People are free in a state where the consequences of their actions are predictable and where clean and transparent rules apply not only to them, but also to state authorities. In a state where the people know what the state expects from them, but they also know what they can expect from the state.
This June the Parliament will elect the President of the new Supreme Administrative Court, who will have extremely wide powers over judges and cases concerning a range of issues from taxation to human rights. But … Read more
Defending the flame of threatened civil society in Russia, Poland and Hungary
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Amnesty International Hungary organised an international conference titled “The rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in Hungary and in Europe – trends, concerns, ways ahead” on 25 … Read more
On Monday, the Hungarian Parliament finalised the laws on the country’s new administrative courts. In its current form, even after amendments, the laws do not comply with international standards and do not follow the recommendations … Read more
Contrary to Government claims, the proposed amendment to the laws on administrative courts will not address all concerns. Pro-government MPs submitted a Bill on 12 March 2019 to amend the laws on administrative courts in … Read more
On Tuesday, Fidesz MPs proposed changes to the laws on administrative courts. These courts, starting from next year, will decide on important cases where the citizen is against the state. The new courts were heavily … Read more
The Venice Commission will be reviewing the Hungarian Government’s new Law on administrative courts 15-16th March and is expected to publish its opinion in the following days. The government is also preparing for this, by … Read more
The Constitutional Court (CC) held today that the Criminal Code amendment by the “Stop Soros” package is constitutional. Although the CC concluded that it would be unacceptable if those who selflessly assist asylum seekers were … Read more
At the invitation of the U.S. State Department, Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Stefánia Kapronczay managing director of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, and Sándor Léderer, director of K-Monitor met with Secretary … Read more
Hungary’s new administrative courts from 2020 will be under full ministerial influence. While the Ministerial model of court administration is not in itself wrong, and it works well in democracies around the World, the Hungarian … Read more
On 12 September 2018, the European Parliament voted to trigger proceedings against Hungary under Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union on account of the systemic threat to the core values of the EU. … Read more
Blurring the Boundaries: New Laws on Administrative Courts Undermine Judicial Independence If you are interested in our detailed analysis of the proposed draft Bill, click HERE. *** Judicial independence is now in jeopardy in Hungary. … Read more
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee gave oral and written statements on the situation in Hungary at the 2018 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). On 12 September … Read more
The Hungarian Government proposes to establish a new administrative court system. There are no professional reasons behind setting up a new administrative court system and the government has also failed to provide any professional arguments. … Read more
On 3 October 2018, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) won its third lawsuit against the ruling Fidesz party. The Budapest Court of Appeals ruled in favour of the HHC in a slander lawsuit against Fidesz and Mr János Halász, its … Read more
The summary of legal amendments adopted in the summer of 2018 to intimidate human rights defenders in Hungary.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) filed a complaint with the Hungarian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) against the new criminal provision threatening with imprisonment those assisting asylum seekers. As for … Read more
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee is not involved in any activity which would fall under the scope of the new law. As a first step the new law affects donors and our supporters are the European … Read more
By triggering the Article 7 procedure, the European Parliament has made it clear that illiberal democracy is against the core values of the European Union. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee welcomes that the EP has validated, … Read more
Summary of latest developments in Hungary since the April 2018 elections – Joint paper by Amnesty HU, HHC and HCLU After Fidesz’ overwhelming electoral victory in April 2018, many observers believed Prime Minister Orbán would … Read more