Law & Sustainability
The Liability Issue and the Notion of Environmental Damage: A Starting Point of Definition
Environmental damage; environmental liability; transboundary harm; state responsibility; strict liability; international environmental law
The article examines environmental damage as a prerequisite of liability in international law. It compares treaty-based definitions, transboundary harm regimes, and state and civil liability, highlighting the fragmentation of existing rules and the absence of a universally accepted definition.
KECSKÉS, GÁBOR
European Union Transportation Policy from the Treaty of Maastricht up to Now
EU transport policy; transport liberalization; trans-European networks; sustainable mobility; internal market; European integration
The article traces the legal and policy development of the EU’s common transport policy, focusing on market liberalization, trans-European networks, regulatory harmonization, and sustainable mobility. It highlights the gradual creation of a competitive and integrated European transport area.
MAJEWSKA, MAGDALENA
Green, Safe, and Misleading? ESG Investment Products, Greenwashing, and...
Consumer protection; ESG labelling; greenwashing; retail investor vulnerability; sustainable finance regulation
The rapid expansion of ESG-labelled investment products in the European Union has transformed sustainable finance into a mainstream retail market offering. Through digital platforms such as banking applications and robo-advisors, “green” investments are increasingly presented as both ethically desirable and financially responsible. While EU regulation has significantly strengthened sustainability-related disclosure through instruments such as MiFID II, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the EU Taxonomy Regulation, and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), sustainability classification does not imply reduced financial risk. Nevertheless, simplified ESG labels, fund names, and digital interface design may influence investor perception, particularly among vulnerable retail investors with limited financial literacy. This paper examines whether the current EU legal framework adequately protects retail investors from misleading sustainability framing in digital environments. It argues that EU sustainable finance law remains predominantly disclosure-based and insufficiently attentive to behavioural and perceptual effects. The paper proposes a more integrated interpretation of financial and consumer protection rules, emphasising vulnerability and the need to distinguish clearly between environmental alignment and financial safety.
AFRI, OBBIE
Regulatory Gaps in Hydrogen Technology in the Shadow of the Green Transition...
Hydrogen economy, regulatory gaps, excise taxation, explosion safety, disaster management protocols
The development of hydrogen-based transport and energy storage depends on a coherent regulatory framework adapted to the technology’s specific characteristics. Based on an analysis of the Hungarian regulatory environment, this study argues that hydrogen-related rules remain fragmented, creating administrative burdens and investment uncertainty for market participants. The paper examines taxation, urban planning, occupational safety, and fire protection rules, with particular attention to deficiencies in excise regulation and the safety-technical gaps of the National Hydrogen Strategy. The analysis shows that the lack of defined excise tax rates, the quality assurance shortcomings of NFM Decree 17/2017, and the strict installation restrictions of the National Telecommunications and Infrastructure Framework hinder both investment and the development of residential hydrogen infrastructure. In the absence of detailed domestic rules, market actors and authorities are often forced to rely on international standards, which only partly compensate for regulatory gaps. The study concludes that technological development has outpaced legislation and that targeted legal intervention is needed. It proposes the adoption of an independent hydrogen-specific disaster management guide, the harmonisation of intervention protocols with domestic legal frameworks, and the supplementation of the Technical Guidelines for Fire Protection with explosion-protection requirements. The findings underline that the objectives of the National Hydrogen Strategy cannot be achieved without integrating safety-technical considerations and resolving permitting anomalies affecting green technologies. The article offers a regulatory roadmap for legislators and technical planners seeking to reduce risks arising from the current regulatory hiatus.
HASULYÓ, GÁBOR
Current issue
