Topic: Rule of law

How the Ombudsperson’s weak independence and concentrated mandates weaken fundamental rights protection – Human rights defenders assess the performance of Hungary’s national human rights institution

Hungary continues to deny equal voting rights to members of national minorities, despite the European Court of Human Rights’ final ruling in the Bakirdzi and E.C. v. Hungary case in April 2023.

You can watch the full hearing on the European Parliament’s website here. Below is the text of Márta Pardavi’s remarks. 

For the sixth year in a row, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee is contributing to the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report in coordination with other Hungarian human rights and anti-corruption CSOs in the framework of the stakeholder consultation launched by the European Commission

In quick succession, András Varga Zs., the President of the Kúria, Hungary’s apex court, has retaliated against two employees to silence professional criticism of his activities. By suppressing the expression of opinions, the Kúria President … Read more

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s replies to requests to provide information by the Hungarian national focal point for the FRANET research network of the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA)

Breaches of the freedom of expression of judges have been a long-standing problem in Hungary. The individual instances may not be as blatant as in the case of Poland, however, the issue is persistent: for … Read more

Sweeping public protest of Hungarian judges against a political deal undermining judicial independence

The Hungarian judges speaking up for judicial independence in the form of statements published on the homepage of two judicial associations use words like “treason”, “humiliation”, “abuse”, “bribery”, “blackmail”, “starving the judiciary out”, “leashing”, a “slap in the face”, “bleeding out”, and even a “sneaky political game”. The judges felt compelled to speak up publicly against the “Agreement” concluded recently by judicial leaders, the National Judicial Council and the government. As the judges point out, the document is not the result of the fair negotiations of equal parties: the “discussion was unilateral”, and only the government’s will prevailed.

In December 2022, European Union institutions suspended and tied to conditions Hungary’s access to EU funds under various procedures due to severe breaches of the rule of law and human rights. Ahead of the upcoming re-assessment by the Commission and the Council in the framework of the conditionality mechanism in December 2024, Hungarian civil society organisations looked at the steps the Hungarian government has taken to date to address the deficiencies identified by the Commission and the representatives of Member States in the Council.

The Constitutional Court today rejected the constitutional complaint of Transparency International Hungary. This allows, at least for the time being, all the arbitrary provisions of the Sovereignty Protection Act that threaten the freedoms of citizens and the operation of independent news outlets and NGOs to remain in effect. NGOs will not back down and will continue to challenge the government’s dangerous political project before every possible legal forum.

Six years have passed since the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Council of the European Union to determine, pursuant to Article 7(1) of the Treaty of the European Union, the existence of … Read more

Over the past years, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Amnesty International Hungary as human rights watchdog organisations have been closely monitoring the situation of the Hungarian judiciary as part of their activity aimed at defending human rights and the rule of law. Besides keeping track of legislative changes affecting the courts, we also examine and evaluate the organisation of the judiciary, the activities and statements of court administration actors and judicial bodies. In line with our former practice, we will continue to monitor the activities of the National Judicial Council (NJC), the highest judicial self-governing body mandated to supervise the central administration of courts.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee participated at the 2024 OSCE Human Dimension Conference and took the floor and provided written submissions on the situation of human rights defenders and civic space, on the rights of asylum-seekers … Read more

The two-year novel capacity-building programme by the Hertie School Executive Education and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, concludes in Berlin.

The project carried out from the grant awarded by the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland under the EU Enlargement and European Fundamental Values Fund (EEFV Fund) aims to promote European fundamental values, the rule … Read more

In February 2024, the Civilisation coalition conducted a survey among its partner organisations to understand the threats posed by the recently enacted Sovereignty Protection Act for civil society organisations in Hungary and to assess how … Read more

In June 2024, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee provided input to the call of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers for the forthcoming report on the undue influence of economic actors … Read more

The 2024 Hungarian Citizen Election Report is a joint initiative of the most prominent Hungarian election-related organisations: 20k, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Mérték Media Monitor, Political Capital, and Unhack Democracy. It aims to provide a credible picture of the European Parliament and local government election process through the eyes and experience of Hungarians, based on the analyses of experts with decades of experience and the personal observations of nearly a thousand poll workers who followed the voting process this year.

Ahead of the June 2024 General Affairs Council, a group of Hungarian civil society organisations call on Member States of the European Union to finally take action in the Article 7 procedure against Hungary that … Read more