Let’s protect rule of law! HCLU-action against the modification of the Constitution

The Constitutional Court stroke down the law on 98% extra tax in its resolution of October 26. The body declared the law unconstitutional on its face, among other reasons, due to the violation of the prohibition of ex post facto legislation.

János Lázár, the leader of the governing party’s fraction, as a reaction in a couple of hours after the Court decision, presented motions as MP to the parliament, which on one hand would revoke the competency of the Constitutional Court in the above issue, on the other hand would guarantee that the constitutional objection would be resolved and the law on 98% extra tax could pass.

The HCLU considers this case unprecedented in the 21-year history of the Hungarian democracy. Decreasing the competency of the Constitutional Court can not be justified. A basic constitutional principle, namely that the violation of the prohibition of ex post facto legislation will never be in line with the notion of rule of law, even after shorting out the Constitutional Court.

„It is unprecedented cynicism how the government justifies the attack against the institutions of the constitutional state: saying that the constitutional state has already been consolidated. It is as if you missed a goal in a match, and then pleading fair play would stretch the goal post, and furthermore take away the referee’s whistle“- commented the bill, Balázs Dénes, the Executive Director of HCLU.

In the opinion of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union the bills presented severely offend the principles of constitutional state. This cannot be justified by the large majority in the parliament, thus the organization is asking the sponsor of the motion to withdraw it immediately, and call the citizens to join their campaign aiming the withdrawal of the bill.

Share

Related articles

On the Transparency of Civil Society Organisations

It has been alleged multiple times in recent years that civil society organisations operate in a non-transparent fashion, and do not reveal the sources of their funding. It therefore makes sense to clear up any confusion: this document outlines the current regulations regarding transparency and reporting requirements for civil society organisations. If the goal is actually to increase transparency, this paper will also explain how this can be achieved without increasing reporting tasks which are already quite time-consuming. We will also try to find the reason why organisations established by groups of citizens should, in the first place, be held to the same principles as those applying to the state.

Hungarian Government Obstructs Access to Morning-After Pill

Three Hungarian NGOs are seeking answers from the state health authority after it decided against granting over-the-counter access to a morning-after pill out of concern for women's health.

HCLU Accounts to the Public, not to GCO

We consider the attempts by the Government Control Office (GCO) to audit our programs financed by the Norway NGO Fund a political attack. We will reveal everything to the public, but not to the government, which has no jurisdiction over this sphere of activities. As advocates of freedom rights we often urge citizens to actively protect their rights. Now the time has come for us to protect ourselves against this politically motivated unlawful attack. We consider the accusations that we use the Norwegian money to support LMP (Politics Can Be Different) and other leftwing liberal parties absurd. We always criticise those in power for abusing their power and violating rights; that’s what we always did, and that’s what we still do.