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.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers considered the election of Justice András Zs. Varga as President of the Kúria as a measure hampering judicial independence.
The Advocate General of the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) made it abundantly clear that only one forum can legally decide whether a Hungarian judge’s request for a preliminary ruling from the CJEU is inadmissible, and that is the CJEU itself. The opinion of the Advocate General directly affects both the applicability of EU law in Hungary and the independence of Hungarian judges.
András Patyi has become a Vice President of the Kúria (Supreme Court of Hungary) based on recommendation of the new Chief Justice recently elected against clear objection of judicial representatives. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s loyal … Read more
A recently adopted Act and a Bill being debated in the Parliament aim at transforming existing supervisory bodies and mechanisms over which currently the government has control in order to cement their new management, appointed … Read more
In an attempt to privatise immense public wealth and public universities, the governing majority adopted legislation that establishes the concept of “public trust funds performing a public function” and designated 32 entities as such. Most … Read more
No consultation, hasty changes, “reforms” that fail to address Council recommendations: our assessment of certain reforms proposed in Hungary’s national plan under the EU’s recovery and resilience facility (RFF) Hungary was allocated almost 5 900 … Read more
We have not been able to use public spaces to fulfill their important public function for 175 days, and counting. Dog walking, coming and going, shopping, queuing, sitting out on a restaurant terrace, drinking a beer – all of these activities are now permitted again in public spaces. However, if we want to hold an assembly, a protest march or a standing demonstration – that is still completely forbidden. We continue to be totally deprived of our fundamental right to assembly. We protest! Total prohibition is not the answer.
Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, was invited to the expert panel of the Monitoring Group’s session on 29 April 2021 to exchange views on civil society space in the EU, in particular … Read more
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee submitted its statement, including recommendations, on issues related to law-making in Hungary to the OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Democratic Law-Making: Ensuring Participation. In our statement, we drew the attention … Read more
Press release of the Civilisation Coalition
Ten months after the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Hungarian government finally moves to repeal the Lex NGO. This is an important development for affected civil society organisations (CSOs) as it ends 4 years of unnecessary and damaging stigmatisation.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee contributed both in 2020 and this year to the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report, in collaboration with other Hungarian NGOs. The annual Rule of Law Report is an important … Read more
Eight Hungarian NGOs submitted a joint contribution in the stakeholder consultation launched by the European Commission for its second annual Rule of Law Report. The Commission’s Rule of Law Report pertaining to 2019 identified substantial … Read more
The Ombudsperson’s status as a national human rights institution will be reviewed in June 2021. In its shadow report submitted ahead of the review, the HHC warns that the new Ombudsperson, who took office in September 2019, has failed to demonstrate adequate efforts in addressing all human rights issues, and has failed to speak out in a manner that promotes and protects all human rights, similar to his predecessor.
Six months ago, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that Hungary’s NGO law violates the EU law. To date, however, no steps have been taken by Hungary to comply with the judgment. In the face of this, NGOs recommend 3 steps for the European Commission.
In 2020, the Hungarian government has continued to build its “illiberal state”, and has continued to erode the rule of law in Hungary in almost every area covered by the Article 7 procedure. Our paper presents the “illiberal highlights” that took place in Hungary in 2020.
The same night when the Government ordered measures to counter COVID-19, it also submitted three Bills to the Parliament, the 9th Amendment to the Fundamental Law among them, that have nothing to do with the fight against the pandemic. Instead, the Bills curtail the rights of the LGBTQI community, undermine the state’s transparency, and shrink the possibilities of opposition parties in future elections.
The new chief judge in Hungary: a potential transmission belt of the executive within the judiciary The election of the new President of the Kúria (the Supreme Court of Hungary) is the next stage in … Read more
The Hungarian Government has failed to address in a satisfactory manner the concerns around the right to freedom of expression of Hungarian judges. Therefore, in its decision published today, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has not closed the supervision of the judgment delivered by the European Court of Human Rights in the Baka v. Hungary case, and requested the Hungarian authorities to submit an updated action plan.
The European Commission’s Rule of Law Report has identified substantial problems severely threatening the rule of law in Hungary in all four areas examined by the report. Civil society organisations have raised attention to several … Read more
In the early morning hours of 13 May 2020 in the town of Gyula, located in the southeast corner of Hungary, the police raided the home of Mr János Csóka-Szűcs, a local NGO activist.