Szokásjog és analógia a büntető jogalkalmazás történetében és jelenében

Abstract

In my article, I deal with the prohibition of customary law and analogy to the detriment of the perpetrator. Both mentioned prohibitions arise from the principle of legality. The starting point of the analysis is a decision of the Hungarian Supreme Court in 1898 dealing with the criminal offence of theft related to electricity. I presented examples of the extensive and then of the restrictive interpretation by Hungarian criminal courts. My conclusion is that the principle of legality may obviously infringe, for example, criminal liability extended by analogy. However, an overly restrictive interpretation must also be avoided, as this could threaten to violate the state’s obligation for criminalization.