Human rights councillor wants Hungary’s “Stop Soros” package to be repealed
By HUNGARY JOURNAL
VoiceOfEurope.com
15 December 2018
The Council of Europe’s (CoE) commissioner for human rights urged Hungary’s president to return the law about administrative courts, while the Venice Commission wants the “Stop Soros” package to be repealed.
Dunja Mijatovic, the CoE’s commissioner for human rights, on Friday called on Hungarian President Janos Ader to return the law setting up administrative courts in Hungary to parliament for review.
Under that law, the justice minister would have a strong influence over the courts, which raises questions regarding the independence of the Hungarian judiciary, Mijatovic said in a press release.
It is “regrettable” that parliament did not wait for the opinion of CoE’s Venice Commission with accepting the bill, Mijatovic said, noting that the commission’s review was initiated by the Hungarian justice minister.
“Public consultation on the initiative in the country was very limited,” she said. “I intend to raise this issue in my forthcoming dialogue with the Hungarian authorities,” Mijatovic said.
Parliament on Wednesday approved legislation establishing a system of independent administrative courts that have the authority to make rulings in matters of public administration.
The courts are scheduled to start operations on January 1, 2020. The president’s office said in a statement later on Friday that it will conduct a review of the law next week. Ader will, “as in every instance in the past six years”, consider the law with due care, the statement said.
The justice ministry rejected Mijatovic’s “unfounded” remarks in a statement, and said that they “reflect unfamiliarity with the legislation’s background, concept, and the actual text of the law”. In its statement, the ministry insisted that the law guarantees the independence of judges, and added that judicial bodies are granted the right of veto concerning the finances of the new public administration courts.
Transparency of the selection of judges is ensured through “publicity, options for legal remedy and an obligation for providing justification”, the document said. The justice minister has “extremely restricted” powers regarding the appointment of judges, it said, and added that the new law has created a “transparent and balanced system based on cooperation and ensuring the independence of judges through broad guarantees”. The ministry also said that the new law is in line with the constitution and international standards, adding that the Venice Commission had been consulted before its passage.
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