of the shackles of the locatio conductio for a long time; the system of traditional labor law was built on this contract. However, new forms of employment are beginning to break down this structure. Outsourcing and employment by digital platforms have broken the dominance of the employment contract and the contractual structure is shifting towards private law. The study seeks to answer the question of what all this means in terms of protecting the worker and the responsibility of the employer. Finally, does the theory of the personal employment contract offer a solution?

  • Expanding Zoo? Judgments of the EU Court of Justice on Participation of Slovakian NGOs in Environmental Administrative Proceedings
    118-131
    Views:
    150

    The Aarhus Convention guarantees access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters. The Convention as a so-called mixed-agreement has been ratified by the EU as well as by its Member States. The Convention-related case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) especially relating to Slovakia (see, C-240/09 – Slovak bears, C-243/15 – Slovak deers) shows that the Court has broadened the locus standi of NGOs before national courts using them in order to facilitate the enforcement of EU law. The activism followed by the Court in these judgements could be considered as environmental-specific expression of the objective of broader law enforcement before national courts. However it depends on national courts whether this kind of CJEU judgments could acquire cross-border relevance by their application of national judges. "A mű a KÖFOP-2.1.2-VEKOP-15-2016-00001 azonosítószámú, _ „A jó kormányzást megalapozó közszolgálat-fejlesztés”_ elnevezésű kiemelt projekt keretében működtetett Ludovika Kutatócsoport keretében, a Nemzeti Közszolgálati Egyetem felkérésére készült."

  • Trends, Directions, Legislative Efforts: the Abolition of the Civil Servant Status
    179-195
    Views:
    132

    One of the most spectacular changes to the Hungarian employment system in recent years is that many former civil servants (‘közalkalmazott’) have lost their status and come under the scope of the Labour Code or have been subject to newly created status laws. As the Act on Civil Servants (‘Kjt.’) applies now only a few groups of civil servants,  having been emptied out by successive reforms, it is not surprising that the future existence of the Act and of the autonomous status of civil servants is being called into question. But what factors have led to the gradual, and in recent years accelerating, decline of the Kjt.? Is the 'disappearance' of civil servants the result of internal processes that rationally follow from the development of the law, or is it the result of independent economic and political considerations? What was the original role of the Kjt. in the system of employment relationships and how can its ‘emptying’ be understood in an international and historical context? The study argues that this process is not an inevitable consequence of legal doctrinal developments, but rather the result of legislative efforts to abolish the uniform legal status of human service providers. Hungarian legislation is no exception to the neoliberal and neo-Weberian trends, while the comparative advantages previously enjoyed by civil servants are eroding and the regulation is becoming highly fragmented.

  • Digitization at Work: Expanding Horizons with Loopholes
    61-80
    Views:
    424

    The 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.

  • The Concept of the Right to Food in Public International Law
    86-99
    Views:
    164

    According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), at least 868 million people are undernourished nowadays. Combating against hunger and malnutrition shall not only be a moral duty, but a legally binding human rights obligation. The right to food is recognized firstly within the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948, as part of the right to an adequate standard of living, however nowadays it is considered to be a substantive right. This study deals with the key aspects of the right to adequate food in public international law, including its definition, content and enforcement, as well.

  • Smart Contracts, Blockchain Technology and the Formulation of a Proposal for Their Application in Public Administration
    56-73
    Views:
    173

    The study focuses on smart contracts, emphasizing the opportunities provided by blockchain technology. The main research method used is an examination of relevant domestic and foreign sources on the topic, such as studies and legislation. In addition, we formulate a proposal on how smart contracts and blockchain technology could be applied in public administration, focusing on the real estate registration procedure.

  • Work of Costantino Mortati in the Field of Public Law
    23-41
    Views:
    96

    The aim of my article is to present an overview of certain stages of Costantino Mortati’s scientific work (Constitutional Court’s judge and professor of law) on the basis of Italian bibliography. His most popular work, entitled “the Constitution in material sense” (1940) conforms to problems and methodology of Italian constitutional law, while it reflects to contemporary schools of European jurisprudence and changes of institutions and theories of modern state. Behind Mortati’s theories about the State and the Constitution, the Italian liberal state regarded as heritage of risor- gimento, and the symptoms of its crises, birth and fall of the totalitarian state and the fundamental public law-aspects of the democratic and republic state can be found.

