17 December 2010
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe answered the letter of NGOs concerning the restriction of the power’s of the Constitutional Court.
Five NGOs, Transparency International Hungary, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, K-Monitor Association, Hungarian Helsinki Committee, and Eötvös Károly Policy Institute turned to Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
The European Commission for Democracy through Law, better known as the Venice Commission, is the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters. Established in 1990, the commission has played a leading role in the adoption of constitutions that conform to the standards of Europe’s constitutional heritage.
Although civil society organisations cannot directly turn to the Commission to request its opinion, NGOs believe that the opinion would be pivotal in protecting the Constitutional Court, and more broadly constitutionalism and the rule of law inHungary.
The letter is available in English and in Hungarian.The answer is available here.
