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.
Civil society organisations who challenged the National Election Committee’s decision in the Curia (Supreme Court) have achieved an important victory, not only for themselves but also for the 1.7 million people who decided to cast an invalid vote in the referendum.
On Sunday, more than 1.6 million Hungarians cast invalid votes to reject the government’s manipulative and fear-mongering referendum. The invalidity of the referendum shows that the majority of Hungarians do not support the government’s exclusionary policies. Five days after the miserable failure of the government’s anti-LGBTQI referendum, the National Election Committee (NEC) suddenly realized that the months-long campaign “defeats the constitutional purpose of the exercise of power.”
Our new information note provides on overview on recent key developments following the baseline information note published on 21 February 2022. These series of notes are aimed at those who would like to have up-to-date … Read more
Our communications to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe show that the independence and integrity of the judiciary in Hungary has been further weakened by the government, and Hungary has been failing to implement the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the Baka case.
European election observers and Hungarian civil society organisations call on EU Member State governments to honour OSCE ODIHR’s recommendations and second election observers to Hungary for the parliamentary elections on April 3 To EU … Read more
Our new baseline note provides an overview of the legal framework, practical arrangements and key developments on nine key areas, from the electoral system to the regulations on election observation. The note is aimed at … Read more
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee welcomes today’s ruling by the CJEU, which is an important victory for the rule of law and EU citizens.
In April 2022, the Hungarian parliamentary elections will be among the most important stress tests for democracy and the rule of law within the European Union. There is a considerable likelihood that they will – … Read more
Nine Hungarian NGOs submitted a joint contribution in the stakeholder consultation launched by the European Commission for its third annual Rule of Law Report. The Commission’s previous Rule of Law Report (pertaining to 2020) identified … Read more
According to the current state of affairs, one year after the elections – not including the Prime Minister – 31 of the 32 most important leaders of the state apparatus will be the same person as they are now. Even in the case of an opposition victory. In fact, having a two-third majority in Parliament, Fidesz can get even more of our public dignitaries cemented into their seats anytime until the elections in April, for an even longer period. With the Hungarian Helsinki Committee’s useful infographics, we can “look into the future”.
Ahead of the Hungarian parliamentary elections set for 3 April, twenty Hungarian civil society organisations are urging the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in a joint letter to deploy a full-scale election observation mission (EOM) to Hungary, with a high number of short-term observers on election day.
As another sign of the country’s rule of law backsliding, Hungary has been failing to implement judgments of the Strasbourg and Luxembourg courts, and Hungarian authorities are repeatedly disregarding the judgments of the country’s own domestic courts as well. A new research paper by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee shows just how deep this phenomenon runs.
Civil society organisations sent a letter ahead of the General Affairs Council on 14 December when EU affairs ministers will hear from the European Commission on the latest developments and take stock of the situation regarding respect for EU values in Hungary and Poland as part of the Article 7 procedure.
Wednesday, 16 December 2021,16:00-18:00 (CET) – online In December 2021, the European Commission launched a public consultation for the 2022 edition of the Rule of Law Report. The Report monitors significant developments, both positive and … Read more
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has delivered a major judgment on judicial independence. According to the CJEU, despite the fact that domestic law permits it, and that such a judgment has already been issued, only one forum can legally decide whether a Hungarian judge’s request for a preliminary ruling to the CJEU is inadmissible – and that is the CJEU itself. The Luxembourg-based Court also ruled that it was against EU law to discipline a national judge under domestic law because he had turned to the CJEU.
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
We prepared a number of submission on several aspects of the situation of human rights in Hungary in the framework of the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review. Below are 3 one-pagers that provide … Read more
The Hungarian government may very well face firmer measures by the Council of Europe if it continues to fail to fully execute the judgment issued by the European Court of Human Rights in the Baka v. Hungary case. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe calls on Hungary to present the guarantees of the independence and freedom of expression of judges.
Peers of the Hungarian Ombudsperson, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, recommend that the Commissioner’s national human rights institution status is downgraded from “A” to “B”. According to their report, the reason for the downgrading is that the Commissioner has not effectively engaged on and publicly addressed all human rights issues, including in relation to vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities, LGBTI, refugees and migrants as well as constitutional court cases deemed political and institutional. This also demonstrates a lack of sufficient independence. The report echoes concerns voiced by the HHC earlier.
A Hungarian administrative judge was declared unsuitable and therefore forced by her boss to leave the bench in the course of her professional evaluation. In fact, the same judge was the one, who had sent a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling because she believed the Hungarian asylum law might be in breach of the EU law.