The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union is a human rights NGO. Since our foundation in 1994, we have been working for everybody being informed about their fundamental human rights and empowered to enforce it against the undue interference by those in position of public power.
The goal of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiated by American President Barack Obama is the establishment of a transparent, efficient and accountable government/administration. The HCLU and K-Monitor have prepared proposals on commitments to be undertaken by Hungary.
A conference was organized in the Hague at the end of May around the home birth case that HCLU won in Strasbourg. HCLU’s attorney dr. Tamás Fazekas represented Anna Ternovszky, in who’s case at the end of 2010 the European Court of Human Rights established that the State of Hungary has violated the applicant’s right to respect for private and family life, when in the absence of legislation it threatened (and still threatens) health care workers who assist at home births.
The HCLU produced 140 online videos in 2011. Each year we make a picture illustrated interactive portfolio which explains our activities and briefly introduces the films. We proudly present the 2011 issue. Enjoy and share!
The 2012 budget for the public works program is 140-150 billion forints. Earlier we spoke with Vera Messing, researcher for both the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Institute for Sociology and Central European University, regarding the specifics and effects of the public works program.
In March 2012 the Venice Commission issued an opinion regarding the new Hungarian cardinal laws on the court system and the judiciary, stating that “the reform as a whole threatens the independence of the judiciary”. The Hungarian Government has initiated an amendment of the two cardinal laws in question, apparently as a result of the Venice Commission’s opinion. However, the proposed amendments do not eliminate the conceptional problems of the new regulation.