Category: News

Earlier this month, the European Commission decided to drop Article 7 proceedings against Poland. The decision shows the EU’s primary rule of law tool is still alive, but that problems with its design persist – both in Hungary and Poland. To defend democratic security in the next institution cycle, steps need to be taken to make Article 7 more effective. Article by Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, originally published on Visegrad Insight.

Less than a year after taking remarkable steps to strengthen the independence of courts to gain access to frozen union funds, the Hungarian government is back again on its decade-long agenda to dismantle the system … Read more

Hungary will hold multiple elections on 9th June:

• local elections of mayors and local government representatives,
• minority self-government representatives,
• Hungary’s Members of the European Parliament.

This Q&A provides practical information on the right to vote of NON-EU citizens (third country nationals) in the elections on 9th June 2024 in Hungary.

Are you an EU citizen in Hungary? See this guide.

Hungary will hold multiple elections on 9th June:

• local elections of mayors and local government representatives,
• minority self-government representatives,
• Hungary’s Members of the European Parliament.

This Q&A provides practical information on the right to vote of EU citizens in the elections on 9th June 2024 in Hungary.

Are you a non-EU citizen in Hungary? See this guide.

The Criminal Justice Programme of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) drafted a comprehensive response to the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency’s (FRA) FRANET research network’s Hungarian focal point touching upon 18 topics related to Criminal Detention in the European Union: Conditions and Monitoring.

On 9 June 2024, Hungary will hold elections for Members of the European Parliament, local government representatives, and representatives of minority self-governments. These will be the first nationwide elections since 3 April 2022, when Hungary … Read more

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe supervising the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights will put the case of former Chief Justice András Baka on the agenda in June 2024 again to examine the steps taken by Hungary to remedy the systemic problems that also concern Hungarian judges’ freedom of expression.

A gap-filling comparative and comprehensive research study on how the issue of applicants’ right to know and to access classified information is regulated in immigration-related proceedings in the Member States of the European Union, and whether national frameworks are in line with European standards.

A young Syrian woman fled both from the war and from forced marriage. She desperately needed help on several levels, yet she was locked up in Hungary. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in … Read more

In December 2023, the European Court of Human Rights rejected two requests for interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court in the case of a Russian dissident, who is to be returned … Read more

A ministerial decree has been published, outlining the comprehensive rules for the implementing of a credit system in Hungarian penitentiary institutions starting from 1 March 2024. The core concept of the credit system revolves around the … Read more

The Hungarian government has extended the temporary protection of people from Ukraine living in Hungary for another year.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Hungary arbitrarily detained two children who applied for asylum in 2016. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee represented the asylum-seeking children against the Hungarian state that violated their rights.

Since its founding, the fairness of elections, the basis of a democratic state based on the rule of law, and the right to vote has been of primary importance for the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. In line with our goals and main fields of activities defined in our statute, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee plans the following activities in relation to the forthcoming municipal and European Parliamentary elections in Hungary:

Act LXXXVIII of 2023 on the Protection of National Sovereignty entered into force on 23 December 2023. The Act consists of two distinct elements: the setting up of the new Sovereignty Protection Office as of … Read more

Nine years after the European Court of Human Rights condemned Hungary for violating the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment due to its prison conditions, detainees continue to face substandard living conditions that fall short … Read more

Another client of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee has won a case in Strasbourg. Hungarian police pushed an Iraqi Kurdish boy to Serbia without any investigation. The inhumane Hungarian regulations made this possible – which are in effect even today, despite several international and EU court rulings declaring them to be a severe violation of fundamental rights. The Hungarian state treats children in need of asylum this way.

Hungary is in dire need of EU funds. Yet, as a consequence of systemic corruption, fundamental right violations and public policy deficiencies, the bulk of EU funding remains suspended. Financial measures affect Union Funds under the Multiannual Financial Framework (MMF), as well as the Recovery and Resiliency Facility (RRF). The Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s scrollytelling tool unpacks blocked payments for Hungary and the related procedures.

For the fifth year in a row, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee is contributing to the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report in coordination with other Hungarian human rights and anti-corruption CSOs. Once again, Amnesty … Read more