Facilitating War Crimes Procedures in Hungary: The New Criminal Code and Lex Biszku

Hungary witnessed a number of challenges and adopted various measures in 2012 with respect to the implementation and domestic application of international law. The present article concentrates only on two issues: the provisions of the new Criminal Code dealing with war crimes, and the entry into force of Lex Biszku, declaring the non-applicability of statute of limitations for grave breaches and crimes against humanity and its effects on the application of international law before domestic courts. The adoption of both pieces of legislation were intended to facilitate domestic procedures with respect to serious international crimes, and, although both legal acts could ultimately contribute to this goal, there seem to be some shortcomings as well. The present note seeks to provide a constructive criticism to both pieces of legislation.