The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has submitted its response to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders for her forthcoming and final report to the 61st session of the Human Rights Council. The call for … Read more
Breaches of judges’ freedom of expression have been a long-standing problem in Hungary. The individual instances may not be as blatant as in the case of Poland, however, the issue is persistent. For a long … Read more
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee participated at the 2025 OSCE Human Dimension Conference. This 11-day conference was dedicated to discussions on the condition of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the OSCE area. The conference provided … Read more
Two new resources developed under the Horizon Europe–funded RED-SPINEL project provide practical guidance for civil society and legal professionals on how to anticipate, detect, and respond to rule of law backsliding and fundamental rights violations across Europe.
The Article 7(1) TEU procedure against Hungary was launched by the European Parliament in 2018 to assess whether there is a clear risk of a serious breach of the Union’s fundamental values. Since then, the … Read more
Seven Hungarian civil society organisations submitted a third-party intervention to the European Court of Human Rights in the case of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and Others v. Georgia (Application no. 31069/24). The case was filed on behalf of 140 complainants following the adoption of Georgia’s Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence which infringes the rights of independent civil society organisations and private individuals.
Mapping paper on the public consultation on draft laws, parliamentary law-making, and the perpetuated states of exception
Civil society organisations warn that the functioning of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, the country’s national human rights institution, continues to fall short of international standards, failing to protect human rights and vulnerable communities. They remind that the new Commissioner, who will have to be nominated shortly, should be selected in a transparent and merit-based procedure.
A new proposal for a law would allow the Hungarian government to blacklist a broad range of for-profit and non-profit entities, severely limiting their ability to operate. Hungarian civil society organisations explain the details and how the law would silence watchdogs and shield government abuse.
The European Union’s conditionality framework plays a crucial role in safeguarding the rule of law, fundamental rights, and financial integrity within Member States. The 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the Recovery and Resilience Facility … Read more
Recent legislative proposals threaten with the “suspension” of Hungarian citizenship, violate freedom of assembly, and effectively ban Pride. These changes represent a significant escalation in the Government’s efforts to suppress dissent and weaken human rights protection, and elevate exclusion and the threatening of dissenters to a constitutional level.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association and the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression are working on reports on elections for the Human Rights Council in June … Read more
How the Ombudsperson’s weak independence and concentrated mandates weaken fundamental rights protection – Human rights defenders assess the performance of Hungary’s national human rights institution
Hungary continues to deny equal voting rights to members of national minorities, despite the European Court of Human Rights’ final ruling in the Bakirdzi and E.C. v. Hungary case in April 2023.
The European Parliament’s LIBE Committee invited the HHC to an exchange of views on Hungary’s backsliding on democracy and the rule of law, on 27 January 2025.
Watch the full exchange of views on the European Parliament’s website here.
For the sixth 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 in the framework of the stakeholder consultation launched by the European Commission
More than eight years have passed since the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgment in the Baka v. Hungary case. The implementation of the judgment would require Hungary to pass legislative measures … Read more
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s replies to requests to provide information by the Hungarian national focal point for the FRANET research network of the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA)
Breaches of the freedom of expression of judges have been a long-standing problem in Hungary. The individual instances may not be as blatant as in the case of Poland, however, the issue is persistent: for … Read more
Sweeping public protest of Hungarian judges against a political deal undermining judicial independence