Annual report

 
Archive

REPORT

on the activities of the National Institute of Criminology (OKRI) in 2025

(Please find the final results of researches at "Research projects")

 

UTILISATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS

We devoted considerable attention to the utilisation of our research results in this reporting period, too. Areas for the utilisation of results include cooperation in the development of theories and the presentation of research results in educational activities (in training courses for trainee prosecutors and junior prosecutors, in university and college education and postgraduate courses etc.), as well as at conferences and other professional events. Our researchers have published in and worked as editors or reviewers for several professional journals. Their active involvement in scientific organisations is also of great importance. Our researchers who expressed their views in the media played an important role in informing the general public by presenting our results, approaches and opinions also in the course of the year under review as well.

1  Presentations

In 2025, researchers from the Institute delivered a total of 124 presentations at various conferences and professional forums. Of these presentations, 21 were delivered in a foreign language.
Requests to chair sections of conferences also indicate professional recognition and presume professional skills. In the reporting year, researchers from the Institute were requested to chair sections on 8 occasions.

2  Publications

During the reporting year, our researchers published altogether 63 publications, of which 4 were published in a foreign language. 3 of these were published abroad. The Institute has published 1 publications.
This year, OKRI’s researchers wrote 2 monographs, 14 book chapters, and authored 29 studies published in academic journals. In addition, 10 papers were published in publications of the Institute, and 1 studies elsewhere (abstracts, websites other than the Institute’s etc.). Furthermore, our colleagues received requests to edit various professional publications and journals 7 times this year. It is increasingly common that some publications are not published in print but are only available online. It is therefore fortunate that the researchers of the Institute can also take advantage of the flexible publication opportunities provided by the internet.

3  Involvement in domestic and international professional cooperation and project tenders

3.1  Professional cooperation

–  In response to an international invitation, we have joined the COST-action grant programme No. CA22128 ‘Establishing Networks to Implement the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations’ (IMPLEMENDEZ), which was established to create networks to implement the principles on effective interviewing for investigations, as a Hungarian partner (in accordance with the legislation, and on the basis of the nomination of the contact point of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office).
–   During the reporting year, a delegation from the East China University of Political Science and Law of Shanghai visited our institute as part of our cooperation agreement.
–   As part of the cooperation established in 2024 with the the Research Institute of Criminology of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the director of our Institute was invited to participate in a scientific conference in Samarkand.

3.2  Tenders

Our application continued as planned and was successfully completed during the reporting period.

Year of submission: 2022
Description of the project: ISF-2022-TF1-AG-THB
Title/subject: Identifying compaNies and Victims in the Exploitation phase to disRupt the financial business model of adult and child labour Trafficking (INVERT)
Parners:  Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan, Transcrime Research Centre – National Institute of Criminology

4  Involvement in professional organisations

Professional recognition of the Institute’s researchers is indicated by requests to participate in the work of various professional organisations and bodies, and effective contributions to them. Most researchers are members and/or officers of one or more Hungarian or international organisations having a profile associated with research topics.

In 2025, the Institute’s staff took part in the work of the following international professional bodies:
– European Forum for Restorative Justice (advocate member)
– European Society of Criminology (member)
– Independent Academic Research Studies (member)
– International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services, Mental Health Courts and Diversion Programs Special Interest Group (president)

5  Education

5.1  OKRI researchers provide regular training courses at the following higher education institutions:

• Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Department of Criminology
• Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Social Sciences
• Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Institute of Criminal Sciences
• National University of Public Service, Doctoral School of Law Enforcement
• National University of Public Service, Faculty of Law Enforcement, Department of Criminal Law
• National University of Public Service, Faculty of Law Enforcement, Department of Criminology
• Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Department of Substantive Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Sentencing
• Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Department of Environmental Law
• Széchenyi István University Deák Ferenc Faculty of Political Science and Law

5.2  Taught subjects, courses:

• Criminal law (substantive law, procedural law)
• Criminal protection of the environment
• Criminal psychology
• Criminal tactics
• Criminology
• Experiences in criminal proceedings related to animal cruelty (course)
• Fundamentals of forensic science
• Hungarian practice of judging crimes of nature damage (course)
• International and domestic action against environmental crimes (course)
• International conventions on keeping dangerous animals, European Union documents (course)
• Introduction to the criminal law foundations related to abused children
• Practical criminology
• Penitentiary-specific criminal law knowledge
• Profile of offenders
• Theoretical criminology
• Theory and practice of crime prevention
• Victimology
• Violations committed in the Natura 2000 area (course)
• Violence and crime
• Violent crime and domestic violence

5.3  Prosecutor training activities

The Institute’s researchers also participated in the training activities of the prosecutor’s office during the reporting period: Our Institute organized 3 professional-scientific conferences within the framework of credit-point further training, and we also participated in the annual professional-scientific conference of the prosecutor’s office. Our researchers also participated in further training organized by the prosecutor’s office on 3 occasions.

