Topic: Justice

The ratio of people in prisons within the population of Hungary is rather high in comparison to European countries.

The HHC’s submission to the Committee of Ministers shows that the Hungarian Government has been failing to execute judgments of the European Court of Human Rights that concluded that the rules on imposing whole life imprisonment in Hungary violate the prohibition of inhuman or degrading punishment.

As part of an international comparative research funded by the European Union, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee conducted a study on the Hungarian legal framework and the practical application of alternative sanctions (penalties and measures), which … Read more

The HHC has long been reporting on issues related to unnecessary restrictions of detainees’ contact with the outside world to the CPT. For the past years, there has been a systemic overuse of COVID-lockdown measures … Read more

We compiled a factsheet on issues hindering good family contact of detainees in Hungary. Why is detainees’ contact with the outside world important? Contact with family members promotes the reintegration of prisoners and the prevention … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee took part in an international comparative study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the regulation and application of penalties and measures as alternatives to imprisonment in Hungary. In the research, … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee participated as a partner in the international research project “Trial Waiver Systems in Europe”, which focused on the use of trial waiver systems in certain European states through which suspected or … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has carried out an exploratory study on the practice of remote hearings in Hungary with a special focus on legislative changes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our main research question was … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has carried out an exploratory study on the past few years’ militarisation tendencies and the changing constitutional role of the military in Hungary. Summary of activities and outcomes: Mapping changes and … Read more

In its communication submitted to the Committee of Ministers, the HHC warns again that Hungary has been failing to address systemic deficiencies with regard to handling ill-treatment by the police, and so has been failing to execute the respective judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

Visits to penitentiaries have been banned for more than a year since the outbreak of the pandemic in Hungary. Consequently, no personal contact has burdened detainees and their family members. Alternative forms of communication, such … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee contributed as a project partner to the EU-funded project “Improving judicial cooperation across the EU through harmonised detention standards – The role of National Preventive Mechanisms” (2019–2021) coordinated by the Ludwig Boltzmann … Read more

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 European Court of Human Rights established in 2015 that overcrowding in penitentiaries in Hungary constitutes a structural problem. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe examines the Varga and Others v. Hungary … Read more

After the Hungarian government declared a state of danger due to the pandemic in March 2020, one of the first extraordinary measures adopted was a blanket ban of all kinds of gatherings, demonstrations and assemblies, … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee contributed to the project “Fighting unconscious bias and discrimination of Roma people in the criminal justice system”, which started in 2018, as a partner. The transnational project was coordinated by the Fair … Read more

In our new policy brief, we discuss the key systemic deficiencies that the Hungarian authorities should address in order to prevent, investigate and sanction police ill-treatment adequately and more effectively – and in order to execute the ECtHR’s related judgments.

Information update by the HHC on the execution of the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the Varga and Others v. Hungary case

The Hungarian state failed to remedy the legislative deficiencies that have led to the breach of the right to peaceful assembly on several occasions in the past. Although a new assembly law was passed, sufficient … Read more

The new Hungarian assembly law, adopted in 2018, provides an opportunity for the police to impose undue restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly. Although courts seek to preserve the level of judicial protection of this fundamental right, in several cases, administrative requirements deprive organisers from the possibility of substantive judicial review.