Municipal Law Enforcement Issues Arising from the Two-Tier Municipal System of Budapest, Capital City – From a District Perspective

Abstract

The municipal system of Budapest, Capital City is a two-tier system with the district municipalities operating in co-ordination with the Municipality of Budapest, Capital City. Such a two-tier nature of the municipal system is the source of various issues in practice, including – without limitation – the conflicts of powers, the lack of uniform law interpretation and uniform law application, diverging local regulator legislation, diverging interests, ad hoc and cumbersome enforcement of shared interests. Such a two-tier municipal system and the large number of district municipalities and district municipal law enforcement agencies carry the potential risk of the aforementioned issues, which have an adverse impact on the functioning of municipal law enforcement agencies, the entire system and law enforcement structure, as well as the fulfilment of municipal law enforcement tasks in Budapest, Capital City. The present study aims to highlight these issues and difficulties pinpointing why the particular phenomenon has an adverse impact on flawless municipal law enforcement operations. The present study does not aim to take a stance on legal interpretation disputes among municipal law enforcement agencies or on the relevance of their legal positions, or to bring justice in disputes arising between municipal law enforcement agencies and state agencies as a result of law interpretation. The present study, however, focuses on current issues and shortcomings that may relate to the two-tier municipal system of Budapest, Capital City, such as the lack of uniform vision, the regularly arising matter of centralisation vs. decentralisation of powers, and the indispensable introduction of uniform methodology and vocational training.