Commission Report 2002 (Hungary)

Civil and political rights

According to the Ombudsman for Civil Rights, the number of complaints lodged in the area of civil and political rights has declined over the last year. Most of them concerned property rights and rights to legal remedy, and related to the functioning of the mayor`s office and the courts. As regards basic constitutional rights, the overall number of complaints in 2001 was significantly less than a year before (210 in 2001 compared to 599 in 2000).

According to the opinion of the Ombudsman for Minorities the situation concerning degrading treatment by the police has been improving marginally over the past year, but there continue to be reports of ill-treatment and forced interrogation, and, in one case, a police raid on a Roma settlement. Although the data protection law prohibits the identification of individuals by ethnicity, Roma are particularly at risk of such treatment. During 2000, the Public Prosecution Office reported 850 cases of ill treatment during official proceedings and 283 cases of forced interrogation. As in earlier years, only a very limited number of cases (11%) were followed up. Further efforts by Hungary will be needed to ensure an effective system for addressing complaints of police misconduct.

Hungary continues to be primarily a country of transit and destination for trafficking in human beings. Trafficking is prohibited by law and the penalties have been stricter since April 2002, when the amendments to the Penal Code entered into force. Trafficking in human beings was defined as a crime in 1999 and since then international police co-operation has started and continuously improved. Since the entry into force of the Law on Entry and Stay of Foreigners in January 2002, detected traffickers may be expelled from Hungary with immediate effect. Special facilities for victims are available in the form of a victim protection fundand victim protection offices. A person can be kept in pre-trial custody by the police for 72 hours, a relatively long period of time. After the expiry of this time the persons concerned must be released unless the court has ordered pre-trial detention.

Hungarian prisons continue to be overcrowded, but apart from this problem, meet international standards. Over the reference period, additional facilities have been made available following the modernisation and extension of some old buildings and construction of a new penitentiary institution. Under the Government`s long-term development programme, further projects are under way to improve overall accommodation facilities in Hungarian prisons.

The possibilities for legal aid are different in criminal and in civil proceedings. Contrary to the principles generally applied to legal aid, existing provisions are rather restricted in a criminal case. A free defence counsel may be ordered by the police, the prosecutor, or the court if the accused has not yet appointed one and if defence counsel is compulsory (i.e. for serious offences, or where the accused is under preliminary arrest, deaf, dumb, blind or mentally ill, or does not speak Hungarian). However, if convicted, the accused must pay all the costs of the proceedings. As of July 2003, new legislation will enter into force, extending the rights to a free defence counsel, which will become dependant on the income situation of the accused. In civil proceedings the principle of access to justice includes the right to legal aid (full or partial) if the financial circumstances of the party concerned are such that he or she is unable to cover the costs of the procedure. A person who has been granted legal aid is also exempted from advancing and paying costs arising in the course of proceedings. Legal aid can be granted upon request of the person concerned. A party to whom legal aid has been granted, but who loses the case must pay the costs of the other party. With a view to facilitating access to justice, the Government has prepared a proposal to modify the rules on legal aid to bring them in line with European standards. The Government should be encouraged to submit the draft law to Parliament without further delay.

In addition to the existing legal provisions, free legal information services are offered by 13 offices, set up under the authority of the Ministry of Justice. The offices provide legal advice, covering the interpretation of legal rules, the identification of competent authorities and/or the applicable procedure. They do not prepare petitions, claims, pleas or any other documents for submission to the courts or authorities, nor do they represent citizens in legal proceedings. In 2001 the offices gave advice to 3 449 citizens.

As mentioned in the previous Regular Report, new legislation on asylum and the residence of foreigners entered into force in January 2002. These laws introduced a legal remedy against the rejection of visa applications and reduced the maximum period of detention for illegal migrants by the Border Guard from 18 to 12 months. Further elements included the definition of unaccompanied minors and the re-definition of temporary protection and safe third country. An accelerated procedure for processing asylum applications was introduced and the number of grounds for rejecting an asylum claim as ``manifestly unfounded'' was increased.

According to the Office of Immigration and Nationality, which is in charge of asylum matters, the number of applications for refugee status rose in 2001 to 9 554, an increase of about 22.5% compared to 2000 . The number of asylum-seekers granted refugee status, however, remains at an extremely low level. In 2001 only 174 applicants were granted refugee status. In general, co-operation between the Border Guards and the Office for Immigration and Nationality should be improved as regards the handling of asylum cases.

On the basis of the Criminal Code not only racially motivated violent actions but also racially motivated non-violent actions inciting hatred against groups of people are punishable. As a positive development, a fine was imposed by the National Media Council on a radio station in January 2002 for regularly broadcasting language insulting such groups as Jews and Roma.

Hungary continues to respect freedom of expression. The Constitutional Court had declared disproportionate draft legislation that would have restricted the freedom of the print media to publish critical opinions on public persons. Since May 2002, the Government and opposition are again equally represented in the Presidium of the Boards of Trustees for the supervision of public service media. However, during the election campaign, the presence of Government parties was more evident in public service media, while private media generally provided a more neutral coverage of events, as underlined by the OSCE in its final observations report on the Hungarian Parliamentary elections.

Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Hungarian Constitution and no particular problems have been reported in this respect.

Sexual orientation plays a role in the armed forces, where homosexuals are excluded from serving as professional soldiers. In September 2002, the Hungarian Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the provisions of the Penal Law, setting a different age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual intercourse. The relevant provisions will have to be repealed.

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