Hungarian Europe Society, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Eötvös Károly Public Policy Institute, Standard (Mérték) Media Monitor put forward a joint position paper to the High Level Group on Media Freedom and Pluralism created by the European Commission on the Hungarian Media Law and its Application.

The Eötvös Károly Institute, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and the HCLU sent an alternative answer to Viviane Reding, European Commission Vice-President, Commissioner in charge of Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, with a detailed answer to the questions asked of the Hungarian Government. NGOs state that the government's answers to the serious concerns regarding the independence of the judiciary system and abolition of the Data Protection Commissioner do not prove the government's dedication to democracy and from a professional point of view, its answers are unjustifiable.

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) welcomes the December 19th decisions of the Constitutional Court, which – partly due to the HCLU’S motion – found parts of the new media law to be unconstitutional. At the same time, the HCLU regrets that the Constitutional Court did not carry out a full review on the media law, which would have been necessary in order to reinstall freedom of the press in Hungary.

After being reported to police by unnamed individuals, Dopeman, a Hungarian rapper was summoned to the police station and questioned as a witness after coming out with a rap song which contained lines from the Hungarian National Anthem.

The government does not tolerate independent political institutions.

The Eötvös Károly Public Policy Institute, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union analysed the draft of the new Constitutional Court Act, to be adopted under the new Hungarian Constitution. The three NGOs found that under the proposed new rules, the Constitutional Court would only be able to ensure respect for constitutional provisions to a limited extent. In turn, the powers of Parliament would increase and fundamental rights protection would weaken.

The Hungarian Capitol Court has overruled two police orders prohibiting trade unionists from demonstrating in front of the Parliament and the Buda Castle on the first weekend of October. The Capitol Court fully shared the HCLU’s opinion that the reasoning of the police was faulty and their prohibiting measures were unfounded. The planned demonstrations will be held.

The Venice Commission issued an opinion on the new Constitution (the “Fundamental Law”) of Hungary in June 2011. Due to the lack of an official Hungarian translation and the misleading statements of government party representatives, the public may have a false impression of the content of the opinion. Therefore, the Eötvös Károly Institute, the Hungarian Helsinki Commitee and the HCLU have prepared a joint analysis on the reactions of the Government in light of the Venice Commission’s opinion.

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 (HCLU) and the ARTICLE 19 Global Campaign For Free Expression prepared together an Information Note on the Hungarian Media Laws that enterted into force in January 2011.

Leading Hungarian NGOs, Transparency International Hungary and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union besides expressing their criticism about the new Hungarian Constitution and the Constitution-writing process, wish to express their deep concern regarding the recent initiatives of the parliamentary majority to radically encroach upon the independence of the judiciary system.

In their current, third analysis on the legislative work of the Hungarian Parliament, the Eötvös Károly Policy Institute, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) examine whether the constitution-making process in Hungary meets the requirements deriving from the principle of the rule of law and compares the draft “Fundamental Law” (i.e. the draft of the new Constitution) submitted to the Parliament on 14 March 2011 with the present constitutional system.