Attempts at Justice during the Regime Change in Hungary

Author(s): Áron Máthé / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

In the years after Hungary’s regime change, a lively political and public debate emerged about the possibility of justice for the crimes committed during the decades of communist dictatorship. The Justice Act, introduced by governing party MPs, retroactively suspended the statute of limitations for treason and intentional homicide in cases where the regime did not prosecute these crimes for obvious political reasons. This would have provided a constitutional opportunity to bring to justice those responsible for the atrocities of the 1950s and the reprisals that followed the 1956 revolution. The law adopted by Parliament was annulled by the Constitutional Court on grounds of continuity and legal certainty. In its view, the retroactive suspension of the statute of limitations is incompatible with the rule of law and justice must therefore be pursued by a completely different route.

Tranzicijska pravičnost od Trsta do Monoštra: med utopijo in resničnostjo

Author(s): Jernej Letnar Černič / Language(s): Slovenian Issue: 1/2022

The paper considers the attitude of the Slovenian society towards transitional justice. It notes that, in the years following the achievement of independence and the transition from a nondemocratic to a democratic system, the Slovenian society and state have not been able to fully adopt and implement all the necessary measures to redress the injustices suffered and punish the perpetrators. Progress has been made in this respect, especially regarding the issue of redressing injustices, and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia has also played a positive role, especially in its first mandate. By contrast, there has been no breakthrough in retributive justice, as no one has been judicially held accountable for human rights violations under the undemocratic regime. The consequences are felt by the Slovenian society and people in their everyday lives, both in the public institutions and private sector.

FENOMENUL DEEPFAKE

Author(s): Raluca Anderco / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 05/2023

Deepfake is a form of Artificial Intelligence (AI), whose algorithms are used to change people's faces from digital content and thus create a realistic-looking fake. Deepfake content was originally only with celebrities, but even ordinary people can create their own deepfake content today. With the wide-spread use of deepfake content, issues such as audience manipulation, attacks on personal rights, violations of intellectual property rights and protection of personal data are becoming more common. Legislators and Big Tech are looking for an effective solution to the growing problem of deepfake. In the field of advertising and media, this phenomenon has grown without limits, and the lack of a legal framework only expands the phenomenon even more. From a legal perspective, the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") published the "Draft Issues Paper on Intellectual Property Policy and Artificial Intelligence" in December 2019. The project contains deepfake content issues regarding intellectual property rights. There are two questions raised in connection with the deepfake issue in the project: (i) Because deepfakes are created based on copyrightable data, who should copyright a deepfake? (ii) Should there be a system of fair remuneration for people whose likenesses and "performances" are used in a deepfake? WIPO concluded that deepfake can cause much more serious problems, such as the violation of human rights: the right to privacy, the right to self-image, the right to dignity, the right to privacy, the right to the protection of personal data, etc., by no means copyright infringement. In the rest of this article, we will look at the legal options available to the victim of deepfake content.

ROMAN-CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE CHALLENGES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Author(s): Claudiu Cotan / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 21/2020

The French Revolution was one of the great events that marked the history of humankind. The Romanian historiography presented especially its ideological and political part, but in the West the historical research did not forget its religious component. Communism used the French Revolution which it presented as one of its roots, arguing its atheism through the rationalism of the French Enlightenment, forgetting to mention the formation of a religious ideology fully manifested in France during the last years of the 18th century. This is why I shall present in this study some of the phases of the French Revolution which marked the Catholic Church in one of its greatest trials. Although anti-clericalism characterised only the French revolutionary society, the ideas of Enlightenment spread all over Europe and even further on, till America, bringing about deep changes in the mental of the society and little by little a new political thought.

Service Offenses of the Public Servant

Author(s): Cosmin-Vasile Ambrosă / Language(s): English Issue: 30/2022

The state power is carried out only by a separate or special category of person who has been empowered in order to implement pubic policies and implicitly the implement of public power. By the public nature of their function, civil servants are often exposed to the risk of corruption. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to resist the temptation.

