Topic: Justice

Hungary continues to violate the European Convention on Human Rights by maintaining rules that allow life imprisonment without any real prospect of release. In a new submission to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee highlights the continuing deficiencies of Hungary’s life imprisonment rules and calls for meaningful reforms to comply with judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves the review of the human rights record of all 192 UN Member States once every four-and-half year. It was created by the UN General … Read more

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees the fundamental rights to be enjoyed by every child.  The Hungarian Child Rights Coalition prepares an alternative report on the implementation of the Convention, which draws on the professional experience of its member organizations and covers developments over the past five years. This year, as a new member of the Coalition, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee is also contributing to the preparation of the report.

On 21 January 2026, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) submitted a new Rule 9(2) communication to the Committee of Ministers concerning the execution of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments in the Gubacsi v. … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) has submitted a new communication to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe concerning the execution of the European Court of Human Rights’ pilot judgment in Varga and Others v. Hungary and the related István Gábor Kovács v. Hungary case group. This group of cases concerns inhuman and/or degrading treatment arising from poor conditions of detention, primarily resulting from structural prison overcrowding, the lack of effective preventive and compensatory remedies, and other detention-related violations.

The HHC’s shadow reports and its suggestions for questions to be included in the List of Issues for the UN Human Rights Committee

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has prepared a summary report on Hungarian research conducted as part of the EU-funded international PRinCE (Procedural Rights in Central Europe) project. During the study, we summarised previous research results, analysed … Read more

Háttér Society, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) have jointly submitted input to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association for her 2026 thematic report … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) and the Support Network for Detainees and Their Families (FECSKE) have submitted input to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief for her forthcoming thematic report on … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC), together with the Support Network for Detainees and Their Families (FECSKE), has contributed to the call for input by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee is working to advance juvenile justice and detention conditions through an international partnership. The organization participates as a partner in the project EPO4YOUTH led by Antigone (Italy), established under the Erasmus+ … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee participated in a European research project examining the rights of LGBTIQ detainees in the European Union. The project assessed the situation of LGBTIQ detainees, identified challenges, gaps and promising practices and raised … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, in partnership with the Hazavárunk Foundation and the FECSKE Support Network for Detainees and their Families created a civil society consortium, in cooperation with the Budapest District VIII (Józsefváros) Local Government … Read more

The Hungarian Government uses its power arbitrarily to discourage people from attending the Pécs Pride in 2025. According to an amendment adopted by the Parliament, attending Pride will be considered a petty offence. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) and the Streetlawyer Association (Utcajogász) teamed up to answer your questions. Most importantly, the more people attend Pride, the less risky it becomes for everyone. Our Q&A will help you prepare for possible outcomes, and if proceedings are initiated against you, you can count on us!

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee submitted a communication to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regarding the non-execution of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights  in the Magyar Helsinki Bizottság … Read more

In recent years, detention conditions in Hungary have attracted increasing international attention. This has further intensified following the 2024 extradition of a non-binary German defendant. However, the German Federal Constitutional Court deemed the extradition unlawful due to the risks of inhumane and degrading treatment in Hungarian detention facilities.

The court convicted a man for violence against a member of the community, after he, along with his accomplices attacked antifascist youths, motivated by political hatred. It is notable that the prosecution had previously refused to press charges against the perpetrator, who has now been sentenced to one year suspended prison. The victims could only achieve a conviction through a substitute private prosecution, with the help of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.

In March 2025, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) conducted an ad hoc visit to Hungary. To highlight pressing issues regarding conditions in Hungarian prisons, the HHC Justice Programme prepared a submission for the visit.

The Hungarian government is disregarding an interim resolution by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which exhorted the government to align legislation on life sentences with the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.

The Strasbourg Court has ruled in favour of a former prisoner in a case against Hungary over its arbitrary refusal to allow him to attend the funerals of his mother and brother. This was despite the fact that he had almost no time left to serve on his sentence and that his behaviour had been exemplary. The applicant was represented by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.