Social Sciences and Law

Abstract

The notion of ‘identity’ once seemed perfectly obvious and applied mainly to individuals. A spectacular evolution of the notion could have been considered in recent years. In the social sciences where it was associated with the notion of group but, after having invaded the public debate, it has now reached the law domain. It now appears in the debates and even the decisions of the constitutional courts of the member states of the European Union. This is a general movement which is part of a climate in which, to varying degrees, there is expressed dissatisfaction with regard to the operation of the institutions of the Union and, more particularly, their mode of creation of law, as soon as it benefits from the principle of primacy affirmed by the Treaties.

The purpose of this article is to gather and evaluate the information available through the various case law and comments, in order to better clarify the notion of constitutional identity and assess its effectiveness. The concept remains contested, and its use has not yet resulted in significant consequences, but its study is an opportunity to suggest improvements in the dialogue between the constitutional courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union; to also ask whether the notion of ‘constitutional identity’ could not be a valuable tool in redefining the relationship between the Union and the Nations that compose it.

Abstract

The notion of Constitutional Identity has attracted much scientific interest. However, it obscures, sometimes in a reductive manner, another legal reality: the existence of other identities, such as national, linguistic, and collective identities. Indeed, a reading of constitutions and constitutional court's decisions in Europe reveals a complex and evolving system of identities behind Constitutional Identity.

This paper argues that identity is not just a political argument but also a legal and normative one. From a constitutional law perspective, two main categories can be distinguished: a real identity existing prior to the constitutional norm, and a fictitious identity subsequent to the constitutional norm. These identities are interdependent and are linked to each other; the constitutional courts referring to Constitutional Identity in order to maintain this interweaving. Therefore, Constitutional Identity plays an argumentative function and, by determining the interpretation of constitutional norms and the meaning of constitutional concepts, it gives birth to different forms of constitutionalism in Europe.

Összefoglalás.

A növényi beporzást sok esetben segítik a beporzók, hozzájárulva a termés- és magképzéshez, szaporodáshoz. Ezzel a beporzók ökológiai és gazdasági értelemben is kiemelt fontosságú szerepet játszanak az emberek életében, környezeti, élelmezési, anyagi és egészségi biztonságuk vonatkozásában egyaránt. Az állati beporzás a zárvatermő virágos növények 87%-át érinti, ami a szárazföldi vegetációt alapjaiban meghatározza. Ebbe a körbe tartozik a termesztett növények háromnegyede is, így a mezőgazdasági termelésben játszott szerepük mind mennyiségi, mind minőségi értelemben kiemelkedő. Közvetlen kihatással vannak az emberi egészségre, létfontosságú vitaminok, ásványi anyagok biztosításával. A beporzók megőrzése, hanyatló trendjeik megállítása ezért az emberiség elemi érdeke, mind hazai, mind globális vonatkozásban.

Summary.

Pollinators, including wild and managed bees, hoverflies, diurnal and nocturnal butterflies, wasps, bugs, other insects, birds and mammals play an important role in the reproduction, seed and fruit production of most dicotyledonous plant species, including three-quarters of the cultivated plants. Through their pollination as an ecosystem service their ecological and economical importance is enormous, and has a key role in human safety regarding food, health, finances and the environment. Animal pollination can be only partially or essentially needed by a plant species to reach its optimal fruit or seed quality and quantity. The pollinator related wild plants are important elements of the terrestrial ecosystems, providing our environment safety through elemental material circles. However, the foraging and nesting resources they need are limited in managed ecosystems, such as intensive agricultural or industrial landscapes. Pollinators contribute to the production of the majority of cultivated plants at a certain extent, including such economically important crops like sunflower, oilseed rape, apple, cherry, water melon, etc. Their direct contribution to global food production seems to be low, only 5-8%, but this share in human diet ensures such nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are essential for health development and life. Furthermore, besides the physical health, pollinators play a key role in mental health as well by the provision of diverse and flowering environment, enjoyed by any outdoor activities. Unfortunately, populations of many wild pollinator species decline worldwide and high proportion of honeybee colonies are lost from time to time in several regions. The main drivers behind these declines are habitat loss and change caused mainly by agricultural intensification and urbanisation, climate change, invasion, pests and pathogens and pesticide use. To halt these declines overwhelming strategies are needed at local, national, regional and global level. The EU Pollinator Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets ambitious targets for pollinator conservation, initiating among others an EU level pollinator monitoring program, that is under test phase. These actions might have the chance to reverse the pollinator decline and maintain pollinators and pollination services, however, only in the case of real actions with joint effort of scientists, decision makers and the public.