The impact of the clash between the CJEU Case Law concerning rule of law and the Constitutional Court in Romania on the criminal legislation, investigation and fight against corruption

Author(s): Dragoş-Lucian Ivan,Teodor Manea / Language(s): English Issue: 8/2022

This scientific research shall explore the recent jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU on the rule of law regarding Poland, Hungary and Romania. We shall strive to identify the nexus between the ground-breaking judgments and the prospects for criminal legislation and criminal investigation by analysing the arguments of the parties and the reasoning of the courts. We believe that judgements in the cases of Poland, Hungary and Romania represent the Court of Justice’s incrementalist response to a perceived process of rule of law backsliding which was perceived as a threat to EU values at the community level and as a threat to the ability of the justice system to prevent corruption at the national level. Backsliding is believed to first emerged in Hungary before spreading to Poland, but serious cases were already existing in Romania.

Относно обектите на парламентарен контрол

Author(s): Adelina Valkova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The article examines the legal framework of one of the main powers of the National Assembly, provided for in Art. 62 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria – the implementation of parliamentary control. The paper also analyzes its various manifestations, their nature, and the objects they are directed to. In addition, it elaborates on the need for more transparency in the implementation of the nationwide representative institution’s control function.

L’IMPORTATION CONSTITUTIONNELLE ET LA MODERNISATION POLITIQUE DE L’ÉTAT ROUMAIN

Author(s): Claudia-Elena Crăciun-Chivereanu / Language(s): French Issue: 1/2023

This article has as its starting point the genesis of Romanian constitutionalism. Developed according to the Belgian model, the Constitution of 1866 allowed the birth of a democratic system of government and consolidated the autonomy of Romania, in the context where, after the abdication of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, there was an inherent need for governmental stability. However, the decision to adopt a prestigious constitutional model was guided by the idea of international legitimacy. The predominantly liberal character of the Belgian Constitution of 1831 influenced the process of drafting fundamental laws in several European states, not only in Romania (Greece, Italy, Prussia, etc.). The constitutional import process is inevitable, but extremely difficult and rarely impossible. The inevitability of this process stems from the fact that overarching constitutional ideas and mechanisms are generally limited. This type of transfer occurs when constituent assemblies face a particular problem and choose to focus on already functioning constitutions.

Legal Protection of Life in the Constitutions of the Republic of Poland of March 17, 1921 and April 2, 1997

Author(s): Michał Ożóg / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

The issue of legal protection of life from Article 38 of the 1997 Constitution is one of the most important dilemmas of modern Polish law. This issue was already regulated in the March Constitution. The purpose of the article is to present the normative content of the legal protection of life on the basis of both constitutions. The research objective is to determine the importance of the two constitutions in providing legal protection of life in the context of the tasks of the ordinary legislature and the importance of judicial decisions. The text confronts the assumptions of the system legislator with lower–level regulations. Particular attention has been paid to the issue of assessing the compatibility of these solutions with the constitution’s design. Consideration was given to the influence of international organizations on the content and implementation of the protection of life in the Polish legal order. The study includes an analysis of the literature on the subject. The dogmatic and historical-legal method was used. The deliberations take into account the weaknesses and strengths of entrusting the judiciary with the constitutional task of defining the normative content of the protection of life. Contemporary public disputes in this matter should prompt greater efforts in clarifying constitutional solutions. It is worth bearing in mind the experience of the 1921 Constitution.

O potrzebie studiów nad historią prawa – przemyślenia na tle rozważań Tomasza Opalińskiego zawartych w monografii Stan chłopski w Księstwie Warszawskim w świetle akt sądowych

Author(s): Oskar Kanecki / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2022

Studies on the history of political systems and law involve a necessity to present historic law institutions with a modern view. This requires from the researcher a good command of legal language and scientific terminology. This article is an attempt to analyze the characteristics of studies dealing with the history of law against the background of Tomasz Opaliński’s thoughts included in the monograph “State of peasantry in the Duchy of Warsaw in the light of court records”. The Author described the situation of peasants in the years 1808–1815 in the light of the judicial documents of courts of peace. This issue is important because the Constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw, abolishing „slavery”, introduced the equality of all citizens in terms of the law, which enabled the establishment of common courts. The historical and legal method was applied in this research. The book consists of four chapters, numerous appendices and its contents were organized according to subject-chronology. The Author discussed general issues (including the organization of the judiciary in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and in the Duchy of Warsaw), court records, major social and economic problems of peasants, as well as interstate relations (between peasants, peasants and nobles, peasants and burghers, peasants and Jews, peasants and clergy).

