Amputee despite doctor’s order. Bound but not obliged? On prior notification under the Hungarian Act on the freedom of assembly

Abstract

Focusing on the arguments of the Constitutional Court's two relevant decisions (of 2001 and 2008), the article examines the current Hungarian list of legal causes for dispersing a crowd. The paper argues that the 2008 decision contradicts an important observation of the 2001 decision, and, while based on the EctHR jurisprudence on the freedom of assembly, it goes, to say the least, beyond the implications of the Bukta decision: the Constitutional Court abolished the legitimate requirement of prior notification of the police, creating a legislative hole-exemplified by the practical implications as well as by a recent court decision.