Rule of law cases – Hungary

Hungarian cases on the rule of law at the cjeu

Dashboard Rule of Law Cases - Hungary - CJEU

Case NumberNameDate of JudgementECLI:EU:C:Summary
C‑286/12Commission v Hungary06/11/20122012:687
retirement age of judges

lowering the retirement age of judges creates difference in treatment on grounds of age which is not proportionate; Directive 2000/78/EC

C-556/17Torubarov29/07/20192019:626
asylum procedure, effective judicial remedy

guarantee of effective judicial remedy for applicant of international protection, national court/tribunal required to vary a decision of the first-instance determining body that does not comply with its previous judgment; Directive 2013/32/EU, Art. 47 CFR

C-718/17Commission v Hungary-2019:917
relocation of applicants for international protection

Joined Cases C-715/17 (Poland), C-718/17 (Hungary), C-719/17 (Czech Republic); failure to assist Italy and Greece by relocating applicants for international protection to their respective territories

C-66/18Commission v Hungary06/10/20202020:792
academic freedom

violation of academic freedom concerning amendments in Hungary's 2011 Higher Education Act that limit the operations of foreign academic institutions in Hungary; Art 14 CFR

C-78/18Commission v Hungary18/06/20202020:476
Hungarian NGO Transparancy Law

restrictions imposed by Hungary on the financing of foreign civil society organisations through excessive transparency requirements; Art. 63 TFEU

C-406/18PG v Bevándorlási és Menekültügyi Hivatal19/03/20202020:216
asylum procedure, effective judicial remedy

the right to an effective remedy in asylum procedures; Directive 2013/32/EU, Art. 47 CFR

C-564/18LH v Bevándorlási és Menekültügyi Hivatal19/03/20202020:218
asylum procedure, effective judicial remedy

grounds for issuing an inadmissibility decision of an application for international protection (IP) and the time-limit imposed to make such a decision; Art. 47 CFR, Art. 33 Directive 2013/32/EU

C-650/18Hungary v Parliament03/06/20212021:426
legality of the adoption of the Art. 7 TEU resolution

Hungary challenged the vote on Art. 7 procedure for determining the existence of a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the EU’s fundamental values, Hungary argued that the vote result did not take into account the abstentions

C-808/18Commission v Hungary17/12/20202020:1029
international protection and return of unlawfully staying TCN’s

Hungary failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law in the area of procedures for granting international protection and returning illegally staying third-country nationals; Procedures Directive (Directive 2013/32), Reception Directive (Directive 2013/33) & Qualification Directive (Directive 2008/115)

C-40/19EY-case withdrawn due to decision in C-406/18
asylum procedure, effective judicial remedy

effective judicial protection even if courts cannot amend asylum procedure decisions but may only annul them and order a new procedure; Art. 47 CFR, Art. 31 of Directive 2013/32/EU

C-67/19KD v Bevándorlási és Menekültügyi Hivatal-case withdrawn due to decision in C-406/18
asylum procedure, effective judicial remedy

effective judicial protection even if courts cannot amend asylum procedure decisions but may only annul them and order a new procedure; Art. 47 CFR, Art. 31 of Directive 2013/32/EU

C-210/19TN-case withdrawn due to decision in C-406/18
asylum procedure, effective judicial remedy

effective judicial protection even if courts cannot amend asylum procedure decisions but may only annul them and order a new procedure; Art. 47 CFR, Art. 31 of Directive 2013/32/EU

C-564/19IS23/11/20212021:949
Limitations to refer preliminary questions

Under Hungarian law it was unlawful to refer irrelevant/unnecessary preliminary questions, and disciplinary measures could be taken if the national judge nonetheless decided to ask preliminary questions. This is in violation with EU law.

