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

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.

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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
May 23, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Rule of law
Assessment of Hungary’s judicial reforms

On 3 May 2023, the Hungarian Parliament adopted Act X of 2023 on the Amendment of Certain Laws on Justice related to the Hungarian Recovery and Resilience Plan. The Hungarian government now claims to have met all four of the so-called super milestones aimed at restoring the independence of the judiciary set by the Council of the European Union as a precondition for accessing frozen EU funds under Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF).
May 16, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Rule of law
Q&A – why Super Milestone 215 is not achieved

On 12 December 2022, the European Council adopted Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Plan after the European Commission finally approved it. Compared to the original plan, the adopted version includes a new set of benchmarks on governance and public administration, totaling 38 measures with 111 milestones and targets. 27 of these milestones are ‘super milestones’; if not met, no payment under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) will be allowed. Four of the 27 super milestones concern the Hungarian judiciary.
One benchmark requires the Hungarian government to remove all obstacles to the preliminary reference procedure set out in Article 267 TFEU. This is Super Milestone 215.
May 16, 2023
- Our cases
- Refugee and migrant rights
The European Court of Human Rights condemns Hungary’s inhumane refugee policy – three times in a single day

A 14-year-old asylum-seeking child was assaulted by field guards in Ásotthalom and thrown back to Serbia by Hungarian police. A 17-year-old asylum seeker was arbitrarily detained for three months. A 28-year-old torture victim asylum seeker was detained despite severe health problems. All three of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s clients appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, and all won. The Hungarian state violated their human rights and is obliged to pay just reparation.
May 8, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Justice
The HHC Justice Programme’s Submission for the CPT’s periodic visit to Hungary in 2023

The Justice Programme of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee prepared the following submission for the upcoming periodic visit of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) Our submission focuses … Read more

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May 2, 2023
- Rule of law
Parliamentary process of the bill on judicial reform breaches lawmaking rules

Today Amnesty International Hungary, the Eötvös Károly Institute and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee turned to the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, regarding concerns about the ongoing law-making process aimed at ensuring Hungary’s compliance with … Read more
April 25, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Rule of law
The government is yet to comply with conditions to access EU funds

As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, the Hungarian government is yet to comply with most of the conditions established by European Union institutions to access EU funds. According to Hungarian civil society organisations, the Government had not yet taken adequate steps in order to fully address the rule of law and human rights concerns raised by the EU, and so numerous issues related to the anti-corruption framework, judicial independence, law-making, the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers, academic freedom and the rights of LGBTQI+ persons remain unresolved. Swift measures are necessary in all of these areas to ensure that the country and its citizens are granted access to EU funds.
April 17, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Rule of law
EU funds – Q&A on the implementation of Super Milestone 216

On 12 December 2022, the Council adopted Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Plan based on the Commission’s positive evaluation. Compared to the original plan, a new set of measures were added on governance and public administration, … Read more
April 17, 2023
- Our cases
- Rule of law
Unlawfully fencing off Hungarian PM’s office from Telex journalists: court rules in favour of press freedom

Journalists from the independent Hungarian news portal Telex were blocked from interviewing government officials arriving at a government meeting because the building of the Prime Minister’s office was fenced off by a police cordon. After an unsuccessful complaint to the police, the journalists secured a court victory today with the help of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s lawyer. In today’s ruling, the Metropolitan Regional Court in Budapest confirmed that the measure was unnecessary, disproportionate, and violated the journalists’ right to freedom of expression.
April 15, 2023
- News
- Refugee and migrant rights
Information for non-Ukrainian citizens fleeing from Ukraine

This leaflet has useful information for you if you don’t have Ukrainian nationality, but you lived in Ukraine and you had to leave Ukraine because of the war.
April 12, 2023
- News
- Refugee and migrant rights
Frequently asked questions and answers for refugees from Ukraine

We have gathered recurring questions that refugees from Ukraine have asked our staff and that we have not covered in our information leaflet. The document can be downloaded and distributed in English, Ukrainian and Russian.
April 12, 2023
- News
- Refugee and migrant rights
Information for Ukrainian citizens fleeing Ukraine, for refugees recognised in Ukraine and for stateless persons and their family members (EN)

Last updated: 17 July 2024 This document provides you with important information if you are a Ukrainian citizen, you are a Ukrainian citizen’s family member, you have been recognised in Ukraine as a refugee or … Read more
March 24, 2023
- Our reports and analyses
- Rule of law
Curtailing the rights of teachers who demand improvements in the public education system

Severely deteriorating conditions in the public education system in Hungary have led teachers, students and parents to make increasingly louder demands for change. However, instead of listening to their fact-based concerns, the Hungarian government has … Read more
March 24, 2023
- Our cases
- Refugee and migrant rights
Russian refugee who fled to Hungary from the secret services cannot be deprived of her refugee status without a clear reason

On 23 March, the court annulled the earlier decision to withdraw Ms Gáborné Nagy’s international protection and ordered the authorities to start a new procedure. The judgement ruled that if the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing (OIF) still wants to deprive her of her refugee status, it has to find properly founded, reasoned objections, and make them available to the person concerned so that she can express her views.
March 21, 2023
- Refugee and migrant rights
Call for Applications for National Researchers under ‘The Right to Know 2’ project

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee is looking for lawyers to carry out national research for an EU-wide mapping study on the topic of access to classified data in national security immigration/asylum cases in Denmark, Finland and … Read more

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

Looking for older content? Use our search engine!

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

Assessment of Hungary’s judicial reforms

Q&A – why Super Milestone 215 is not achieved

The European Court of Human Rights condemns Hungary’s inhumane refugee policy – three times in a single day

The HHC Justice Programme’s Submission for the CPT’s periodic visit to Hungary in 2023

Subscribe to our advocacy list!

Parliamentary process of the bill on judicial reform breaches lawmaking rules

The government is yet to comply with conditions to access EU funds

EU funds – Q&A on the implementation of Super Milestone 216

Unlawfully fencing off Hungarian PM’s office from Telex journalists: court rules in favour of press freedom

Information for non-Ukrainian citizens fleeing from Ukraine

Frequently asked questions and answers for refugees from Ukraine

Information for Ukrainian citizens fleeing Ukraine, for refugees recognised in Ukraine and for stateless persons and their family members (EN)

Curtailing the rights of teachers who demand improvements in the public education system

Russian refugee who fled to Hungary from the secret services cannot be deprived of her refugee status without a clear reason

Call for Applications for National Researchers under ‘The Right to Know 2’ project

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