26 It is vital that in liquidation proceedings, the victims of en- control, the conditions for which are the operability of the moni- vironmental damages should be specifically listed among the toring systems, presence on the site, as well as regular inspections. creditors’ claims, and also, that the authority should be allowed Public participation to launch a liquidation procedure against the users of the environment. Through predictable means of economic regulation that The protection of the common heritage of the nation is every- encourage prevention, it can be achieved that users of the envi- one’s duty; this is why the opinions of the stakeholders are of key ronment consider the preservation of the condition of the environ- importance in the process of law-making. This is supported by ment as a natural part of their activities. the procedures of public consultation, a substantial criterion Implementation of official decisions of which is to become familiar with the actual contents of the impact assessment. In all the official procedures concerning the The Deputy Commissioner inquired into the difficulties posed by common heritage of the nation, the civil society organisations the implementation of official decisions and obligations on envi- involved in the protection of the environment are entitled to the ronmental protection. As a general rule, it is the tax authority that legal status of a client. orders enforcement, whereas the environmental authority orders Constitutional Court motion regarding the act on national landscape planning concerning Lake Balaton implementation in official environmental procedures. These are burdened by providing advance amounts for the – often irrecover­ able – costs, so implementation may sometimes depend on wheth- The new National Spatial Plan defines the condition of our er there is financial coverage for it. As a result, the implementation environment in the long run, as well as the limits of its capacity, of the resolutions adopted by environmental authorities often does ultimately the protection of the elements ensuring the sustainabil- not materialise in practice, due to the lack of funds, although the ity of human life and the guarantees thereof, which is especially enforcement of the lawful condition is of key importance. relevant for Lake Balaton. If all this is not treated as a priority, this Organisational and procedural guarantees in environmental protection The Constitutional Court’s decision adopted in 2019 reaf- will, in many cases, cause an irreversible deterioration of the environment, and will involve harmful consequences that affect human health and well-being. This is why the Deputy Commissioner submitted a Constitutional Court motion to the Commissioner in firmed the criteria brought up by the Deputy Commissioner in autumn 2019. his “amicus curiae” submission regarding these guarantees. Curia petition regarding the Balatonföldvár settlement planning regulation It is a constitutional requirement that the holder of the official environmental and nature protection competence should not subordinate environmental and nature protection criteria to any other considerations in his/her decision-making. The Deputy Commissioner strongly emphasised the financial, organisation- The Commissioner, following the proposal made by the Deputy Commissioner, requested the Curia to review the respective building regulation. The municipality decrees should also be al and procedural law constitutional requirements that ensure adjusted to the regional and national plans that reflect public the protection of the environment and nature, which the legisla- interest and are established in higher ranking laws. The Deputy tor should also assess from the perspective of the non-regres- Commissioner urged government offices to initiate the amend- sion principle. ment of those municipality decrees that do not comply with these During the administrative reform, with a view to speeding up administration and reducing the administrative burdens of the clients, several licensing and reporting obligations were cancelled without their guarantee roles having been taken over by any other legal institution, or without having considered and assessed this circumstance in substance in legislation. However, these obligations cannot only be regarded as an “administrative burden” but they are the procedural guarantees for the harmony between the interests, as well as a fair distribution of the natural resources between the generations. The level of protection ensured by the laws cannot decrease, and the means of prevention should not be replaced by subsequent sanctions purely to make the procedure faster and cheaper. Furthermore, the legislator would also reduce the number and frequency of controls. As a result of the administrative reform, however, the responsibilities of the state will not decrease, as enforcing the requirements of substantive law requires stronger requirements. Plans and strategies in climate and air protection In the long-term planning processes, the requirement of sustainable development is more and more strongly emphasised. The strategic programmes are closely built on each other, their elaboration and implementation require a wide social and professional consensus. This is why the Deputy Commissioner took an active share in the elaboration of the new Hungarian energy and climate strategies. He drew attention to the fact that it is not sufficient to merely summarise the impacts of the existing programmes, plans and processes; a substantial reduction of harmful emissions should be achieved, for example, by developing public transport. As regards climate change, the interests of the present and future generations are best served by endeavouring to reduce emissions as much as possible, as part of which increasing the energy efficiency and energy saving of the population should receive more focus, as they are simple and efficient ways to achieve climate-related goals. REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF HUNGARY AND HIS DEPUTIES – 2019