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Remarks on the process, the stakeholder consultation questionnaire, the 2020 country chapter on Hungary and the follow-up to the European Commission’s Rule of Law Report from a human rights NGO perspective

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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 problems severely threatening the rule of law in Hungary in all four areas examined. According to the NGOs, the situation has deteriorated further in 2020.

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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.

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The Hungarian Helsinki Committee received the European Union Civil Solidarity Prize on Monday morning in recognition of its activities during the coronavirus pandemic. The prize was awarded to the Hungarian human rights organisation by the European Economic and Social Committee. This is the ninth major international recognition of the organisation’s outstanding work in the last five years.

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A compilation prepared by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee of public statements, academic quotes, and decisions taken by the freshly appointed Chief Justice of Hungary mirror a person, who is perceivably loyal towards the ruling majority and an advocate of building an illiberal state in Hungary.   As of 1 January 2021 a new Chief Justice, Mr. András Zs.

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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.

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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.

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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 the series of attacks of the governing majority against the judiciary.

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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.

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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 of these problems many times over the past years.

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