Rapid analysis of the Bills T/10747 and T/10748.

Eight Hungarian NGOs, participating in the stakeholder consultation launched by the European Commission for its first annual Rule of Law Report, trust that the EC will make concrete, enforceable recommendations to EU Member States, hence also for Hungary on how to advance rule of law in the EU.

According to the Court of Justice Advocate General’s opinion, the fact that under the Hungarian 2017 Lex NGO, civil society organisations receiving foreign donations are subject to restrictions violates the right to the protection of private life and the right to freedom of association, and infringes the principle of free movement of capital. This is not justified by the general interest objectives relied on by the government of Hungary. Based on the AG opinion published today, the Court of Justice of the European Union is likely to decide that the Lex NGO is in breach of the EU law.

The action against the act stigmatizing Hungarian civil society organizations has entered a new phase: on 22 October the Court of Justice of the European Union will conduct a public hearing on the case.

The European Union (EU) is premised on the respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and human rights— including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. EU Member States share these values: they are societies committed to pluralism, the prohibition of discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity, and gender equality. Lately, these fundamental values have been systematically disrespected in Hungary.

Today the European Court of Human Rights concluded Hungary was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights due to the premature termination of the Hungarian Supreme Court’s President’s mandate in early 2012. The judgment confirms concerns of the HHC, the HCLU and the Eötvös Károly Institute that Mr Baka’s dismissal violated the independence of the judiciary, and was a further step in weakening the rule of law in Hungary.