6  Media appearances

According to our records, researchers from the Institute featured as experts in print and electronic media on a total of 50 registered occasions in 2025: they appeared in the media 7 times in the printed press, 4 times in the radio, 20 times on a television channel and 19 times on the internet.

DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN RELATIONS

1  OKRI’s domestic relations

In general, the Hungarian relations of the Institute were similar to those in previous years.

The closest cooperation continued with the Office of the Prosecutor General and the prosecution service in general. Almost half of the work plan studies (10 in total) were initiated by the Office of the Prosecutor.
During the reporting period, professional cooperation was maintained with the Institute of Legal Studies of the Centre for Social Sciences (TK JTI) and the National Office for the Judiciary.
On April 8, 2025, our Institute concluded a cooperation agreement with the Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences. The basis of the cooperation is that the examination of expert evidence has been part of the OKRI’s research activities from the beginning, and as a defining tool of evidence, it can currently be considered a permanent research topic.
As representatives of the Office of the Prosecutor General, we regularly attend the meetings of the Committee for the Security Evaluation of Sport Events and take part in the electronic preparation of evaluation proposals in priority procedures. We also participate in the meetings of the Security Committee of the Hungarian Football Association. One of our researchers has been invited to join the network of prosecutors specializing in human trafficking.
Our Institute participated in the Researchers’ Night science popularization event series for the second time this year. We prepared for the event with three lectures and a special quiz. The event once again provided an opportunity for the lay public to get to know our Institute and our researchers, and to gain real-world knowledge about certain issues of crime.
In 2025, our researchers participated in 119 national conferences, round tables, or workshops – some of them online – where they gave presentations, and attended 90 additional domestic events without presenting.
Our researchers have traditionally contributed to higher education, with many holding academic titles.
During the reporting period, the Institute hosted four interns – law, sociology, criminology, and PhD students – from the Eötvös Loránd University, the Pázmány Péter Catholic University, the University of Pécs, and the University of Miskolc.

2  OKRI’s international relations

International relations play a key role in the life of research institutions. They provide valuable feedback for researchers and help assess OKRI’s research activities, as invitations to participate in international projects, joint proposals, or to publish in prestigious international journals all indicate that the Institute's research and professional achievements are valued by the international academic community. However, it should be noted that, once again this year, financial constraints have made it very difficult to maintain international contacts that involve personal participation.

During the reporting period, our researchers gave a total of 4 presentations at international events representing our Institute, and participated – either in person, online, or in hybrid form – in 9 additional events without giving a presentation.
Two of our researchers completed tutor training in the Council of Europe Programme on Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP). As a result our Institute also has a researcher with such qualification.
On May 13, 2025, we hosted two foreign and three Hungarian colleagues in our Institute as part of the general, English-language exchange program of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).
In November, our Institute hosted foreign (German, French and Romanian) trainee prosecutors visiting Hungary as part of the International Exchange program.
During the reporting period, our Institute also hosted representatives of the East China University of Political Science and Law of Shanghai, with whom we had a professional discourse.
In the reporting year, one of our researcher participated in a project meeting at the University of Coimbra in Portugal as a member of the COST Action Management Committee, where they worked on ongoing tasks supporting the implementation of the Mendez Principles.
During the year under review, our staff also made use of the opportunities offered by online platforms: in addition to participating in international scientific events, they engaged in self-training through various courses.

LIBRARY

As of December 2025, the library’s holdings totalled 10,019 inventory units.

