New submission to the Council of Europe highlights Hungary’s continued failure to enforce freedom of information judgments

Four Hungarian civil society organisations, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, K-Monitor and Transparency International Hungary submitted a new communication to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in April 2026 concerning the execution of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the Kenedi v. Hungary case, with a view to an upcoming meeting of the Committee of Ministers where the case is on the agenda. The submission argues that Hungary continues to fail to address the systemic problems underlying the judgment regarding access to public information and the enforcement of court judgments ordering state authorities to disclose public interest data.

The Kenedi v. Hungary case concerned a historian’s efforts to access documents for research purposes. The respective ministry refused to grant him access, and although domestic courts had ruled in his favour, the ministry failed to comply with the domestic court judgment ordering disclosure. In 2009, the European Court of Human Rights found violations of both the right to a fair trial and freedom of expression because of the authorities’ continued resistance to grant access, the excessive length of ensuing enforcement proceedings, and the lack of an effective remedy.

In December 2024, the Committee of Ministers placed the case under so-called enhanced supervision and urged Hungary to adopt measures ensuring that state authorities comply with court orders granting access to public interest information. Yet the now previous government (in office until early May 2026) has taken no meaningful legal or administrative steps to address the systemic non-compliance. Its April 2026 action report even dismissed the case as isolated, despite evidence to the contrary, as also shown by the list of concrete examples provided in the civil society organisations’ submission.

The NGOs submitting the communication argue that the problems underlying the judgment remain unchanged. Enforcement tools are weak, enforcement proceedings are slow and burdensome, and sanctions for non-compliance lack deterrent effect. Criminal liability is almost never applied, while authorities can avoid consequences through delayed disclosure. At the same time, reliable data on enforcement is unavailable. As a result, persistent legal and practical shortcomings continue to undermine the effective enforcement of freedom of information judgments in Hungary, meaning the Kenedi v. Hungary judgment still cannot be considered fully implemented. In their submissions, the civil society organisations put forth a series of recommendations to ensure effective access to public interest data and to meaningfully address this rule of law problem.

The execution of the Kenedi v. Hungary judgment will be on the agenda of the Committee of Ministers on 9-11 June 2026.

The full communication is available here:
Rule 9(2) communication in the Kenedi v. Hungary case (15 April 2026)