Helsinki File: Reports to international organisations

The HHC’s submission to the Committee of Ministers shows that the Hungarian Government has been failing to execute judgments of the European Court of Human Rights that concluded that the rules on imposing whole life imprisonment in Hungary violate the prohibition of inhuman or degrading punishment.

Our communications to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe show that the independence and integrity of the judiciary in Hungary has been further weakened by the government, and Hungary has been failing to implement the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the Baka case.

In its communication submitted to the Committee of Ministers, the HHC warns again that Hungary has been failing to address systemic deficiencies with regard to handling ill-treatment by the police, and so has been failing to execute the respective judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Hungarian government may very well face firmer measures by the Council of Europe if it continues to fail to fully execute the judgment issued by the European Court of Human Rights in the Baka v. Hungary case. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe calls on Hungary to present the guarantees of the independence and freedom of expression of judges.

The Hungarian government has for many years been reluctant to take any meaningful action to safeguard the freedom of expression and independence of Hungarian judges. The execution of the Baka v. Hungary judgment is going on since 2016, but the Hungarian state has not lifted a hand yet.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee submitted its statement, including recommendations, on issues related to law-making in Hungary to the OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Democratic Law-Making: Ensuring Participation. In our statement, we drew the attention … Read more

Our intervention at the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee Working Group on Frontex Scrutiny on push-backs and the Agency’s human rights record in Hungary.

The European Court of Human Rights established in 2019 that Hungary failed to discharge their procedural obligation under Article 3 to assess the risks of ill-treatment before removing the two asylum-seeking applicants to Serbia. The … Read more

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves the review of the human rights record of all 192 UN Member States once every four-and-half year. It was created by the UN General … Read more

The European Court of Human Rights established in 2015 that overcrowding in penitentiaries in Hungary constitutes a structural problem. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe examines the Varga and Others v. Hungary … Read more

The Ombudsperson’s status as a national human rights institution will be reviewed in June 2021. In its shadow report submitted ahead of the review, the HHC warns that the new Ombudsperson, who took office in September 2019, has failed to demonstrate adequate efforts in addressing all human rights issues, and has failed to speak out in a manner that promotes and protects all human rights, similar to his predecessor.

This submission has been prepared by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee in response to the call for input of the Special Rapporteur, to inform his report to the 47th session of the United Nations Human Rights … Read more

After the Hungarian government declared a state of danger due to the pandemic in March 2020, one of the first extraordinary measures adopted was a blanket ban of all kinds of gatherings, demonstrations and assemblies, … Read more

The Hungarian Government has failed to address in a satisfactory manner the concerns around the right to freedom of expression of Hungarian judges. Therefore, in its decision published today, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has not closed the supervision of the judgment delivered by the European Court of Human Rights in the Baka v. Hungary case, and requested the Hungarian authorities to submit an updated action plan.

Information update by the HHC on the execution of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the Varga and Others v. Hungary case

The Hungarian state failed to remedy the legislative deficiencies that have led to the breach of the right to peaceful assembly on several occasions in the past. Although a new assembly law was passed, sufficient … Read more

A communication by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Amnesty International shows that due to the legal and institutional structures created by the governing majority, the chilling on the freedom of expression of judges effect is encoded in the Hungarian court system, and Hungary has failed to adopt guarantees to avoid retaliation against judges voicing criticism in relation to the independence of the judiciary.

The HHC provided input for the upcoming report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture on psychosocial dynamics conducive to torture and ill-treatment.

The HHC’s input for the Special Rapporteur’s report on “Psychosocial dynamics conducive to torture and ill-treatment”

The HHC submitted a communication to the Committee of Ministers on the execution of a 2015 pilot judgment on inadequate detention conditions in Hungarian prisons and the related compensation system. The HHC is of the view that the Hungarian Government should be under strict scrutiny while carrying out its announced review of the system of compensations for prison overcrowding.