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#Ukraine Destitution and homelessness: the situation of vulnerable Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection

October 18, 2023
- Helsinki
We launched the YES project to help young refugees and immigrants in Hungary

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee is implementing the YES project (Youth Engagement and Sensitization for Refugee Integration and an Inclusive Hungarian Society) between September 2022 and August 2024, with the support of terre des hommes Germany. With the project, on the one hand, we help young refugees and immigrants living in Hungary to become active participants in their communities and Hungarian society. On the other hand, we increase the awareness of Hungarian youth and teachers through sessions that help them understand the situation of refugees and immigrants. The YES project was born out of our wish to encourage refugees and immigrants – who belong to a minority with one of the most negative portrayals in Hungary – to feel more at home in Hungary by becoming more visible and equal.
October 17, 2023
- Rule of law
State of danger to be extended again – with a one-sentence justification

The Hungarian government declared a state of danger for the first time in March 2020. Under a draft law recently put to public consultation, this would soon be extended again, until the end of May 2024. The Ministry of Justice which prepared the draft law “justified” the proposal with a single sentence. However, according to Amnesty International Hungary, the Eötvös Károly Institute, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the regulatory framework of the state of danger should be transformed and the Government’s unjustified, excessive regulatory powers should be put to an end.
October 16, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
Statements at the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference 2023

HHC attended the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference and submitted statements on shrinking civic space, violations of the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers, freedom of assembly, and the rule of law.
October 13, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Rule of law
Hungarian legislation should unambiguously guarantee freedom of expression of judges

More than seven years have passed since the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered the Baka v. Hungary judgment, requiring Hungarian authorities to lift and countervail the “chilling effect” on the freedom of expression … Read more

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October 12, 2023
- Our cases
- Refugee and migrant rights
Not “only strong, adult males”: two asylum-seeking families with small children win in the European Court of Human Rights against Hungary today

Hungarian authorities forcibly transferred a Yemeni family of seven and an Afghan three-member family to Serbia in 2019. They all applied for asylum at Budapest Airport but were pushed out via the border fence. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg ruled today that the Hungarian state violated the prohibition of collective expulsions and inhuman or degrading treatment. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee represented the asylum seekers, including a child with Down’s syndrome, in the case.
October 9, 2023
- Our cases
- Justice
- Refugee and migrant rights
European Court of Human Rights judgments condemn detention of asylum-seekers in Hungarian transit zones

The transit zones have been shut down for three and a half years, but this cruel detention regime did not disappear without a trace, still haunting the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. On … Read more
October 9, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Rule of law
Updated assessment of Hungary’s compliance with judicial supermilestones

Our updated assessment of Hungary’s compliance with the 4 super milestones aimed at restoring the independence of the judiciary looks at the implementation of the judicial package adopted in May 2023 by the Hungarian Parliament. … Read more
October 6, 2023
- Our cases
- Justice
- Refugee and migrant rights
Beaten to a pulp by police officers: the Strasbourg Court ordered Hungary to pay damages to our client

The state must not abandon victims of police ill-treatment, even if they are collectively expelled foreigners. Nor can it grant impunity to abusers in uniform, a Strasbourg Court judgment confirmed yesterday. Hungarian police officers had … Read more
October 4, 2023
STARLIGHT Year II launch webinar: The power of strategic litigation in the EU on 13/10/2023

Are you a lawyer, passionate about protecting fundamental rights across Europe, and eager to develop your skills and knowledge to unlock the power of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter)? If so, STARLIGHT is for you.
September 26, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Rule of law
Brief assessment of the Kúria’s case allocation scheme and system after the judicial reform

On 1 June 2023, the judicial reform package adopted by the Parliament to comply with the super milestones set out in Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Plan with a view to enhancing the independence of the … Read more

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September 25, 2023
- Helsinki
Join the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s Social Participation Course

We invite you to join our Social Participation Course! We are looking for young people between the ages of 16-25 who live in Hungary as foreigners. Apply to the course, if: you want to feel … Read more
September 14, 2023
- Our cases
- Refugee and migrant rights
Detained asylum seekers v. Hungary: 2:0 again at the European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found the detention of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s two asylum seeker clients unlawful in today’s judgement against Hungary. The young men, from Afghanistan and Algeria, were in asylum detention for five and two months, which was not justified for even a single day.
August 11, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Justice
- Rule of law
Analysis: The implementation of the ECtHR judgment in Gazsó v Hungary on protracted court proceedings

