In a judgment published this week, the Constitutional Court of Hungary ruled that the provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure that allows for unlimited pre-trial detention pending a first instance judgment is unconstitutional. The decision comes six years after the Ombudsperson asked for a constitutional review based on a request by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and the Eötvös Károly Institute.
Continue ReadingThe European Court of Human Rights established in 2015 that overcrowding in penitentiaries in Hungary constitutes a structural problem. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe examines the Varga and Others v. Hungary under the enhanced procedure.
Continue ReadingAfter the Hungarian government declared a state of danger due to the pandemic in March 2020, one of the first extraordinary measures adopted was a blanket ban of all kinds of gatherings, demonstrations and assemblies, excluding the possibility of considering the individual circumstances of each case.
Continue ReadingHungary has to change its laws and practice in many respects in order to prevent, investigate and sanction police ill-treatment more effectively, shows a decision published today by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
Continue ReadingInformation update by the HHC on the execution of the European Court of Human Rights' judgment in the Varga and Others v. Hungary case
Continue ReadingThe Hungarian state failed to remedy the legislative deficiencies that have led to the breach of the right to peaceful assembly on several occasions in the past.
Continue ReadingThe new Hungarian assembly law, adopted in 2018, provides an opportunity for the police to impose undue restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly. Although courts seek to preserve the level of judicial protection of this fundamental right, in several cases, administrative requirements deprive organisers from the possibility of substantive judicial review.
Continue ReadingThe HHC provided input for the upcoming report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture on psychosocial dynamics conducive to torture and ill-treatment.
Continue ReadingInformation note by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee on the rules applicable as of 1 June 2020
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