Abstract

Constitutional identity appears as an increasingly frequent argument in the case law of constitutional courts in Europe. For many authors, it is a way to initiate dialogue with the European Union on equal terms. In this article, we argue that dialogue is not always a source of harmony, because the terms of the interaction are not exactly the same in Luxembourg and in the member states of the European Union. The Court of Justice of the European Union interprets the national identity of the member states in a way that is not always similar to the content given by the States to their constitutional identity. As a consequence, constitutional identity may allow the Member States to strengthen the specificity of their constitutional rules and, in turn, weaken the unity of European constitutionalism. Far from being an Esperanto, constitutional identity rather appears as the new legal Babel in Europe.

Abstract

In its ‘refugee quota decision’ of 2016 the Hungarian Constitutional Court (HCC) ‘invented’ its competences of ultra vires, sovereignty and constitutional identity controls. The sword of constitutional identity (CI) has been forged against foreign – first of all – EU law. In the development of the new concept the interplay between the Government, the Government-dominated parliament and the Constitutional Court loyal to the Government seems to be evident. The textual analysis of the relevant HCC's decisions proves that the Hungarian Constitutional identity (HCI) contains legal acts in force – including the Fundamental Law (constitution) and the Founding treaties of the EU -, legal acts ‘not in force but valid’ and activities related to the fight for independence of the Hungarian State.

As far as the nature of the HCI is concerned, the article demonstrates the strong relationship with sovereignty control, and the ‘historical constitution’ and emphasises the HCC's statement according to which the CI is not created by the constitution, it is merely acknowledges it.

Given the large number of elements identified as part of the HCI, its openness to the inclusion of further elements, and the questionable nature of the HCI, the author submits that the concept is inappropriate for any meaningful constitutional review.

The HCC – at least until now – despite being invited to do so, has refused to use the sword against EU secondary law and the judgment of the European Court of Justice, and avoided overt constitutional conflict. However, this does not mean that the HCC is ready to enter into sincere dialogue with the court in Luxembourg.

Összefoglalás.

Célkitűzés: Miosztatin (MSTN) genotípusok összefüggés-vizsgálata izomfejlődéssel és cardiovascularis paraméterekkel angol telivérekben.

Módszer: Három, MSTN-genotipizált csoportban echokardiográfiát és izomultrahangot végeztünk. Adatainkat SPSS 15.0 szoftverrel elemeztük.

Eredmények: A C/C csoport mért izomvastagságai 22,08 (p = 0,004) és 12,24 (p < 0,001) %-kal; a cardiovascularis rendszeré 6,33 (p = 0,015), 6,03 (p = 0,011) és 6,72 (p = 0,014) %-kal magasabb volt, mint a T/T genotípusnál. Pearson-féle R: anconeus pólyahossz r = 0,460; triceps r = 0,590; aorta Valsalva-öböl diasztolé r = 0,423, szisztolé r = 0,450, billentyűk síkjában szisztolé r = 0,462.

Következtetések: Az eredmények hozzájárulnak a galopplovak hatékony tréningmódszereinek kidolgozásához, így jelentősen befolyásolható eredményességük.

Summary.

Background: The myostatin gene (MSTN; g.66493737) C/T polymorphism has great influence on the development of the muscles and the rates between the types of muscle fibers as well as cardiovascular performance in thoroughbred horses. Consequently MSTN gene decisively determines the optimal race distance and racing ability in thoroughbreds through the muscle development regulation. A more detailed understanding of these genetic attributions and their associations leads us to be able to maximise the athletic potential of thoroughbreds.

Objective: In this paper the relationships were investigated between the MSTN genotypes and muscle development or the main cardiovascular parameters which affect or define the cardiac performance of thoroughbreds.

Methods: Ultrasonography and echocardiography was performed on each individual selected for our study. Sixty-six thoroughbreds were applied in each measurement (22 of each genotype, C/C, C/T and T/T). All of them participated at different races or were trained at the same time in Hungary. A portable MyLab™ ultrasound system (Alfa-Vet, Animal Healthcare Ltd.) was used for the measurements. To investigate the development of the candidate muscles the size of the anconaeous and triceps brachii muscles were used as indicators. The length of the mentioned muscles was given by the size of the total length of the muscle fascia (m. fasciae anconeus and m. fasciae triceps brachii). Thickness was measured at the largest anatomical diameter of the muscles. To characterize the cardiovascular system, the diameter of the Valsalva sinus of the aorta was measured at the end of diastole and systole, respectively, as well as the diameter of the aorta in the plane of the semilunar valves. The data were analyzed with the SPSS 15.0 for Windows software. Homogeneity of variance between groups was checked with Levene’s test and multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine the correlations between the measured variables and the myostatin genotypes.

