Hungarian Helsinki Committee

ÁLLÁS - Jelentkezz január 31-ig Új munkatársunk legfontosabb feladatai: 🔴 a háromfős adminisztratív csapat munkájának összehangolása, 🟠 az iroda működésével kapcsolatos feladatok proaktív tervezése, koordinálása, 🟡 rendezvények szervezése, 🟢 szerződésekkel kapcsolatos ügyintézés, 🔵 statisztikai kimutatások készítése, 🟣 illetve a munkánkat segítő sokszínű egyéb adminisztratív és támogató feladatok. Jelentkezz január 31-ig, és dolgozzunk együtt egy emberi méltóságon alapuló, demokratikus társadalomért! https://lnkd.in/dNRiv_Fr

Happy Holidays from our Hungarian Helsinki Committee team! 🎄🌠 🕯️ We are grateful for all the support and cooperation we receive to promote human rights and the rule of law in Hungary and beyond, and wish everyone all the best for the holiday season and 2025!

Breaching judges' right to report is another severe step in demolishing judicial independence - and exactly this is happening in Hungary. Read how the President of the Kúria (the Supreme Court of Hungary) retaliated against two employees for expressing their critical expert opinions: https://lnkd.in/dN44eKAD #Kúria #judicialindependence #justice #Hungary #ruleoflaw

Breaches of judges' freedom of expression is a persistent problem in Hungary, where judges speaking out in defence of judicial independence are facing pressure through various administrative measures. Two new cases from the Kúria, Hungary’s apex court, show how this works in practice. Judge András Kovács, a senior judge at the Kúria, is the author of several critical articles. In 2020, he wrote in Verfassungsblog that the Kúria’s case allocation system was prone to abuse. Now Judge Kovács is targeted by a concentrated series of attacks after he raised questions about the independence of Kúria judges in another study. He was suspended from his judicial post for 2 years, without a finding of incompetence, and faces integrity and disciplinary proceedings. Judges' freedom of expression is at the centre of the lawsuit that Judge Kovács has now launched against his employer, the Kúria, challenging the suspension from his judicial post. Judge Kovács is represented by an attorney of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eUsiEw9g

We are delighted to share highlights from RARE's "Writing for Impact" camp, held last week in Budapest. It was an energetic journey of learning, networking, and professional growth for #ourRAREpeople, focusing on crafting effective policy briefs and discussing the challenges of illiberalism, also tackled by Hungarian human rights defending RARE alumni.

📝 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 in the case of 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐯 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐲 before the ECtHR On the 30 August 2024, we submitted a third party intervention, together with our colleagues from The AIRE Centre, and European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). For the first time, we intervened in a case that did not directly concern the rights of refugees or asylum seekers, but an NGO in Hungary that is active in the field of asylum law. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, like many other organisations in Hungary, was affected by Hungarian legislation that criminalised their activities in the field of asylum law. Activities that consist of, for example, providing legal assistance to migrants and asylum seekers, publishing information, delivering trainings and monitoring border violence. The Helsinki Committee brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights, which must now decide, among other things, whether the organisation's restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression (Articles 10 and 11 ECHR) serve a legitimate aim and are ‘necessary in a democratic society’. In the intervention, we highlighted... ❗ The crucial importance that NGOs such as the Hungarian Helsinki Committee play for access to fundamental rights, the well-functioning of a democratic society, and the rule of law. ❗Applying for asylum is a fundamental right, and providing legal assistance in exercising this right should be considered supporting the State in fulfilling its international obligations. ❗EU and international law guarantee both access to legal assistance and the freedom to provide such assistance without hindrance. As an organisation that is active in the field of asylum law, that is committed to upholding the rule of law and making justice accessible in practice, we are of course closely following the developments in that regard. 👇 Find more information on the case here https://lnkd.in/gA8VgXCR 👇 This is our full intervention https://lnkd.in/gSkDJZif 👇 Here you can find a joint opinion on the matter that was published by the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. https://lnkd.in/gJkwaam8

🌷 🎖️ This year, the Support Network for Detainees and their Families (FECSKE) won the Tulip Award for Human Rights from the Embassy of the Netherlands🇳🇱 in Budapest. The award ceremony took place on Human Rights Day, on December 10. Our colleagues at the HHC lead this support group, which unites formerly detained people, detainees' family members, NGOs, charities, and prison experts. We all work together for a better, fair prison system in Hungary. This award is an important recognition for us that upholding human rights in prisons is a valuable and important mission for the entire society. #humanrights #tulipaward #netherlands #hungary #detention

Success for human rights in prisons! Working together with detainees and their family members, the HHC used all NGO tools—research, legal expertise, public engagement, and policy dialogue—, to succeed in initiating change that allows for physical contact between many detainees and their family members during visitation after 7 years of a total ban. We continue to monitor the situation to achieve further improvements in the system, ensuring more humane and respectful treatment within detention facilities. Read our recent submission to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers in the case of Takó and Visztné Zámbó v. Hungary here: https://lnkd.in/dcg58x3W #humanrights #detention #prison #Hungary #family

Black Friday in the Hungarian Courts November 22 was a pivotal moment in Hungary’s judicial system. Leaders from the country’s three highest judicial administration bodies—the Kúria President, the President of the National Office of the Judiciary, and the President of the National Judicial Council—signed a contentious agreement with the Ministry of Justice. In exchange for vague and unguaranteed promises of long-overdue salary raises for court staff, they agreed to sweeping structural judicial reforms. Critics argue that these reforms could further erode judicial independence.  This led to a hitherto unprecedented wave of protest among hundreds of Hungarian judges and judicial staff at all levels of the judicial system. We explain how the government exerted financial pressure on the judiciary, pushing it to the brink of inoperability; how this was converted into political pressure on the National Judicial Council; why the concluded 'agreement' poses risks to judicial independence and undermines the system of checks and balances. 📖 Our new analysis: https://lnkd.in/d8sXTt8Q ⚖️ Voices of protesting judges: https://lnkd.in/d-jbPxip

Hogyan befolyásolja a nők közéleti szerepvállalását az online zaklatás, a mesterséges intelligencia és az ezzel kapcsolatos visszaélések? Erről lesz szó az Európai Parlament által szervezett hétfői panelbeszélgetésen, melynek vendége Márta Pardavi, a Magyar Helsinki Bizottság társelnöke is. Helyszín: Európa Pont (1024 Budapest, Lövőház utca 35.) Időpont: 2024. december 9. 18:00 Az esemény ingyenes, de regisztrációköteles, jelentkezni a epbudapest@ep.europa.eu e-mail címen lehet. Kattints az esemény további részleteiért: https://lnkd.in/dwYawH3Z