Freedom of Speech

Lajos Gubcsi, former Director of Zrínyi Media Ltd. – a background institution of the Ministry of National Defense – initiated a defamation lawsuit against József Spirk, journalist of Index.hu, the leading online news provider in Hungary. The HCLU’s Legal Aid Service provided legal representation. The court ruled that facts written in the article were well-founded and as a result ruled in favor of the journalist. The ruling is final.

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. 

On 1 June 2011, four special rapporteurs on freedom of speech issued a joint declaration on the freedom of expression and the internet in Budapest.

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.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR DEMOCRACY THROUGH LAW (VENICE COMMISSION) - OPINION ON THREE LEGAL QUESTIONS ARISING IN THE PROCESS OF DRAFTING THE NEW CONSTITUTION OF HUNGARY - PDF

 Three Hungarian NGOs, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, the Eotvos Karoly Institute and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee sent a public letter to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe and the leaders of European Parliament groups to draw their attention to the fallacious translation of the draft Constitution. Moreover, we informed them about our analysis of the Constitution framing process and some dangerous points of the draft.

 The adoption of the new Hungarian Constitution will be, in all likelihood, the most influential domestic legislative act in the field of public law in the first half of 2011. The constitution writing process would be deemed a success if it would result in a substantial fundamental law providing a solid basis for the political community. However, when one takes into consideration the manner in which the new Constitution is being framed, it becomes increasingly difficult to conclude that it will be a success. The minimum requirement for creating a stable Constitution is that the fundamental law is adopted in a process which entails the possibility of the law being accepted by the overwhelming majority of society.

The current,  highly unusual way of designing the Constitution makes one doubt whether this document  will be worthy of being called the Constitution of Hungary. You can download our critical assessment (from here pdf) regarding the process of framing the new Constitution of Hungary.