Gábor Halmai

Abuse of Constitutional Identity. The Hungarian Constitutional Court on Interpretation of Article E) (2) of the Fundamental Law

This paper discusses a decision of the Hungarian Constitutional Court issued in December 2016, in which the judges refer to the country’s constitutional identity to justify the government’s refusal to apply the EU ’s refugee relocation scheme in Hungary. The paper concludes that this abuse of constitutional identity for merely nationalistic political purposes discredits every genuine and legitimate reference to national constitutional identity claims, and strengthens calls for an end to constitutional pluralism in the EU altogether.

Constitutionalism, Law, and Religion in Israel: A State's Multiple Identities

In the first chapter the historical relationship of Judaism and Zionism was discussed, while the second discusses the constitutional conflict between Jewish and the democratic character of the State of Israel. The third chapter analyzes the millet system of religious laws (inherited from the Ottoman Empire) for both Jews, as the religious majority, and for different minorities. The main question is, whether or not this pluralist legal system can be considered as liberal, providing equal rights, and what other alternatives are feasible in Israel today. The more general constitutional question behind the legal one is, whether or not the Jewish and the democratic character of the State of Israel based on Zionism can be consolidated.

Transitional justice, transitional constitutionalism and constitutional culture

This chapter discusses the theoretical challenges that legal regulation of transitional justice in transitional constitutions raises when it attempts to reconcile past abuses of constitutionalism. The broader implications of the topic are the challenges that transitional constitutionalism faces when it regulates transitional justice measures. But for both transitional constitutionalism in general, and transitional justice in particular, a certain preexisting constitutional culture is required. Hence, before dealing with the specific constitutional regulations of transitional justice, I discuss the role of constitutional culture in transitional constitutionalism in the specific case of transitional justice. Since transitional constitutionalism usually challenges the constitutional canon1 and can essentially change basic constitutional principles,2 it is essential that the main elements of the canon and the basic traditional constitutional principles are known to both the state actors and the addressees of their actions. When discussing the distinct constitutional and legal approaches of transitional justice, it is important to find out how much preexisting constitutional culture the particular forms require, and whether certain approaches are better to help to develop this culture, and through this they are more effective tools of reconciliation of formerly authoritarian societies and of consolidation of constitutional democracy. The main case studies thoughout this chapter are the two major types of democratic transitions and approaches to transitional justice in Eastern and Central Europe after 1989–90: rupture and negotiated transition. A rupture occurs when the authoritarian regime weakens to the point of collapse, at which time the opposition seizes power. In a negotiated transition, the regime and opposition negotiate arrangements for a democratic transition.3 For instance, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and its successor

Abschaffung der Medienfreiheit in Ungarn

Seit ihrem Wahlsieg im Frühjahr 2010 versucht die nationalkonservative Regierungskoalition der Fidesz – Ungarischer Bürgerbund ( Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség ) und der Christdemokratischen Volkspartei ( Kereszténydemokrata Néppárt , KDNP ) mit ihrer Zweidrittelmehrheit im Parlament , durch neue Schwerpunktgesetze und sogar durch die Verabschiedung eines neuen Grundgesetzes ein illiberales Verfassungssystem für mehrere Legislaturperioden einzubetonieren ( siehe G. Halmai , Osteuropa 2011 ). Einer der ersten Schritte auf dem Weg in eine – mit dem Inkrafttreten der neuen Verfassung im Jänner 2012 vollendete – autoritäre Demokratie waren die Ende 2010 verabschiedeten Mediengesetze.

Free Speech in the New Hungarian Constitutional Practice

Abstract:The paper examines the jurisprudence of the Hungarian Constitutional Court in the area of freedom of expression. The Hungarian court, which began its work immediately after the political transformation on 1 January 1990, is the most active institution implementing the Austriarr-German type of judicial review in the Central East European countries. The author, who was for seven years chief adviser to the president of the Court, attempts to analyze the most significant decisions in which Hungarian judges articulated a special interpretation of the freedom of expression.The author argues that the Hungarian Constitutional Court may have gone farthest in stating the privileged nature of freedom of expression. In doing so, the Hungarian judges adopted verdicts of the European Court of Human Rights, Western constitutional courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The author cites as examples the Hungarian Constitutional Court’s decision on racial hate speech, which applied the famous “clear and present danger...