In addition to acquisitions, exchanges and donations are important sources of enrichment for our collection. We consider it important to maintain good relations with libraries holding similar collections. Mutual cooperation supports professional library work and provides better access to information for users. Our exchange partners include the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg, the Office of the Prosecutor General, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, the Curia, the Library of the Faculty of Law Enforcement of the National University of Public Service, the Library of the Constitutional Court, and the Library of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights. We also maintain an excellent professional relationship with the Library of the Budapest General Prosecutor’s Office.
Our librarian curates the Office of the Prosecutor General’s peer-reviewed journal, Prosecution Review (Ügyészségi Szemle), and also assists researchers with MTMT data entry and the uploading of full-text publications to the REAL database upon request. We also respond to reference questions from both researchers and prosecutors. In addition, we welcome external readers by prior registration.
We regularly participate in professional training and conferences to stay up to date with current trends.
In 2023, we contacted the DOI office of the Library and Information Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and reached an agreement to assign DOI numbers to the articles of the Institute's annual journal, Criminological Studies. As a result, the articles of Criminological Studies published in 2023 and 2024 are now identified by DOI numbers and archived and uploaded by us in the REAL database in addition to the Institute’s website.
In 2025, we will subscribe to the following databases:
• Oxford Handbooks Online (OHO) Criminology and Criminal Justice;
• Oxford Handbooks Online (OHO) Sociology;
• Hungarian legislation in force in three languages (published by Wolters Kluwer).
At present, the library subscribes to the following international periodicals: The British Journal of Criminology; European Journal of Criminology; Kriminalistik; Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform.
 

INTERNAL CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM
OF THE INSTITUTE

4 presentations were delivered in the internal continuous development system of the Institute during the current year.

• 26 March
The procedural legal status of migrants transported by smugglers in European jurisprudence
Presenters: Anna Kiss & Szandra Windt
• 28 May
Assault on a Person Entrusted with Public Functions at Schools and Foster Homes
Presenters: Orsolya Bolyky, Eszter Sárik & Ágnes Solt
• 18 June
Juvenile perpetrators of child pornography in light of the results of two criminal case file studies
Presenter: Judit Szabó
• 22 October
Punishment without Crime – The Involuntary Treatment of Mentally Ill Offenders in Criminal Law
Presenter: Krisztina Gula

INSTITUTIONAL PUBLICATIONS

During the reporting period, 1 publications were published by the Institute.

1  Kriminológiai Tanulmányok 62 [Studies on Criminology, Vol. 62]
(Ed.: Tünde A. Barabás) National Institute of Criminology, Budapest, 2025
https://en.okri.hu/images/stories/KT/KT62_2025_summaries.pdf

In 2023, our journal, Criminological Studies, has been classified as a category B journal by the Committee of State and Legal Studies of Department XI of Economics and Law of the Academy of Sciences.

CONTACTS, POPULARISATION OF SCIENCE

 
Conferences in OKRI, 2025

1. 24 February, OKRI, Budapest
Title of conference: Victims of Crime Day 2025: “Is the Offender Also a Victim?”
Partners: Hungarian Society of Criminology Victimology Section, Ludovika University of Public Service

2. 26 June, OKRI, Budapest
Title of conference: Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Beyond the Administration of Justice
Partner: National Association of Prosecutors

3. 12 November, OKRI, Budapest
Title of conference: Jubilee Celebration of Hungarian Science: “Security at Sporting Events and Experiences in Insurance”

4. 4 December, OKRI, Budapest
Title of conference: Imputability in Criminal Law – Theoretical and Practical Issues in Light of the Challenges of the 21st Century
Partner: Institute for Legal Studies of the ELTE Centre for Social Sciences

NEWSLETTER OF THE INSTITUTE

Our Intranet Newsletter provides ongoing information to colleagues on a weekly basis on current institutional programmes and library developments and personnel news; in addition, attention may be brought to several online periodicals as a result of the individual activities of our researchers and our library manager.

WEBSITE

Our website provides information on a wide range of topics, including the following:

• reports published on the Institute’s wide-ranging operations;
• information provided on an ongoing basis on current domestic and international events;
• each of our researchers has an individual personalised interface where they can update their particulars, post their studies, and disclose other information;
• our publications, promoted in a special section;
• insights provided into the life of the Institute; news is supplemented with photos of memorable events;
• we assist in producing more specific searches with key data, as well as enhancing hits through international search engines;
• the English version of the homepage that assists foreigners in browsing;
• both in Hungary and internationally, in partnership with partner sites, there are more and more external links to the website of our Institute, therefore we also publish website access to many organisations and institutions in the “Useful links” section.

The renewed website is user-friendly, informative and its appearance is worthy of a European level research institute.