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Email this article The Concept of Legal Capacity in Private Law and Constitutional Law
Abstract
Legal capacity, i.e. being the holder of rights, is an essential legal term, but it does not necessarily mean the same in all areas of law. The article focuses on the concept and regulation of legal capacity in private law and the area of fundamental rights. These two areas deserve attention because their concepts of legal capacity seem to be closely connected even though they have different purposes in the legal system. The article discusses these connections and controversies from two complementary aspects. On a historical and comparative basis, the authors describe how the concept of legal capacity is rooted and evolved in private law and how other areas of law relate to that. Then, from a doctrinal perspective, they point out that the area of fundamental rights often relies on private law doctrines, however, it needs its own concept of legal capacity. The paper concludes with a model to interpret and assess the multifaceted relationship between legal capacity-related norms of the two areas of law.
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LITERATURE
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LEGAL ACTS
Act CXXXIII of 2003 on condominiums (Hungarian).
Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code (Hungarian Criminal Code).
Act V of 2013 on the Civil Code (Hungarian Civil Code).
Act XXXVI of 2013 on election procedure (Hungarian).
Constitution of Ireland.
Constitution of the Slovak Republic.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
European Convention on Human Rights.
Fundamental Law of Hungary.
German Act on the Reform of Guardianship and Custodianship.
German Civil Code (BGB).
German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO).
German Criminal Code (StGB).
Spanish Act 8/2021 on reforms of civil and procedural legislation to support people with disabilities in the exercise of their legal capacity.
Spanish Civil Code (Codigo Civil).
CASE LAW
Decision 48/1998 (XI. 23.) AB of the Hungarian Constitutional Court.
Decision of the ECtHR of 31 August 1999, APEH Üldözötteinek Szövetsége and Others v. Hungary, application no. 32367/96.
Judgment of the ECtHR of 16 December 1997, Canea Catholic Church v. Greece, application no. 25528/94.
Judgment of the ECtHR of 8 December 1999, Freedom and Democracy Party (ÖZDEP) v. Turkey, application no. 23885/94.
Judgment of the ECtHR of 2 October 2001, Stankov and United Macedonian Organisation Ilinden v. Bulgaria, application no. 29221/95 and 29225/95.
Judgment of the ECtHR (Grand Chamber) of 8 July 2004, Vo v. France, application no. 53924/00.
Judgment of the ECtHR of 18 September 2014, Ivinović v. Croatia, application no. 13006/13.
Order of the Second Senate of 29 January 2019 (2 BvC 62/14).
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/sil.2024.33.1.263-278
Date of publication: 2024-03-28 13:58:11
Date of submission: 2023-08-04 21:45:36
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Copyright (c) 2024 Balázs Tőkey, Bernadette Somody
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