Today, the Capital Court of Appeals has reached its verdict in the 2nd degree proceedings of the Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement vs. Viktor Orbán. Read on for the details!
The HCLU represented dr. Viktor Orbán, President of Fidesz in the lawsuit regarding personality rights. With this lawsuit, the goal of the HCLU is to have the court declare, that the protection of public authority institution’s reputation cannot restrict the freedom of political debate.
The President of Fidesz has already won this case in a first instance decision, and today’s ruling reconfirmed it.
On July 19th, after a lengthy legal battle, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg ruled in favor of journalist Peter Uj, represented by the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union. The journalist criticized the state owned Tokaj Kereskedőház (Hungarian winery) and specifically characterized it’s wine as shit. Criminal charges (defamation and criminal libel) initiated by the Tokaj Kereskedőház were pressed against him.
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Transparency International Hungary, K-Monitor, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and the Eötvös Károly Institute turned to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe to obtain its position regarding the amendment of the Constitution which would rectrict the Constitutional Court’s power.