In 2015, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) concluded in its pilot judgment delivered in the case of Gazsó v. Hungary that violations of the right to a hearing within a reasonable time in … Read more
August 1, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Justice
Hungary fails to comply with ECtHR judgments on life sentence

Hungary has been failing to implement judgments of the European Court of Human Rights that established rights violations with regard to applicants sentenced to whole life imprisonment and life imprisonment with the possibility of a parole. In its recent submission, the HHC demonstrates how the Hungarian authorities had not only failed to carry out the necessary legal changes, but that individual measures that would be required to bring the violations to an end with regard to the applicants are prevented as well.
June 23, 2023
- Refugee and migrant rights
Hungarian asylum policy violates EU law, finds CJEU

On 22 June, the Court of Justice of the European Union found that not allowing people to seek asylum on the territory of Hungary violates EU law. Currently it is practically impossible to apply for international protection, as an asylum procedure may only be launched at the Hungarian embassy in Belgrade or Kyiv (!). Under the judgment made in Luxembourg, the “embassy procedure” must be abolished, and fair treatment must be ensured for asylum seekers.
June 20, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Rule of law
Five Years and Counting: Government Attacks against Civil Society 2018-2023

Five years ago, on World Refugee Day, the Hungarian Parliament passed the infamous “Stop Soros” law, criminalizing assistance provided for asylum seekers and stigmatizing independent NGOs. Taking stock of the past five years, our new paper puts the attacks faced by Hungarian NGOs in the context of an illiberal transition.
June 20, 2023
- Rule of law
The Hungarian government should implement court judgments that protect civil society

Budapest, 20 June 2023 – On the fifth anniversary of Hungary’s anti-NGO laws, Hungarian civil society organisations call on the government to fully implement court judgments that uphold their rights.
June 20, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Refugee and migrant rights
Info Note: No Access to Asylum for 3 Years

The asylum system in Hungary has practically been suspended since May 2020. Neither the legal framework nor its practical implementation offers effective access to the asylum system, thereby emptying out the right to seek asylum.
May 26, 2023
- Justice
- Refugee and migrant rights
How to gamble with criminal law: the Hungarian government lets foreign smugglers loose

The Hungarian government’s current attempt to reduce prison overcrowding is absurd. After boasting about its increasingly strict penal policy and communicating about the fight against migration, it has released hundreds of foreign human smugglers from prison, which is damaging and dangerous. We point out the main issues.
May 24, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Rule of law
Recommendations for Hungary in the Article 7(1) TEU procedure – GAC hearing on 30 May

On 30 May, there will be yet another hearing in the General Affairs Council in relation to Hungary in the framework of the procedure under Article 7(1) TEU that is aimed at determining whether there … Read more

We launched the YES project to help young refugees and immigrants in Hungary

State of danger to be extended again – with a one-sentence justification

Statements at the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference 2023

Hungarian legislation should unambiguously guarantee freedom of expression of judges

Looking for older content? Use our search engine!

Not “only strong, adult males”: two asylum-seeking families with small children win in the European Court of Human Rights against Hungary today

European Court of Human Rights judgments condemn detention of asylum-seekers in Hungarian transit zones

Updated assessment of Hungary’s compliance with judicial supermilestones

Beaten to a pulp by police officers: the Strasbourg Court ordered Hungary to pay damages to our client

STARLIGHT Year II launch webinar: The power of strategic litigation in the EU on 13/10/2023

Brief assessment of the Kúria’s case allocation scheme and system after the judicial reform

Subscribe to our advocacy list!

Join the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s Social Participation Course

Detained asylum seekers v. Hungary: 2:0 again at the European Court of Human Rights

Analysis: The implementation of the ECtHR judgment in Gazsó v Hungary on protracted court proceedings

Hungary fails to comply with ECtHR judgments on life sentence

Hungarian asylum policy violates EU law, finds CJEU

Five Years and Counting: Government Attacks against Civil Society 2018-2023

The Hungarian government should implement court judgments that protect civil society

Info Note: No Access to Asylum for 3 Years

How to gamble with criminal law: the Hungarian government lets foreign smugglers loose

Recommendations for Hungary in the Article 7(1) TEU procedure – GAC hearing on 30 May

Subscribe to our advocacy list!

Government attacks against civil society

Independence of the judiciary

COVID-19 and the state of danger

European Court of Human Rights cases

EU legal action & CJEU

Alternatives to imprisonment