Helsinki File: Government attacks against civil society

Five years ago, on World Refugee Day, the Hungarian Parliament passed the infamous “Stop Soros” law, criminalizing assistance provided for asylum seekers and stigmatizing independent NGOs. Taking stock of the past five years, our new paper puts the attacks faced by Hungarian NGOs in the context of an illiberal transition.

Budapest, 20 June 2023 – On the fifth anniversary of Hungary’s anti-NGO laws, Hungarian civil society organisations call on the government to fully implement court judgments that uphold their rights.

On 7 December 2022, the Hungarian Parliament amended the infamous Stop Soros law in a last-minute amendment that was introduced through a parliamentary supercommittee to an unrelated omnibus bill. The changes will enter into force … Read more

In 2018, the government propaganda outlet Figyelő published a blacklist of 200 members of civil society and academia – including the Hungarian Helsinki Committee staff –, calling them “Soros mercenaries”. It took years to have … Read more

On November 23, the Curia (also known as the Supreme Court of Hungary) found that an article published by the Hungarian media giant Mediaworks does not violate Labrisz Lesbian Association’s right to good reputation by … Read more

According to civil society organisations, the bill submitted by the Government which would amend the rules of public consultation “in the interest of reaching an agreement with the European Commission” offers only pretend solutions. Strengthening public participation in lawmaking is an important goal, but it would require, first and foremost, real governmental will, meaningful implementation of existing laws, and much more effective guarantees than those included in the draft law.

On 18 June 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared that Act LXXVI of 2017 on the Transparency of Organisations Supported from Abroad (“LexNGO 2017”), which stigmatised certain civil society organisations (CSOs) … Read more

Today the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) found that the 2018 ‘Stop Soros’ law breaches EU law, after the European Commission took Hungary to court. The CJEU made it clear: threatening people … Read more

The demonisation of migrants is the first step leading to the attacks against those showing solidarity with them.

Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, was invited to the expert panel of the Monitoring Group’s session on 29 April 2021 to exchange views on civil society space in the EU, in particular … Read more

Press release of the Civilisation Coalition

Ten months after the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Hungarian government finally moves to repeal the Lex NGO. This is an important development for affected civil society organisations (CSOs) as it ends 4 years of unnecessary and damaging stigmatisation. 

Six months ago, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that Hungary’s NGO law violates the EU law. To date, however, no steps have been taken by Hungary to comply with the judgment. In the face of this, NGOs recommend 3 steps for the European Commission.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled yesterday that the 2017 Hungarian law requiring non-governmental organizations receiving at least HUF 9 million in grants from outside Hungary to register in a special … Read more

According to the Court of Justice Advocate General’s opinion, the fact that under the Hungarian 2017 Lex NGO, civil society organisations receiving foreign donations are subject to restrictions violates the right to the protection of … Read more

The Prime Minister’s Office admitted in a press release today that he had misinformed the Hungarian public by presenting “misleading and falsely presented facts” about the activities of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. As the Supreme … Read more

The Kúria (Supreme Court of Hungary) upheld the Budapest Court of Appeal’s (Fővárosi Ítélőtábla) previous final judgment in all aspects: The Hungarian Government’s 2017 National Consultation Questionnaire contained false allegations and ruined the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s reputation. The … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee welcomes the decision of the European Commission to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for what the Hungarian government calls the ’Stop Soros’ act. The … Read more

Exactly one year ago, amendments to the Hungarian asylum system came into force that drastically reduced the chances of genuine asylum-seekers to receive protection by fundamentally altering the asylum procedure. This past year saw threats … Read more

Defending the flame of threatened civil society in Russia, Poland and Hungary

The Constitutional Court (CC) held today that the Criminal Code amendment by the “Stop Soros” package is constitutional. Although the CC concluded that it would be unacceptable if those who selflessly assist asylum seekers were … Read more