Anybody may become defenceless in the face of the state’s power.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee in partnership with the University of Coimbra is taking part in the EU-funded, Penal Reform International-led project for promoting non-discriminatory alternatives to imprisonment across Europe (PRI ALT EUR – Promoting non-discriminatory … 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
The HHC is collaborating with Fair Trials, the coordinator for COVID-19 Criminal Justice Campaign project. It is an international consortium of human rights NGOs researching extraordinary law enforcement powers and increasingly restrictive policing and criminal … Read more
Hungary has to change its laws and practice in many respects in order to prevent, investigate and sanction police ill-treatment more effectively, shows a decision published today by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
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.
The HHC provided input for the upcoming report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture on psychosocial dynamics conducive to torture and ill-treatment.
The HHC’s input for the Special Rapporteur’s report on “Psychosocial dynamics conducive to torture and ill-treatment”
Information note by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee on the rules applicable as of 1 June 2020
Information update
The HHC submitted a communication to the Committee of Ministers on the execution of a 2015 pilot judgment on inadequate detention conditions in Hungarian prisons and the related compensation system. The HHC is of the view that the Hungarian Government should be under strict scrutiny while carrying out its announced review of the system of compensations for prison overcrowding.
In its communication submitted to the Committee of Ministers, the HHC warns 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.
On 31 March 2020, the Hungarian Government issued a decree that overrode certain provisions of the Hungarian Code of Criminal Procedure with a view to state of danger declared by the Government due to the … Read more
Information update
In January, the Government unexpectedly announced that it intends to amend the system of compensations awarded to inmates for poor detention conditions. This may violate Hungary’s international obligations and points to the inadequacy of domestic policy, while the Government’s hostile rhetoric targeting detainees and their attorneys is unacceptable.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee conducted a research project together with lawyers of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union on the application of the new assembly law of Hungary, adopted in 2018. The objective of the research … Read more
The “Trial Waiver Systems in Europe” project focused on the use of trial waiver systems in certain European states through which suspected or accused persons waive their rights to a full criminal trial. The international … Read more
Hungarian absurdity: Homeless people in handcuffs vs. human rights In Hungary, the practices established by the Police and the courts against homeless people seem to be humiliating and strongly discriminative. Since the criminalization of homelessness, … Read more