<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This paper aims to elaborate on the dilemmas Hungarian courts face when they appear in the forefront of policy implementation. Firstly, what kind of (legal) sources and documents should the court involve in in its legal interpretation? Secondly, what are the trade-offs between offering effective remedy sanctions and respecting the differences between branches of law and the division of power? For purpose of this analysis, we turn to the example of school segregation lawsuits between 2007 and 2022. In terms of equal and equitable education, the regulatory frameworks in the CEE Countries are harmonized to the EU standards and are strongly based on the anti-discrimination approach. In theory, policy programs and documents could be used as a source of facts, as well as a source of information regarding legislative goals and policy context. In theory, courts should aim to opt for sanctions with the most potential to achieve effective remedy. If this leads to specific policy-type sanctions, within the bounds of the parties’ actions courts should be able to decide so. However, courts tend to refrain from such sources and decisions. In the context of democratic backsliding the possibilities of such activism are somewhat unclear. Issues around the independence of the judiciary, the attitude of the executive branch towards certain social policy issues, and the practice of overwriting by amendment on part of the National Assembly supermajority may discourage courts and judges from policy-sensitive or innovative adjudication of cases with social policy relevance.</p>
</abstract>

This paper aims to elaborate on the dilemmas Hungarian courts face when they appear in the forefront of policy implementation. Firstly, what kind of (legal) sources and documents should the court involve in in its legal interpretation? Secondly, what are the trade-offs between offering effective remedy sanctions and respecting the differences between branches of law and the division of power? For purpose of this analysis, we turn to the example of school segregation lawsuits between 2007 and 2022. In terms of equal and equitable education, the regulatory frameworks in the CEE Countries are harmonized to the EU standards and are strongly based on the anti-discrimination approach. In theory, policy programs and documents could be used as a source of facts, as well as a source of information regarding legislative goals and policy context. In theory, courts should aim to opt for sanctions with the most potential to achieve effective remedy. If this leads to specific policy-type sanctions, within the bounds of the parties’ actions courts should be able to decide so. However, courts tend to refrain from such sources and decisions. In the context of democratic backsliding the possibilities of such activism are somewhat unclear. Issues around the independence of the judiciary, the attitude of the executive branch towards certain social policy issues, and the practice of overwriting by amendment on part of the National Assembly supermajority may discourage courts and judges from policy-sensitive or innovative adjudication of cases with social policy relevance.

When social policy walks into the justice system...

Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin

Central European Journal of Public Policy

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"When social policy walks into the justice system..."}

This paper aims to elaborate on the dilemmas Hungarian courts face when they appear in the forefront of policy implementation. Firstly, what kind of (legal)...

	Civil lawsuit			Administrative lawsuit			Labor and employment lawsuit
	P&S elements The percentage of court decisions where the verdict contained statements with social policy, education policy, social science, or education science content.	Programs & documents The percentage of court decisions where the verdict referenced a social policy or education policy program or document.	Number of cases	P&S elements	Programs & documents	Number of cases	P&S elements	Programs & documents	Numberof cases
School segregation	89%	31%	15	100%	0%	3	-	-	0
Employment	0%	0%	1	0%	0%	2	41%	13%	14
School provision	-	-	0	40%	6%	10	-	-	0
Special needs children	100%	50%	2	50%	33%	4	-	-	0
Other	0%	0%	1	0%	0%	1	-	-	0

When social policy walks into the justice system...

Pubblicato online: 14 ott 2023

Pagine: 1 - 12

Ricevuto: 20 lug 2023

Accettato: 22 ago 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cejpp-2023-0013

Parole chiave
policymaking, education, public policy, courts, judgement analysis, Hungary

© 2023 Borbála Dombrovszky et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Significant cases by issue, legal branch, and contents of verdicts 2007–2022

When social policy walks into the justice system...

Pubblicato online: 14 ott 2023

Pagine: 1 - 12

Ricevuto: 20 lug 2023

Accettato: 22 ago 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cejpp-2023-0013

Parole chiavepolicymaking, education, public policy, courts, judgement analysis, Hungary

© 2023 Borbála Dombrovszky et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Significant cases by issue, legal branch, and contents of verdicts 2007–2022

Parole chiave
policymaking, education, public policy, courts, judgement analysis, Hungary