ПРАКСА УСТАВНОГ СУДА БОСНЕ И ХЕРЦЕГОВИНЕ

Author(s): / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 53/2020

REALIZACJA KONSTYTUCYJNEJ GWARANCJI BEZPIECZEŃSTWA KONSUMENTA PRZEZ WŁADZE PUBLICZNE W DOBIE COVID-19 NA RYNKU USŁUG FINANSOWYCH I RYNKU ENERGII. ZAGADNIENIA WYBRANE

Author(s): Łukasz Mroczyński-Szmaj / Language(s): Polish Issue: 34/2021

This article concerns the analysis of selected issues related to the implementation of the constitutional guarantee of consumer safety by the public authorities in the times of COVID-19, in the financial services market and energy market. The author first underlines the role of Article 76 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland in the consumers’ protection system, and then presents the semantic revolution of the notion of “consumer’ safety”. Furthermore, the activities of the public authorities are presented related to consumer safety in the financial services market and energy market during the pandemic. It can be noted that while such activities were in fact under-taken by the legislator, they lacked coherence with EU law or solutions that had already been developed by trade practice. The undertaken legislative initiatives were not always consistently implemented. The author concludes that the implementation of a reasonable goal of “consumer safety” by the public authorities requires organisation and real reflection (a reliable quantitative and qualitative analysis) before legislative actions are taken, which should follow an adopted and subsequently implemented strategy to improve the state of predictability, certainty and legal safety of consumers.

OGŁOSZENIE STANU WYJĄTKOWEGO W REBUBLICE CZESKIEJ W 2020 R. – ZARYS PROBLEMATYKI

Author(s): Anna Hadała-Skóra / Language(s): Polish Issue: 35/2021

This article characterizes selected issues related to the response of the Government of the Czech Republic to the prevailing situation in the country – the introduction of a state of emergency in 2020. This action was dictated by the desire to avoid the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus on the territory of the country. In the introductory part of the article the concept of state of emergency in the doctrine of constitutional law was characterized. In the next part it was pointed out that in the Constitution of the Czech Republic the legislator has not regulated all the states of emergency that can be introduced in this country. Other legal acts regulating this issue are indicated.

Fakultatywne odpłatności a prawo do bezpłatnej edukacji powszechnej

Author(s): Jacek Grzebielucha / Language(s): Polish Issue: 11/2022

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland states that access to public education is not only compulsory but also free. In practice, however, it seems apparent – parents in the process of educating their children face a large number of various types of additional contributions, fees or additional costs related to education. Not being aware of which of them are compulsory and which are not, they very often pay all required contributions. This study will analyze the most common types of fees required from parents in connection with a child’s education and the legal nature of their affirmation. The journalistic sources as well as the provisions of national and international law will be analyzed, drawing interpretations of the provisions from national jurisprudence and commentaries.

ЗАКОНОДАВНО ДЈЕЛОВАЊЕ УСТАВНОГ СУДА - УСТАВНИ СУД КАО НЕГАТИВНИ ЗАКОНОДАВАЦ

Author(s): Marko Majkić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 44/2022

The basic function of the constitutional court is, by definition, normative control, that is, control of the constitutionality of normative acts. By performing its basic function, i.e. performing normative control, first of all control of the constitutionality of laws as general legal acts, i.e. deciding on their compliance with the constitution, the constitutional court protects constitutionality (and legality) as the highest principles on which the rule of law and democratic social-political order rest. However, by declaring the law unconstitutional and preventing its existence in the legal order, the constitutional court also performs legislative action and thus becomes an agent of the legislative power. The legislative action of the constitutional court is peculiar and does not represent legislation in its traditionalist understanding as a function of state power. However, by canceling the unconstitutional law, the constitutional court becomes an agent of the creation of the legal system and becomes a negative legislator, as opposed to the parliament as a positive legislator. In accordance with the above, in this paper we will refer to the position of the constitutional court as a negative legislator as the most important aspect of its legislative activity.

