The Judiciary: Structure
The Hungarian Constitution
ensures the independence of the legal system. The judges are appointed,
following probation of two years, for an indefinite period. The President
of the Republic appoints them upon a proposal from the Minister of Justice,
which is in turn submitted to the President and Council of Judges of the
Court of Appeal. Judges can be removed from their posts only for serious
reasons and in accordance with a procedure laid down by law. The President
of the Supreme Court is elected by Parliament on a proposal from the President
of the Republic. The Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President
of the Republic on a joint proposal of the President of the Supreme Court
and the Minister of Justice. Judges are not allowed to engage in political
activities or join a party.
The Procurator General is
elected by the National Assembly, on a proposal from the President of the
Republic, and is answerable to it. He determines the organisation of the
various public prosecution offices. The procurators are subject solely
to the laws and instructions given by the Procurator General.
In addition, administrative
acts are subject to judicial review by the ordinary courts. The military
courts, which are qualified in particular to deal with matters concerning
the secret services, follow the civil procedure and appeals may be made
against their decisions to the Supreme Court.
Under Chapter 5 of the Hungarian
Constitution, Parliament has appointed a number of ombudsmen to investigate
individual complaints in different sectors: individual rights (two parliamentary
commissioners), data protection and minority rights (the last was elected
in July 1995).
Since 1989 the Constitutional
Court has been keeping a check on the constitutionality of laws and international
treaties. It should be made up of 11 members elected by the National Assembly
by a two-thirds majority for a nine-year term which may be renewed just
once (with an age limit of 70).
Matters may be put to the
Court in advance – in this case it has only a consultative role – or subsequently,
in which case it can cancel any unconstitutional provisions. The right
to refer matters to it is extensive since any party may put matters subsequently
to the Court and the Court may even refer matters to itself in certain
cases. The Court may also provide interpretations of the text of the Constitution
and settle disputes regarding public authorities’ powers.
Functioning of the Judiciary
Justice does not yet operate
in a satisfactory way at all levels in Hungary. The courts are overloaded;
the number of cases put to them has increased greatly in recent years and
it takes longer for rulings to be given. The complexity of the rules of
procedure and the fact that judges still lack the necessary professional
qualifications and that courts have been accorded much greater powers in
recent years generally explain this situation. The Hungarian Government
has launched a programme to ensure that rulings can be delivered more quickly
(reform of rules of procedure and improvement of court facilities) and
judges can be trained to a higher standard.
The Constitutional Court
has in recent years been in a transitional stage with only nine members,
since the parties represented in Parliament have not succeeded in agreeing
on who should fill the two vacant posts. Although a solution was recently
found, the two-thirds qualified majority needed to appoint judges is still
difficult to attain. If no alternative solution is found, this situation
could recur in 1998 when two of the terms expire.
The Judiciary
Vacancies in the Constitutional
Court are filled as they arise ensuring that the number of judges is always
above the constitutional minimum.
The judiciary continues to
function satisfactorily, albeit slowly, due to the high case load. Whilst
courts of first instance were able to reduce the backlog of cases registered
in recent years, the number of appeal cases at the Supreme Court is increasing
(see chapter 4 on administrative capacity). In general, most criminal cases
take more than one year, whereas civil cases are usually dealt with more
rapidly. Following the judicial reform of 1997, technical facilities
at the courts have been modernised and auxiliary staff increased.
Since 1998 the number of
posts for judges has remained constant. The judicial reform of 1997 also
resulted in improved pay for judges and regular training programmes organised
by the National Judicial Council and the Law Training Institute. In 1998
some 500 judges participated in training programmes on European Integration
and Community Law. Judges are obliged to attend postgraduate courses on
EU law to which they are invited.