Results According to our measurements relationship was detected between individual myostatin genotypes, muscular development and cardiovascular parameters of the thoroughbreds. The muscle thickness and fascicle length of group C/C of MSTN showed significant differences compared to group T/T. Aortic diameter at the sinus of Valsalva (end-diastole and end-systole) and aortic diameter at the valve (end-systole) also indicated significant differences between C/C and T/T genotypes too. The thickness of the two muscles (anconaeous and triceps brachii) in the group C/C was 2.08 (p=0.004) and 12.24 (p<0.001) % higher; and of the parameters of cardiovascular system were 6.33 (p=0.015), 6.03 (p=0.011) and 6.72 (p=0.014) % greater, respectively, than in the T/T genotypes.

Conclusions: The results contribute to a better understanding of the effects of MSTN genetic variations on phenotypes, which help to develop new, effective training methods for racehorses in order to prepare them for their best race distance according to their genotypes. Thus, the competitive performance and racing ability of thoroughbreds can be improved significantly.

Summary.

The research deals with the investigation of one alternative of carbon-dioxide utilization – underground storage – from a petroleum geoscience point of view. The basic assumptions and the results of the laboratory studies to be carried out later are based on a specific hydrocarbon field in Hungary. The previously measured and studied geological and petrophysical parameters of the reservoir (porosity, permeability, saturation, capacity, etc.) will be restudied and specified, based on the results of the new concept of laboratory experiments.

By defining these parameters, a 3D geological model, a “Dynamic model” will be created to understand the effect of carbon-dioxide injection on the dynamic behavior of a moderate-tight sandstone reservoir. Based on the results of the dynamic model, the storage capacity will be defined. The carbon-dioxide injection laboratory experiments will contribute to understanding these underground geo-chemical reactions (e.g. carbonation ability, compositional variation) and flow characteristics.

Összefoglalás.

Korunk egyik legmeghatározóbb problémája az üvegházhatású gázok, különösen a szén-dioxid kibocsátásának csökkentése. Alapvetően két fő ágra oszlanak ezen törekvések: egyrészt a kibocsátásért felelős technológiák optimalizálására/„zöldítésére”, másrészt a már kibocsátott szén-dioxid hasznosítására (CCU), illetve befogására és letárolására (CCS). A kutatás a szén-dioxid hasznosítás egyik alternatívájával, a föld alatti letárolás lehetőségének vizsgálatával foglalkozik földtudományi aspektusból.

A kézirat alap felvetései és a későbbiekben magmintákon elvégzendő laborkísérletek eredményei egy konkrét, Magyarországon található szénhidrogén mezőre vonatkoznak. Emiatt más szén-dioxid tárolására alkalmas földtani képződmény (sókaverna, széntelep, illetve sósvizes aquifer) vizsgálatára a tanulmány nem tér ki. A laborkísérletek eredményeinek segítségével az előzetesen a mérnöki gyakorlatban használt és ismert tárolói paraméterek (porozitás, permeabilitás, kapacitás, telítettség stb.) kerülnek pontosításra. Az elvégzendő labormérések: higany besajtolásos porozitás vizsgálat, centrifugális kapilláris nyomásgörbe és relatív permeabilitási görbék meghatározása, röntgendiffrakciós anyagvizsgálat. Ezen paraméterek ismeretében egy pontosított földtani modell kerül megalkotásra.

A kutatás első fázisában a már meglévő, ipari gyakorlatban alkalmazott kőzetvizsgálati módszerek kerültek felülvizsgálatra, és egy új szemléletű, az eddigi módszereket pontosító eljárás került kidolgozásra a hazai geológiai formációkra vonatkoztatva. A későbbiekben a kőzetmintákon végzett tárolói paramétereket szimuláló szén-dioxid besajtolási kísérletek a föld alatti reakciók (pl. karbonátosodási képesség) és az áramlástani sajátosságok megértéséhez és modellezéséhez is hozzájárulhatnak. Feltételezhetően a föld alatti reakcióknak köszönhetően egy, a korábbi becslésektől eltérő tárolótérfogatot lehet meghatározni.

