Farkas analyzes three significant debates in the scholarship on EU and Hungarian equality law, namely scope, intersectionality, and enforcement. She finds that fragmentation within EU equality law is primarily due to economic considerations and a lack of political consensus, and these reasons explain, on the one hand, the unnecessarily narrow material scope and, on the other hand, the asymmetric personal scope in the case of certain characteristics. The hierarchy between the protected characteristics in terms of material scope and its resolution has become one of the most important issues in research, but this has not led to a comprehensive exploration of the possibly necessary differences in levels of protection - especially in measures outside the anti-discrimination directives - and to a resolution of the issue by the legislators. The debate has another important hiatus: the analysis of personal scope, intersectionality, wider EU policies and legal instruments, as well as the enforcement hierarchy. The separate examination of the hierarchy stemming from material and personal scope suggests that the latter does not benefit the same groups as the former. Personal scope protects members of majority groups to a higher degree than minorities in many cases, in that it is more likely to extend to them the legal protections intended for minorities, ignoring the inherent asymmetry in power and resources between the two groups. Finally, enforcement hierarchy seems to run counter to the original claim concerning a hierarchy of protected grounds.
Körtvélyesi studies the overrepresentation of Roma children among those forcibly removed from their families, in light of global trends showing similar disparities among minority children. The data provide prima facie evidence of discrimination, though it remains debated whether these are more direct acts of discrimination by family services or rather the results of indirect and systemic discrimination, where minority status and deprivation are further sanctioned. The article contends that European anti-discrimination law can cover both types of discrimination, and existing case law makes strategic litigation a powerful tool for establishing an official account of the facts, raising awareness of this particularly cruel violation, providing effective remedies, and making the case for policy changes that can prevent further disproportionate removal of Romani children from their families.
Kádár provides an overview of EU law provisions applying to national equality bodies. It summarizes the main provisions of the new directives, the legislative procedure leading to their adoption, and the surrounding debates. It concludes by a discussion of the implementation requirement and argues that the independence requirement has particular relevance in Hungary now.
Sólyom's study discusses Lon Fuller's book 'Morality of Law', in connection with the recently published first German edition. The author argues that although Fuller's legal theory is strongly linked to the institutional structure of the common law tradition, the general insights of the theory could also be fruitfully applied in European continental legal cultures. Among these general insights, the study highlights the importance of the principle of reciprocity, the concept of the internal morality of law, and Fuller's conception of adjudication. The study concludes that Fuller's conception of law is more helpful than legal positivism in understanding the difficulties of transitions to the rule of law and in recognising the pathological symptoms of legal systems drifting towards autocracy.
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Lídia Balogh and Tímea Drinóczi take a close look at the narrowing scope of the "Women 40" pension scheme that offers beneficial conditions based on sex. They focus on equal treatment and constitutional aspects, providing a deeper dive into normative questions that connect the analysis to EU standards. Finally, they engage with empirical concerns, i.e. the efficiency and impact of the pension scheme.
András Kádár offers a critical assessment of the regressive judicial interpretation of sanctions and remedies against the wrongdoing of public authorities that result in civil rights violations, and more specifically in structural discrimination.
Situating the issue in the context of global trends and seeking out viable strategies to counter these trends, Attila Szabó analyses the rule of law crisis in Hungary as concerns LGBTQI rights
Katalin Szajbély from the Hungarian Helsinki Committee reports on strategic lawsuits aimed at improving the situation of persons with disabilities in penal institutions.
The article by Tamás Dombos and Eszter Polgári presents research findings exploring the consequences of the abolition of the Hungarian Equal Treatment Authority. ■
Visszaugrás
