Motion for a resolution | Doc. 12490 | 25 January 2011

Serious setbacks in the fields of the rule of law and human rights in Hungary

Signatories: Ms Marietta de POURBAIX-LUNDIN, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Ms Tina ACKETOFT, Sweden, ALDE ; Mr Lennart AXELSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Ms Anne BRASSEUR, Luxembourg, ALDE ; Mr Mikael CEDERBRATT, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS, Latvia, SOC ; Ms Josette DURRIEU, France, SOC ; Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Carina HÄGG, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Andres HERKEL, Estonia, EPP/CD ; Mr Andrej HUNKO, Germany, UEL ; Ms Sinikka HURSKAINEN, Finland, SOC ; Mr Mats JOHANSSON, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Jaakko LAAKSO, Finland, UEL ; Ms Kerstin LUNDGREN, Sweden, ALDE ; Mr Pietro MARCENARO, Italy, SOC ; Ms Liliane MAURY PASQUIER, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Ingela NYLUND WATZ, Sweden, SOC ; Ms Carina OHLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Christos POURGOURIDES, Cyprus, EPP/CD ; Mr Indrek SAAR, Estonia, SOC ; Mr Björn von SYDOW, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Konstantinos VRETTOS, Greece, SOC ; Ms Nataša VUČKOVIĆ, Serbia, SOC

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

We, the undersigned, express our serious concern with respect to recent developments related to the rule of law, human rights and the functioning of democratic institutions in Hungary:

• rules for appointing members to the Constitutional Court have been changed in such a way that the institution’s autonomy is questioned. The powers of the Constitutional Court have diminished when it comes to scrutinizing the government’s proposals;
• consultation with international experts and in particular the Council of Europe’s European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), could usefully assisted the Hungarian authorities when rewriting the constitution of the country in a relatively hasty manner;
• information exists about civil servants in the public administration being replaced or dismissed for their political views;
• the Government of Hungary has agreed to an investigation by the European Commission into the new media law and should be commended for that. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the Hungarian Government might consider some changes to the law that has been criticised internationally for limiting the freedom of speech and demanding registration for anyone who supplies media with information.

For all the above reasons, we request that a monitoring procedure be initiated for Hungary in accordance with article 2.iii of the Terms of Reference of the Monitoring Committee.