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• About the necessity of a new criminal act: or notes on the criminal offense of agreement in restraint of competition in public procurement and concession procedures

  99-121

  Zsolt Tibor Szabó

  Views:

  415

  The criminal act included in Subsection 1 Section 420 of Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code (hereinafter referred to as Criminal Code) is the only one in the entire Criminal Code where the disposition includes the public procurement procedure as an element of the criminal act. In spite of this, further punishable criminal acts may be associated with the public procurement procedure which are inevitably committed or  completed in terms of the legal stadia of the crime, provided that any criminal relationship is established between the parties when public funds are allocated during the course of a tendering procedure.

  The non-exhaustive examples of the – examined – conduct subject to proceedings show that the basis of an unfair public procurement procedure is the committing of any of the corruption criminal offenses, and then, after the public procurement procedure had been concluded, the felony of agreement in restraint of competition will constitute the criminal act without prejudice to the ne bis in idem principle, i.e. the criminal act specified in Subsection (1) Section 420 of the Criminal Code is not the definition of public procurement corruption. In order to verify this, I will outline what I personally understand as public procurement corruption.

  The primary aim of the study is to support the argument that the delict referred to above is unable to fulfil the intention of the legislator, namely decreasing public procurement corruption. As a secondary focus,  the reasons behind the necessity of a new criminal act are referred to.

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

  11-36.

  Mátyás Bencze

  Views:

  270

  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

• Some theoretical and Practical Issues of Sentencing

  11-25

  Ágnes Pápai-Tarr

  Views:

  245

  Sentencing is connected to the trial stage of the criminal procedure; more precisely, it takes place at its end. Judges fulfil only a part, and not even the hardest one, of their duty by establishing criminal liability as a result of the evidentiary procedure. Sentencing is a rather complex and complicated process. Judges face a lot of expectations: they often have to reconcile contradictory expectations with each other in order to impose a satisfactory sentence for the parties. The process of sentencing has received intense criticism. Sometimes judges are accused of imposing unduly lenient sentences or criticized for too severe punishments.

  Another problem is presented by the fact that different sentences are passed for crimes of the same sort at different courts in the country. Sentencing thus raises many theoretical questions that I seek to answer in the study.

• Determining the Period of Criminal Legal Limitation

  99-113

  Dávid Hadházi

  Views:

  295

  In my essay I examine the statutes of limitation in criminal law. Firstly, I give a general description of limitation, of its position in the Criminal Code and of its legal theory. Secondly, I review the legal history of limitation demonstrating the system of limitation in our first criminal code. After that, I outline the regulations concerning the period of limitation and then describe the way limitation is enforced in the statute of criminal procedure. Finally, I draw the conclusions of my essay in the form of a proposition de lege ferenda.

• The Effect of the Jurisprudence of the ECHR on the Hungarian Criminal Procedure Act

  128-150

  Krisztián Szabó

  Views:

  278

  The case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human rights set the minimum level for the protection of fundamental rights that has to be guaranteed by all contracting parties, although national laws can establish higher standards. Point II of the general explanations of Bill No. T/13972 on the new Act on Criminal Procedure states that “meeting the requirements of the Fundamental Law of Hungary and the obligations of international law and EU law obviously mean a safeguarding minimum.” In Hungary the case law of the ECHR is reflected more and more both in the judgements of Hungarian courts and in the guidelines of higher courts but the difficulties of establishing interpretations in harmony with ECHR case law are common. The paper analyses the judgments of the ECHR in Hungarian cases between 2013 and 2016 related to pretrial detention, effective defence and the circumstances of restraint.

• Public Hearing as a Safeguard of Fair Trial in Criminal Proceedings

  46-61

  Tamás Háger

  Views:

  148

  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.

• Book review: Csaba Fenyvesi–Csongor Herke–Flórián Tremmel (eds.): Forensic Science (’Kriminalisztika’)

  196-202

  Krisztián Szabó

  Views:

  161

  Although the prosecution of crimes dates back to the creation of the human society, the „science” of investigation in the modern sense, i.e. forensic science, appeared only in the 19th century, and the first comprehensive university textbook on forensic science was published in Hungary in 1965. In the 60 years since then, thanks to the explosion of scientific and technical knowledge, forensic science has undergone radical changes. Edited by Csaba Fenyvesi, Csongor Herke and Flórián Tremmel, the book on Forensic science provides a comprehensive introduction to the concepts of forensic science, the most important elements of criminal technique and criminal tactics. The book is a valuable contribution to the field of forensic science and provides a realistic picture of both the present and the possible future of forensic science. This book review discusses the importance of the book for forensic science, based on certain specific institutions of forensic science.

