Freedom of Information

Some of Hungary's major anti-corruption NGOs have turned to EU Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia. The NGOs are concerned about a giant project financed with state aid and therefore urged the Prime Minister to immediately suspend the 'murky' 130 mn EUR investment, financed by an EU fund and the Hungarian Development Bank (MFB). Gordon Bajnai, Prime Minister of Hungary finally ordered the Ministry of National Development and Economy to make the feasibility study of the project public.

After more than a year and a series of court hearings, Hungarian parking company Centrum is ordered by the Supreme Court to disclose its incomes, ending the lengthy legal battle between the parking company and Lát-Kép Association, a Hungarian NGO represented by the HCLU.

Parties of the Parliament have been ordered to disclose how much credit has been given to them by the state. They also have to make public which real estate properties have been acquired for their operations.

The HCLU sent its opinion to the Members of Parliament on the draft amendment submitted by the government, which aims to establish new institutions in its fight against corruption.

For the occasion, we have gathered a few significant freedom of information (FOI) lawsuits from the past year.

Read the abridged English version of a new book written by two prominent Hungarian investigative journalists on how the Hungarian criminal justice system worked or rather failed in the most prominent white collar crime cases since 1990, the year when – following the fall of communism - democracy, democratic police, prosecution and courts were reestablished in the country.

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union won a freedom of information case against the Republic of Hungary. For the first time, the right to access to state-held information as part of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights has been formally recognized, as reflected in today’s ruling by the European Court of Human Rights. The Strasbourg based Court declared that withholding information needed to participate in public debate on matters of public importance may violate the freedom of expression.

The Court of Appeal declared in its final judgment on the 21th of January 2009, that the minutes of the government meetings are data of public interest. Unfortunately, much information won’t be available for the public.

September 28th is International Information Freedom Day, alias ’Right to Know Day’. The HCLU celebrates the occasion by launching its new Freedom of Information Lawyers Network.

The Hungarian Ministry of Development and Economics is ordered to disclose data, which reveal what investments worth 200 billion Hungarian forints – nearly 800 million euros - were carried out by Swedish companies in exchange for the purchase of Gripen fighter-jets by the Hungarian Air Force. The journalist of on-line newspaper, origo.hu – with legal representation provided by the HCLU - has initiated a Freedom of Information lawsuit in December, 2007, because the Ministry has previously rejected to provide information to the journalist’s FOI request. According to the September 8th ruling of the Regional Court of Appeals, the defendant Ministry acted unlawfully.