1987. Különkiadvány, 1987.10.01 / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2
or be prevented from exercising, hia rights. It is intolerable to prohibit tbe exercise of a right because tbere is allegedly no aocial need fór it.- That only a criminal offense is punishable. It is nőt acceptable to penalize, fór tbe eake of either re-education or crime prevention, a life- style or an activity that does nőt constitute a criminal offense. All lavs and decrees tbat affect civil rights must be revieved. The reviev must start out from the clarification of tbe status of humán rights in the Constitution. Bút there are several steps that can be taken even before the National Assembly passes the resolution amending the Constitution. At the same time these steps vould improve the status of civil rights, as temporary measures until the time-consuming reviev is completed.- According to the Constitution, the Citizen's basic rights are regulated by lav (Section 54, Paragraph 3). Bút there is no comprehensive lav on civil rights, and even the ratification of tbe International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights vas by lav decree. As the first step, then, the National Assembly should declare the Covenant a lav.- Since the Covenant's ratification, hardly anything has been done to adapt the entire body of statutory regulations to the obligationE Hungary assumed by signing the Covenant (there has been a slight expansion of the rights pertaining to a person as such, and 6omevhat more protection fór defendants in criminal proceedings). Hovever, a series of név regulations have come intő force that further vorsen the Citizen's legal position (the coercive measures the police may employ have become stricter; the policeman on duty has practically unlimited authority to search passers-by; press-lav and art violation6 have been introduced and assigned to the jurisdiction of the police courts; homes can be searched vithout authorization from the public prosecutor, under tbe nevly introduced institution of checking premises; the definition of vhat constitutes vagrancy has been broadened, and the penalty fór it has been made stricter; and the név Divorce Lav interferes in the priváté affairs of married couples). In its resolution declaring the Covenant a lav, the National Assembly must State that the body of statutory regulations ha6 to be brought in harmony vith the principles Iáid dovn in tbe Covenant. It should instruct the Constitutional Council to reviev all the statutory regulations that have been introduced since the Covenant's ratification and violate the spirit of that document.- Meanvhile the Supreme Court should is6ue an authoritative ruling vhich instructs the courts that the provisions of the Covenant take precedence over conflicting statutory regulations that violate the citizen's interests. The State*8 legal 6tructure must be brought intő harmony vith respect fór humán rights.- Ve have already discussed the need to restore the hierarchy of statutory regulations. Regulations affecting civil rights must be enacted as lavs. The lavs cannot limit themselve& to stating generál principles and leave n % ?7