ПРАКСА УСТАВНОГ СУДА БОСНЕ И ХЕРЦЕГОВИНЕ

Author(s): / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 43/2021

Ochrona tajemnicy państwowej w Federacji Rosyjskiej. Wybrane regulacje karne i administracyjne

Author(s): Rafał Wądołowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 24/2021

The article discusses the administrative regulations regarding the disclosure of secret and top-secret information in the Russian Federation. Moreover, it presents the effective penal code provisions directed against the disclosure of state secrets in Russia and the interpretation of these provisions. The author does not limit himself only to Russian constitutional, administrative and criminal regulations but gives examples of Polish corresponding laws. Additionally, in connection with the fact that criminal law provisions often contain non-specific references to other legislation, the article presents administrative acts of the protection system of public secrets. On the basis of the formulated conclusions, it was recognised that the Polish legislation lacks an individual provision penalising the fact of obtaining secret or top-secret information as a result of committing a separate unlawful act. It can be the basis to formulate postulates de lege ferenda. It should be noted that the article does not exhaust the topic, but only indicates selected issues of the protection system of state secrets in Russia. Initiated study can be used to carry out in-depth comparative research on this topic in the future.

Izraelskie ustawodawstwo antyterrorystyczne wobec zagrożeń XXI wieku

Author(s): Paweł Pokrzywiński / Language(s): Polish Issue: 24/2021

The aim of the article is to present objectives of the Israeli Counter-Terrorism Law passed in 2016. The author examines the way of defining and combating terrorism, and the penalty measures related to criminal activity linked with it. Thus, the author shows the Israeli authorities’ perception of threat connected with terrorism. The previous counter-terrorist law is compared with the new one to demonstrate the modification of the vision of security. The article seeks to answer the question what changes and views have been implemented by the new law. To achieve those aims the author used the comparison method and an analysis of the law and the securitization theory. It allowed to state that terrorism is still regarded by Israeli politicians as the main threat for the State of Israel and its citizens. The amended law allowed for the use of many emergency measures. Overall, it exhibits a hawkish stance towards combating terrorism of parties which amended the law.

ОСВРТ НА ПРИМЈЕНУ ПОЈЕДИНИХ ОДРЕДАБА ЗАКОНА О ИЗВРШНОМ ПОСТУПКУ РЕПУБЛИКЕ СРПСКЕ – НЕКА СПОРНА ПИТАЊА У СУДСКОЈ ПРАКСИ

Author(s): Marko Majkić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 42/2020

Enforcement proceedings as a procedure of forced realization of claims should be normatively, ie legally conceived in such a way as to ensure the forced realization of claims in the most efficient way. This procedure should provide legal entities as creditors with legal protection, which in the enforcement procedure received its full and final materialization. To this end, the legislator must take into account that the Law on Enforcement Procedure must not be viewed outside the context of the legal system as a whole, which means that the law cannot be enacted or interpreted and applied in isolation from other norms within the legal system. In other words, only the essential unity of the norms of executive procedural law with the norms of the Law on Civil Procedure that are appropriately applied in enforcement proceedings, and the norms of substantive regulations referred to by the Law on Enforcement Procedure with regard to substantive presumptions and consequences of enforcement, can be said about a system that provides efficient and complete legal protection. In this regard, in this paper we will critically look at certain provisions of the Law on Enforcement Procedure of the Republic of Srpska, and the provisions of other regulations relevant to the enforcement procedure, pointing out the doubts faced by the executive courts in interpreting and applying them. the aims of their reexamination and giving de lege ferenda proposals

ПРАКСА УСТАВНОГ СУДА РЕПУБЛИКЕ СРПСКЕ

Author(s): / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 42/2020