  • The Role of Non-Governmental Organisations in the Enforcement of Environmental Liability
    113-127
    Views:
    271

    Public participation is an essential part of the mechanism of dealing with environmental problems. Both the Aarhus Convention and Union law stipulate that citizens and environmental NGOs should be guaranteed access to justice that includes providing legal standing for environmental NGOs individuals and directly affected by a breach of environmental law. In accordance with the Environmental Liability Directive, persons adversely affected by environmental damage are entitled to ask the competent authorities to take action. However, there are major chellenges to the implementation of environmental legislation, faced by environmental NGOs in obtaining standing to bring legal challenges on environmental issues. 

  • Protection of Marriage and Family in Central Europe
    7-31
    Views:
    234

    It is no exaggeration to say that family plays a prominent role in our daily lives. This study therefore examines the constitutional and family law foundations of family protection in seven Central European countries. The study describes, among other things, the nature of family law legislation, the conceptual approach to family and marriage, the legal protection and solution of extramarital partnerships, such as de facto partnerships and registered partnerships, and the status of children in the countries studied.

  • Collective Redress in Certain States of Europe
    84-106
    Views:
    163

    Collective redress mechanisms can be seen in almost all of European countries (except Switzerland and Czech Republic for example). The established regulatory solutions are diverse, basically two lines are typical, and mixed systems based on these are created. One is a representative collective claim enforceable to protect the collective interests of the community (public interest). In general, such claims can only be enforced by government bodies designated by a legislator or by associations whose purpose is the protection of those interests. Another type of collective demand assists the homogeneous demands of a group of individuals by taking advantage of the merged action. In these cases, a person is usually validated by the requirements of the group members, who is himself interested in the proceedings because of his own material right.

  • Integration of the Hungarian Water Utility Supplier from a Legal Aspect
    144-162
    Views:
    104

    The present article focuses on the integration of water utility supplier operated public water utility supplies in Hungary. According to the new Hungarian law (namely Act CCIX of 2011 on water utility supplies), the integration is merely one element of the instruments of the decision-makers to achieve their goals. According to the preamble of the act, the goals are the followings: to establish the basic rights and obligations of water utility supply, to protect national water utility property, to provide sustainable development in water utility sectors, to fulfil the objectives of the protection of drinking water resources and to ensure the conditions of water utility supply serving the extensive promotion of consumer protection, furthermore to ensure the implementation of these objectives by detached and transparent regulations. Expectedly, the procedure will be finished only by 2016, however, the number of water utility suppliers having existed before the adoption of the new law (i. e. circa 400 suppliers) has been reduced to approximately one-tenth by begin of 2014.

  • Regulatory Proposal of the Ombudsman for Future Generations
    10-28
    Views:
    212

    The most important provisions of environmental liability are available, but the effective enforcement still requires the regulation of several legal conditions. The ombudsman for future generations, following a wide professional and social coordination issued a complex regulatory proposal. The proposal is based upon the EU Environmental Liability Directive within the framework of the existing liability scheme, with a broader understanding of liability, and with the most inclusive approach of the polluter pays principle. Among other elements it covers the financial guarantees, the formation of the financial coverage of state intervention, the implementation of environmental liability attached to the real estates, the availability of and access to the environmental information, the more effective enforcement of environmental liability, and also the setting of conditions of implementation within public administration.  The main objective is to promote responsible environmental behaviour.

  • Censorship as a Tool Against State Disinformation: Media Freedom Implications of the Russian-Ukrainian War
    Views:
    63

    Disinformation campaigns originating from Russia have been frequently debated in recent years. Disinformation also plays a major role in the Russian–Ukrainian war that started in February 2022. The issue has been on the agenda in the European Union in recent years, so it is not surprising that among the many sanctions the EU introduced against Russia, action against disinformation was also added. This paper sets out to describe the previously unprecedented ban on Russian media service providers, including the problems the provision creates for freedom of expression. In particular, it will examine the content of the Decision and the Regulation, which prohibited the distribution of the Russian media outlets concerned and the consequences of the EU legislation. It will then go on to critically analyse the provisions from the perspective of freedom of expression, and finally, the relevant judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union.