Perpetuated States of Exception Undermine Legal Certainty and Human Rights

Four years have passed since the Hungarian Government first declared a state of danger, a special legal order regime, allowing it to override higher level laws in emergency decrees overnight. The Government has been maintaining its excessive emergency regulatory powers ever since, while the Fundamental Law was amended to concentrate powers in the hands of the Government in all special legal order regimes. The perpetuated state of danger and the excessive and abusive use of emergency decrees undermine the rule of law, and interfere with the operation of businesses in the EU’s single market. Despite concerns voiced by stakeholders, including the European Commission, a new bill would once again allow the Government to extend the state of danger until November 2024. Another parallel state of crisis, ordered due to “mass migration”, was extended again in early March by the Government without statutory criteria being met, entering into its ninth year.

Our brief on the various special legal orders and states of crises is available here.