• Basic Trial Rights and Trial Ethics in Criminal Proceedings

  32-55

  Viktor Bérces

  Views:

  173

  The number of criminal court trials is constantly decreasing, as the domestic legislature has introduced a number of legal institutions aimed at diverting criminal cases from the court system, or avoiding charging. Nevertheless, there will always be crimes, the adjudication of which cannot dispense with impeachment based on direct judicial investigation. The trial is undoubtedly the "highlight" of the criminal proceedings, since it is here that the adversarial process takes place in its entirety, and here the defense counsel and the prosecutor have the opportunity to form opinions on factual and legal issues in each other's personal presence. The amendment of the Criminal Procedure Act naturally raised many questions, such as who in the near future will actually control the evidence taken in court proceedings, and what basic procedural rights should be provided to the participants of the proceedings. In this study, I would like to reflect primarily on these questions, based on some ECtHR decisions.

• The Legal Status of Victims of Sexual Violence in International, European Union and Domestic Law

  Klaudia Viktória Zsiros

  Views:

  56

  The study describes the concept and the legal status of the victim of sexual violence in view of the fact that the definition of victim in criminal procedure law is not the same as the broader definition of victim used in criminology at domestic or international levels. The Me Too movement drew attention to a problem in 2017 that is still waiting to be solved years later: preventing and eradicating violence against women, as well as making the role of the victims during procedure and their legal options more effective. A brief, overview categorization of this legal situation shows what emerging tendencies can be discovered in the European Union’s legislative process nowadays, and based on these, what the problematic areas are in domestic law where change is needed.

• Messages of German and Italian Identity Parades

  78-89

  Csaba Fenyvesi

  Views:

  80

  All criminal justice systems in rule-of-law states attempt to prevent justizmord cases. Unfortunately, this intention is not always successful. This statement is illustrated by both Hungarian and foreign examples.  Both Hungarian and international scientific research reveals that the identity parade (line-up) method plays a key role in the miscarriage of justice cases. So it is important (basic)/vital interest to prepare preventing methods in this field, or to reveal/disclose the causes of final serious mistakes. For this purpose, the author examines the identity practical method and legal (police) rules in Germany and Italy. At the end of the study, the author formulates the potential legal and criminalistic/forensic development possibilities, the lessons and his conclusions for the powerful/efficient and fair criminal procedure rules and for better law enforcement practice. 

• The Challenges of Cryptocurrencies in Substantive Criminal Law and Procedure

  79-98

  Kitti Mezei

  Views:

  908

  The 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.

• Back-Door Electronic Monitoring in Hungary: Theory and Practice of Reintegrative Surveillance

  30-42

  Jasmine Hussein

  Views:

  321

  With the development of technology many new legal institutions were regulated in the criminal justice systems. Electronic monitoring is one of those, which from the Hungarian perspective first appeared in the form of home detention in criminal procedure law. Later on, in 2015 the technology of electronic monitoring was implemented in prison law as the institution of reintegrative surveillance. The regulation is basically appropriate and according to the experiences could be seen as effective. However, there are some related theoretical questions which need to be answered. For example, the question of widening the potential application of reintegrative surveillance, or the relation between reintegrative surveillance and imprisonment or conditional release. Answering these questions is important as presumably the technological development won’t stop on this level, thus we can expect the widening of electronic monitoring in Hungary as well.

• Deepfake: a Blessing or a Curse? Legal Regulatory Aspects

  157-178

  Csongor Herke

  Views:

  234

  A deepfake is a video, audio or other content (e.g. image) that is completely or partially fabricated or created by manipulating existing, real content. Just as fake news calls into question the authenticity of real news, deepfake also calls into question the authenticity of real content. At the same time, deepfake has many advantages in addition to its often mentioned dangers. Following a historical overview of deepfake, the study describes these benefits and dangers, and then discusses possible legal responses after presenting tools for detecting deepfake.

• Personal and Organizational Framework for the Activities of the Defence Counsel in Hungary

  79-88

  Viktor Bérces

  Views:

  99

  In the Hungarian system of criminal procedure, several participants of the proceeding may provide activities aiming at the defence of the defendant (e.g. the prosecutor or even the defendant himself). My dissertation, however, shall focus on the activities of the defender based on delegation or recorded Power of Attorneys given, in consideration of the fact that almost without exception this personal group act as advocates in criminal procedures, furthermore, solely lawyers have the expertise necessary for the defence, and the “equality of arms” principle may only succeed completely through them.