Applying Hidden Tools: Collecting Secret Information in the New Penal Procedure Act

Abstract

The Parliament passed the new Code of Criminal Procedure on 13 June 2017 (Act XC of 2017). One of the conceptional changes concerning the new Code affects the use of covert investigative measures for the purposes of criminal justice. The article tries to demonstrate the origins of the basic principles of the new regulation and how these are constructed. For this purpose, the European Court of Human Rights decision in the Szabó and Vissy v. Hungary case and its findings are used as a guide. The article evaluates whether the new regulations satisfy the requirements of the Court. Through a short introduction of the history and development of covert techniques and their role in modern investigations, the guarantees of the new Code are highlighted, which might be able to provide adequate safeguards against the misuse of covert measure, while – at the same time – not hindering their efficiency.