A bűnszervezet aktuális kérdései, avagy kié az értelmezés hatalma? I. rész

The study examines the concept of criminal organization, one of the most severe legal institutions of Hungarian criminal law, and its judicial application. The research is prompted by the new statutory definition that entered into force on July 10, 2019, which introduced the elements of "hierarchical structure" and "conspiratorial operation" to replace the former "coordinated operation." The explicit legislative objective of the amendment was to establish a sharper distinction between a criminal organization and a criminal conspiracy, as well as to curb the establishment of criminal organization status in judicial practice. The authors subject international sources to a dogmatic analysis and comprehensively review the domestic high court decisions of the past more than six years. They conduct a comparative analysis between the interpretation of the Kúria (Supreme Court) and the jurisprudence of the five Courts of Appeal. In its 2019 meeting of panel chairs and its subsequent rulings, the Kúria essentially attempted to preserve its former, expansive practice. It equated the new conspiratorial operation with the former coordinated operation, which contradicts the legislative intent. At the same time, the Courts of Appeal - particularly by distinguishing between external and internal conspiracy - have in many cases developed a substantive, restrictive, and progressive practice. The Constitutional Court has so far refrained from a substantive examination of the concept of criminal organization. The study concludes that the new concept did not automatically result in universally more favorable treatment for defendants. In order to restore predictability and legal certainty, the authors argue that a new uniformity decision by the Kúria is urgently needed. Failing this, the Constitutional Court should confine the boundaries of legal interpretation, or ultimately, the legislature must adopt an authentic interpretive provision that is binding on all.