Decisions of the Constitutional Court between 20 April and 20 August, 2016

Abstract

The Constitutional Court decided 89 cases between 20 April and 20 August, but only in 2 cases did the CC find a body of law unconstitutional. The CC found that the Act on the Right to Peaceful Assembly lacks certain rules which makes this body of law unconstitutional. The CC called on the Parliament to amend the act by the end of this year. The CC decided several cases on the merits of constitutional complaints. Since the rules on this procedure are basically new, the CC faces several challenges on deciding which complaint can be declined and which should not and especially on what ground. During these three months the CC dealt with a complaint of a state hospital. In this case the CC discussed whether a state institution has a standing and what the requirements of a complaint by a state institution are. Prior to this case the CC automatically declined any complaint by state institutions (or any institution with public authority regardless of the details of the case). About the same question could have arisen in connection with two complaints by civil suitors. However, the CC did not decide on this basic question and simply decided the case without examining whether a civil suitor can challenge a court’s decision in a criminal case and ask for aggravation (which was the case in both complaints the CC decided). The CC declined both complaints, however, not because of the lack of standing of the civil suitor.