Megállapításra került, hogy a szén-dioxid szuperkritikus állapotban besajtolva, rétegvízzel rendelkező zárt rétegekben egybefüggő „csóvaként” vándorol a porózus kőzeteken keresztül, amely a gravitációs szegregáció következtében vertikálisan kitágul a fedőkőzet alatt. Az oldalirányú szén-dioxid expanzió folyamatát a folyadékok csapdázódása korlátozza. Ezért a többfázisú áramlás és csapdázódás alapos vizsgálata elengedhetetlen a tárolókapacitás pontos meghatározásának érdekében.

A szén-dioxid besajtolhatóságát és a tárolási kapacitást nagymértékben befolyásolja a szén-dioxiddal telített sóoldat relatív permeabilitása, amely erősen függ a kőzet heterogenitásától. Miljkovic (2006) sóoldattal telített homokkő minták szimulációs méréseit hasonlította össze, amelyek csak a heterogenitás tekintetében tértek el egymástól. Megmutatta, hogy a kis strukturálatlan heterogenitás, úgy tűnik, nem befolyásolja jelentősen a CO₂ telítettségét és ennek következtében a tárolási kapacitást. Ezzel ellentétben Kuo és társai (2011) kimutatták, hogy a telítési profilt erősen befolyásolja a mag heterogenitása, és nagy injektálási sebességre van szükség ahhoz, hogy a heterogén közeg relatív állandó telítettségét elérje a homogénhez képest. Hozzájuk hasonlóan Shi és társai (2009) heterogén homokkő magokon szimulálták a szén-dioxiddal telített sóoldat elvezetését és beszívódását. Kimutatták, hogy a porozitás változása szignifikáns hatással volt a CO₂ migrációs mintázatára alacsony kiszorítási sebesség mellett és ez fokozatosan eltűnik az injektálási sebesség növelésével.

Fontos célkitűzésként jelenik meg a kutatásokban ezen tézisek vizsgálata, valamint a többfázisú áramlási kísérletek elvégzése a magyarországi CCS potenciális jelöltjeként számon tartott tároló magmintáin. A víz-gáz elvezetési relatív permeabilitási vizsgálatok szimulált tározókörülmények között szintén fontos új információkat fognak szolgáltatni, melyek lehetőséget teremtenek a CO₂ front végső eloszlásának meghatározására, valamint javaslattételre a tárolási kapacitás pontosítására és a geokémiai változásokra az adott tárolórétegekre jellemző heterogenitás függvényében.

Abstract

Personal data can be transferred to third countries without any additional measures by achieving the European Commission's adequacy decisions if the third country's data protection level is deemed essentially equal. Only a few countries have obtained this decision, and the United States is no longer one of them, since the European Court of Justice ruled in the Schrems II case that the Privacy Shield Decision could not provide ‘essentially equivalent’ protection for personal data to that provided by European Union legislation, and hence was invalid. This article will discuss what the term ‘essentially equivalent’ means and what it covers. Finally, it will examine and attempt to answer the question of whether the United States will ever reach the mentioned adequate level by comparing the examples of two adequate countries, the United Kingdom and Japan.

Abstract

The European Union, while acknowledging the pitfalls of problematic consumer markets, seems largely unwilling to deviate from an inflexible standard of consumer behaviour based on the ideal of the average consumer as a reasonably well-informed and observant market participant. The article aims to contrast this high consumer standard with the alternatives offered by the vulnerable consumer concept. The first part of the article deals with the notion of the average consumer as defined in European Union law and its interpretation by the European Court of Justice, particularly in cases concerning problematic markets. This is followed by a brief analysis of two potential interpretations of consumer vulnerability developed in the consumer protection literature. The final chapter examines in more detail the appearance of a singular major exception to the average consumer concept within the European Union consumer protection regime: the narrow scope of consumers acknowledged as ‘particularly vulnerable.’

Abstract

Since the Maastricht Treaty, two questions remain: what is the EU, and is there such as thing as an EU identity? Because of its specific nature, and in view of the political accession criteria, it seems there is an EU political identity. Consequently, the purpose of this article is to evaluate whether this EU political identity has had an impact on Member States' constitutional identity: because they were the latest countries to accede to the EU, but also because they were under a specific monitoring process, Bulgaria and Romania are the best examples of an EU influence, but only of a limited one.