Category: News

The Hungarian Government failed to provide adequate legislative response to the Venice Commission’s criticism on judicial reform

The notary of the village Rimóc (Northern Hungary) noticed that petty offence fines for lack of mandatory accessories for bicycles (ring, headlights, reflector prisms) are almost exclusively imposed on Roma people in the area, although … Read more

On 20 April 2012, Hungarian Minister of Justice and Public Administration, Mr. Tibor Navracsics submitted to Parliament a draft Parliamentary Resolution not to execute the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) taken in the case of Fratanolo v Hungary.

The Budapest Police's decision to ban Budapest Pride 2012 march, citing obstruction of traffic, not only breaches marchers' right to freedom of assembly, but is also severely discriminatory. The Budapest Pride march is scheduled to … Read more

Every day, around the world, tens of thousands of children, many of them unaccompanied minors, are deprived of their freedom and are locked up simply because they do not hold the right documentation. Children are often detained after fleeing abuse, poverty and war. This growing practice by governments has a devastating effect on the physical, emotional and psychological development of children and must be stopped.

The HHC’s 28-page long comments on the draft Criminal Code, published in February 2012. Criminal statistics do not warrant increasingly harsh penal policies planned by the government. Legal institutions that breacht the Fundamental Law and international law (e.g. three strikes law, life-long imprisonment without parole) remained in the draft, and it also contains disproportionate sanctions.

As part of public consultations on the draft Criminal Code, 5 human rights NGOs call for thorough reform of legal provisions on hate crimes.

Fact sheets prepared by the HHC, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and the Eötvös Károly Policy Institute on some of the cardinal changes related to the rule of law in Hungary

The HHC and other Hungarian NGOs met the rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission, and presented concerns related to the legislative steps of the Hungarian Government taken in the past 18 months, with special regard to the so-called cardinal laws.

Our latest short films showcase the work of Helsinki Committee lawyers in helping refugees and migrants in Hungary.

The government’s proposal for an amnesty for 23 Dec protesters at Parliament who now face absurd charges is well placed in a grotesque play, say the Helsinki Committee and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union.

Hungarian NGO’s send alternative answers to Viviane Reding, EU Fundamental Rights Commissioner

Criminal charges on account of violation of personal liberty against protesting MPs and activist of LMP run counter to human logic, since no one’s freedom of movement has been violated and anyone could access the Parliament building. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee is offering free legal assistance to activists detained by the police.

The project “Knowledge-based harmonisation of European asylum practices”, coordinated by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, held its closing conference in Budapest on 8-9 December 2011.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee finds the case of ethnic Hungarians from Slovakia losing their citizenship due to obtaining Hungarian citizenship astonishing and absurd. As a consequence of the bad neighbourly relations between the two countries, … Read more

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The Metropolitan Court in its judgment of November 5 acquitted Róbert Kiss, the leader of the ‘New Hungarian Guard’ of the charges of the abuse of right to assembly. According to the judge the Court should deliver its judgement on the basis of the “prevailing order in the country” and not according to the rule of law. This reasoning is especially problematic when the judge refers to the views of a particular political party.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee commented the draft law on the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture (OPCAT). The HHC welcomes the ratification of the OPCAT and the designation of the ombudsman as the national preventive mechanism. We are dissapointed however that the draft law does not cover all types of places of detention. We are concerned that NGOs which already acquired significant experience in monitoring detention are excluded from the national preventive mechanism which would start its operation only in 2015.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s study examines the negative stereotypes in the Hungarian media related to the topics of migration and refugees. The research was based on 300 articles collected and evaluated in 2011.