C-821/19Commission v Hungary16/11/20212021:930
inadmissibality for international protection applications

introduction of a ground of inadmissibility for applications for international protection in addition to those listed in the Procedures Directive 2013/32/EU and the Hungarian Criminal Code that criminalises any ‘organising activity’ enabling asylum proceedings to be brought by a person who is not entitled to international protection under national law

C‑924/19 PPU and C‑925/19 PPU FMS and Others14/05/20202020:367
international protection, effectiv judicial remedy

change of destination country in return decision by an administrative authority should be regarded as a new return decision requiring an effective remedy, transit zone as detention within meaning of Reception Conditions and Returns Directive; Art. 47 CFR

C-156/21Hungary v Parliament and Council16/02/20222022:97
Conditionality Regulation

Hungary challenges the legality of Regulation 2020/2092 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget as it lacks a valid legal basis

C-823/21

Commission v Hungary (Déclaration d’intention préalable à une demande d’asile) 22/06/23 2023:504
Failure to fulfil EU asylum obligations

By deciding in line with the Commission, the Court of Justice recognises that by making the possibility of making an application for international protection subject to the prior submission of a declaration of intent to an embassy located in a third country, Hungary has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU asylum law.


Hungarian cases on the rule of law at the ECTHR

THIs list only contains communicated cases.

Dashboard Rule Of Law Cases - Hungary - ECtHR

Case NumberNameDate of JudgementSummary
20261/12Baka v. Hungary23/06/2016
judicial independence

Art. 6 ECHR; judicial independence, several constitutional and legislative reforms led to the early termination of Mr. Baka’s mandate, expelling the critical judge from the highest office in the Hungarian judiciary, without providing any possibility for judicial review

45434/12, 45438/12 and 375/13J.B. and Others v. Hungary27/11/2018
retirement age of judges

Art. 6 and 8 ECHR; retirement age of judges, complaints of judges and prosecutors who faced early retirement as a result of Hungary’s recent judicial reforms, found inadmissible as they failed to establish the severity of the impact this legislative measure had on their private lives

45438/12 (decision in J.B. and others v. Hungary)
Belegi and others v. Hungary27/11/2018see J.B. and others v. Hungary
375/13 (decision in J.B. and others v. Hungary)
Horváth and Kulcsár v. Hungary27/11/2018see J.B. and others v. Hungary
57774/13Miracle Europe Kft v. Hungary12/04/2016
tribunal/court established by law

Article 6 ECHR; volation of the applicant company’s right to a fair trial on account of its case not being heard by a “tribunal established by law” due to the discretionary reassignment from the initially competent court to another court

22254/14Erményi v. Hungary22/02/2017
premature termination of judge's mandate

premature termination of the applicant’s mandate as Vice-President of the Hungarian Supreme Court in parallel with the dismissal of the President of that court, examined in the Baka case, due to a change in the Hungarian legislation

201/17Magyar Kétfarkú Kutya Párt v. Hungary21/01/2020
Law penalizing political party for mobile app lacked sufficient precision

The Court found a violation of Art 10 (freedom of expression) in a case where a provision of Hungarian election law had penalised the applicant party for providing an app which allowed voters to photograph, anonymously upload and comment on invalid votes cast during a referendum on immigration in 2016 - which had been an exercise of its freedom of expression.

42461/13, 44357/13Karácsony and Others v. Hungary17/05/2016
MPs fined for their conduct in Parliament

The Court found a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) in a case concerning fines imposed on Hungarian MPs from two opposition parties who had disrupted parliamentary proceedings by protesting two bills being debated in Parliament.

63164/16Mándli and Others v. Hungary26/05/2020
Journalists refused access to Parliament building

The Court found a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) in a case concerning the suspension of the applicants’ Parliament accreditation as journalists, without a mechanism to appeal against the suspension of their accreditation.

26005/08, 26160/08Tatár and Fáber v. Hungary12/06/2012
Hanging dirty laundry around Parliament qualified as political expression

The Court found a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) in a case concerning a complaint by applicants, prosecuted and fined for illegal assembly for hanging dirty laundry on the fence around Parliament in Budapest, in protest at what they considered the country’s general political crisis.

15428/16Szurovecz v. Hungary8/10/2019
Refusal of journalist to access a reception centre for asylum-seekers

The Court found a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) in a case concerning the refused media access to reception facilities for asylum-seekers, thus preventing him from reporting on the living conditions there.

50012/17

Ikotity and Others v. Hungary

05/10/2023
Right to freedom of expression

Opposition members of parliament were sanctioned for using posters without permission during an interpellation speech by a colleague. The Court determined that the reasons behind the decisions were relevant to the legitimate aim pursued and were sufficient to demonstrate that the interference was deemed “necessary” in a democratic society. Therefore, the Court concluded that there was no violation of the right to freedom of expression (Art. 10 ECHR).