Centralisation, Decentralisation and the Peaceful Public Coexistence

Abstract

In line with the stipulations of the Fundamental Law  of Hungary, local governments may adopt regulations on two legal cases: if authorised by law or if they want to regulate a local public affair. 
While in the first case it is not only the right but also the obligation of local governments to enact regulations that can even be sanctioned, in the second case it is almost completely optional. The scope of public affairs regulated by local governments is rather broad. Norms regulating peaceful public coexistence represent a separate subject area as in many cases they wish to regulate legal relationships pertaining to privacy. In the case of the latter issue, the clause stating that the local regulations shall not contradict any higher form of law is especially central. This paper introduces and examines those local government regulations which typically cause problems, with special emphasis on  the rules of peaceful public coexistence.