Summary of the ‘Dialogue on the Future of Europe: Building a Digital European Union’ Conference Organised by the Ministry of Justice and the Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law as Part of the ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ Series

On June 21, 2021, the Hungarian Ministry of Justice (Deputy State Secretariat for EU Relations) and the Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law (MFI) organised a high-profile international conference entitled ‘Dialogue on the Future of Europe: Building a Digital European Union’ as part of a series in which two previous conferences were held on June 25 and September 21, 2020. By organising these events, Hungary is among the first Member States to launch a dialogue as part of a series of discussions on the future of Europe. As a proactive actor, Hungary has contributed to the ongoing exchange of views offering a comprehensive assessment of and approach to the digital developments and perspectives of the European Union. The June 21, 2021 conference – composed of three thematic panel discussions – focused on the future of digitalisation and competitiveness in the European Union. Highly accomplished national speakers such as Hungarian Minister of Justice Judit Varga and Hungarian Member of Parliament and President of the Economic Committee Erik Bánki and international speakers such as Commissioner Mariya Gabriel and State Secretary Ana Paula Zacarias gave presentations outlining their visions. This article summarizes those presentations. In addition to public officials and economic actors, academic experts and researchers on digital transition also gave presentations at the conference. The conclusions drawn from their exchanges of views seek to contribute to the creation of sensible decisions leading towards a digital future, while also raising public awareness regarding digitalisation, a realm of growing influence on policymaking.

Evaluation of Member State Provisions Addressing Land Policy and Restitution by the European Commission

The scope of action of EU Member States’ land policies lies at the intersection of positive and negative integration. Therefore, if a Member State restricts the ownership and use of agricultural land, it implies both the legitimate restriction of fundamental freedoms and that it achieves the targets listed under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on improving the quality of living for farmers in keeping with the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Despite this, it is worrisome that the EU’s control over negative integration does not allow Member States to create sustainable regulations. In contrast, the EU law leaves it entirely to the Member States to introduce restitution measures vis-à-vis the properties that were confiscated before their accession. The EU’s control prohibits direct discrimination against the citizens of other Member States. Under certain circumstances, according to the European Commission, the general principles of EU law and the provisions of the Charter can help individuals enforce restitution provisions. Bearing this in mind, we analysed the practice of the European Commission, its statements, and procedures against Member States, given that these are based on professional and/or political considerations. We examine the practice of the Commission and the CJEU vis-à-vis a Hungarian legislation on the so-called ‘zsebszerződések’. We also propose recommendations.

Some Values and Guarantees in the Ten-Year-Old Hungarian Constitution, with a Look at the Constitutional Arrangements of the Countries Founding the European Integration

In this study, certain values and guarantee institutions of the Hungarian Fundamental Law are analysed in the light of the constitutions of the countries that have established European integration – Germany, France, Italy, and Belgium. Among the value systems, Christian culture and the family have been examined, while the study has also focused on the guarantees important for living conditions, such as strict public finance provisions, rules on emergency powers, and provisions guaranteeing a high level of protection for future generations and the environment. In addition to the analysis of the constitutions, the study makes several references to the jurisprudence of the countries concerned and to the most important aspects of constitutional developments in recent years.

Recent Changes in the German Investment Screening Mechanism in Light of the EU Screening Regulation

In 2020 and 2021, the German investment screening laws, namely Außenwirtschaftsgesetz (AWG) and Außenwirtschaftsverordnung (AWV) were again subject to considerable reform induced by new legislation at the European level and a reshaped industry policy agenda at the national level. This article critically reviews the most significant changes brought about by one law (Erstes Gesetz zur Änderung des Außenwirtschaftsgesetzes und anderer Gesetze) and three ordinances (Fünfzehnte, Sechzehnte und Siebzente Verordnung zur Änderung der Außenwirtschaftsverordnung) and provides an overview of the reformed screening procedure. Although claims in this direction have been made, neither the reform nor the underlying Screening Regulation (EU) 2019/452 have altered the objective of review – the protection of public order or security – or bar for governmental intervention – actual and sufficiently serious danger. Both these were not ‘overwritten’ by secondary law and continue to be determined by the pertinent jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Notwithstanding this, the reform has considerably widened the ‘sensitive sectors’ in which pertinent investments must be notified to and cleared by the authorities. ‘Gun jumping’ is prohibited and parties moving forward nonetheless risk criminal prosecution. Reform has also standardised the deadlines for governmental intervention and brought about procedural clarity. What the many and frequent changes reveal on a more fundamental level is a progressing politicisation and securitisation of investment screening law.

