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• Right to a Healthy Environment in the Theory

  24-38

  Veronika Hermann

  Views:

  244

  To protect the environment with the help of human rights is one possible way among others to fight against environmental degradation. Yet, does this idea fit into the system of human rights, taking into consideration the fact that the upmost goal of human rights is the protection of human dignity? Is the connection between the environment and the human dignity strong enough to protect the environment by human rights? The following conceptual paper searches for reasonable answers to these questions by analyzing the so-called right to a healthy environment. By doing so the links between human and environmental rights and the specialties of human rights will be examined in order to show why the right to a healthy environment could in theory fit into the system of human rights protection.

• A New Admissibility Criteria – the „Significant Disadvantage” in the Case-law of the European Court of Human Rights

  131-138

  Sándor Szemesi

  Views:

  132

  Since its adoption in 1950, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms has established one of the best mechanism for the international protection of human rights. Because of the continuous increase of the European Court of Human Rights’ workload, the modification of the Court’s procedure was needed. During this reform, a new admissibility requirement is inserted in Article 35 of the Convention, which empowers the Court to declare inadmissible applications where the applicant has not suffered a significant disadvantage. This new admissibility criteria is applicable since 1 June 2010 (when Protocol No. 14. entered into force). The study examines the travaux preparatoires and the current text of the Protocol, and analyzes the case-law of the Court concerning this new criteria.

• Hungarian legislative changes induced by the case-law of European Court of Human Rights

  109-122

  Andrea Klemencsics

  Views:

  168

  Indisputably, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has an effect on national legal systems. In this study I examine the type of this effect in the Hungarian legal system through the case law of the year 2014, and as an outcome, I would like to demonstrate that the ECtHR has both direct and indirect impacts on the national legislation in Hungary. As a result of the judgments’ direct impact, changes are made in the national legislation, meanwhile the indirect impact can only be detected in the decisions of the Hungarian Constitutional Court or domestic courts. Obviously, the direct impact is the most significant and most noticeable, however, the significance of indirect impact has been gradually increasing in the recent period. Based on this idea, I would like to point out that both effects are present in the Hungarian legislation, and seem to show an increasing trend, although the judicial bodies mean an exception in this practice. Nonetheless, according to the European practice, the judicial bodies will most likely refer to the international norm and the case law of the ECtHR in the near future.

• The Concept of the Right to Food in Public International Law

  86-99

  Sándor Szemesi

  Views:

  187

  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.

• Judicial Review in Emergency Situations: the Relevant Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights

  200-218

  Gábor Mészáros

  Views:

  153

  Emergencies are mostly sudden, and in most cases states need special measures to deal with them. For this reason liberal democracies have standing constitutional or special legal powers to derogate human rights for the sake of order. Those democracies that do not have such powers, use impromptu ones. It is possible for authoritarian governments to abuse emergency powers in order to stay in power, to derogate human rights and to silence the opposition. Therefore it is essential for a liberal democracy to have strict limits for the duration, circumstance and scope of emergency powers. There are human rights regimes (for example: the European Convention on Human Rights) which have to respect the member states’ duty and responsibility in such cases. This article tries to examine this special case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The question is whether a European Human Rights regime is capable of becoming the guardian of human rights in cases of national emergencies, or the sovereignty of states also means that there is very narrow margin to prove legality above security?