Farkas Ádám: Questions and Options for the Emerging Reform of the Hungarian Security and Defence Regulation
2022/14
Both the Ninth Amendment of the Fundamental Law (hereinafter: A9FL), which was adopted on 15 December 2020 with provisions claiming political attention and affecting the defence and security functions of the state substantially, and Act XCIII of 2021 on the Coordination of Defence and Security Activities adopted on 15 June 2021 (hereinafter: Coordination Act) consistently forecast a reform of the regulations governing defence and security, and confirm these in their justifications. The joint entry into force date of the A9FL and the Coordination Law was set for 1 July 2023 to allow sufficient time to complete additional regulatory tasks and prepare for implementation, reflecting the unity of modernisation, one of the features of the reform. However, due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict turning into a war, the tenth amendment to the Fundamental Law brought forward the entry into force to 1 November 2022. Embarking on such a reform, however, seen in conjunction with moderate communication, necessarily raises a number of professional questions - even if political overtones are categorically separated - and at the same time opens up various possibilities for the regulatory and institutional framework for guaranteeing security in Hungary in the 21st century. As the author of these lines, I welcome the onset of such a process given that I stressed the urgency of reform in my previous research and proposals . In this context, however, it is also important to identify some questions and options that can help this country implement real reform once it walks down the road that the A9FL and the Coordination Act may open up, provided that our interpretation of the reform goes beyond full or partial upgrading of existing legislation and introduces a new regulatory and organizational era leading to functional and operational changes.