Ranking of Legal Periodicals and Prerequisites for Academic Promotion in Serbian, Croatian, and Slovenian Law

Scholars need to obtain a certain level of international recognition for academic progression. This is usually achieved by publishing articles in internationally recognized journals, books, and conference papers. The question is which journals should be considered of international relevance and how they should be ranked. For this purpose, a ranking system based on the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), combined with the leading research engine, the Web of Science (WoS), is used. While a ranking system based on the JCR is considered most suitable for natural and technical sciences, it has many shortcomings when considering social sciences and humanities, including legal science. This is observed when such a system is applied in countries that cannot claim to have a profound impact on the global development of legal thought and where scholarly legal production is almost exclusively conducted in the national language, such as in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. This study analyzes the general laws and rules regarding the qualification of journals in Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia, and special laws pertaining to social sciences, especially legal science. Although there are many points of interest regarding different situations in which the national laws on the qualification of journals gain importance, this study focuses on the relevance of these laws in terms of the promotion of legal scholars to positions of university lecturers. It analyzes the requirements for the promotion to a full professor of law. It concludes that the laws of the three countries, through different forms, managed to find a delicate balance between the requirement of publishing articles in internationally recognized journals and the characteristics of legal science as it is predominantly conducted in the national language and addressed to a domestic audience.

‘Children in Criminal Procedure – Friendly Law’

The considerations undertaken in the scientific article constitute an analysis and evaluation of the solutions included in the government's legislative proposal aimed to change the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Family and Guardianship Code, and the Law on the System of Common Courts with regard to the position of minor victims. The legislative initiative is a significant change that aims to improve the protection of children participating in criminal procedures. This legal act’s draft indicates the provision of a special position to children in the criminal procedure. If children happen to be the aggrieved parties in criminal procedures, they deserve to be met by the court and participants with exceptional awareness and sensitivity. I am of the opinion that the criminal procedure must be structured in such a way that the participating children feel safe. The judiciary should aim to be child-friendly. It is extremely important that children feel understood as well as they understand the new legal reality in which they find themselves. In this analysis, I have referred to the regulations on the protection of children's rights under the international law and the law of the European Union. In this study, I have laid emphasis on the point that the proposed legislative solutions should meet the assumptions of the European directives issued by the European Union institutions as well as the Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on child-friendly justice, the main act on the protection of children's rights issued by the Council of Europe.

Ethnic Data Collection for Educational Purposes and the Situation of Segregation in Some Western and Central and Eastern European Countries

The aim of this article is to examine the legislation of selected European countries on the collection of ethnic data for educational purposes and how these legislations are put into practice. The author also examines whether educational segregation exists in the selected countries and attempts to draw conclusions about the possible link between the collection of ethnic data for educational purposes and the existence of segregation. In the last part of the article, the author introduces good practices in the fields of desegregation and inclusive education.

Intergenerational Transfer of Family-Run Enterprises in Slovenia in Comparison with German Law

After the Republic of Slovenia declared its independence in 1991 and adopted a new constitution, business in the country began to increasingly develop. Now, 30 years since declaring independence and the start of business development, we are witnessing the retirement of the first generation of business owners, and it is reasonable to expect the rise of such examples in the following years. With the change in generation and retirement of the first generation of business owners, the question arises as to how to legally regulate the transition of family companies to younger generations, with the objective of keeping the company within the family circle and avoiding fragmentation of the company because of a higher number of potential heirs. This article presents information on the transfer of a family company to the next generation with sole traders, personal companies, and companies with share capital in comparison to German law.

Statehood: the Essential Prerequisite for Law and Liberty

The attempt to subject Poland and Hungary to procedures under EU law for allegedly not respecting European values has its roots both in the supranational nature of the EU project and also in the differing concepts of the nation in the Eastern and Western halves of the continent. The hegemonic West is deeply post-modern while former Communist states have retained some faith in the nation. Globalisation generally, and the EU project in particular, are based on functionalist assumptions whose origins lie in the early 19th century, yet these fail to understand the eminently political nature of law: all jurisdictions are rooted in society and the state and it is the role of government to adjudicate between the competing claims of citizens. This makes it very difficult, impossible even, to formulate universal rights since their formulation and application depend on interpretation, i.e. on jurisdiction, and therefore on the sovereignty of the ultimate decision-maker.

The Fundamental Right of Marriage in the Constitutions of European Countries

This study aims to present an overview the position of marriage in the constitutions of European countries. First, the origin of marriage as a fundamental right is looked at from a historical perspective, leading to different supranational instruments’ declarations. Subsequently, different approaches of the constitutions of European countries are scrutinised and classified depending on what protection, if any, is given to marriage. The spectrum spreads from defining marriage as protected by declaring it as a fundamental right to the lack of constitutional mention. For this broad overview, the scope of this work is based on the fact that all of these countries are parties to the Council of Europe, and the Rome Convention of 1950. Finally, a short exploration of some of the countries’ constitutional jurisprudence is carried out regarding the most controversial topics concerning the fundamental right to marriage.