The Protection of Fundamental Rights in Hungary

Abstract

The analysis of Hungary’s constitutional framework for fundamental rights protection primarily addresses how the constitution guarantees the fundamental rights and obligations (the fundamental rights catalogue, internal enforcement of international legal obligations regarding the protection of human rights and various limitation tests). Furthermore, issues related to the adjudication of fundamental rights are examined, such as which state organs protect the rights, particularly the role, competences and proceedings of the Constitutional Court (its powers, petitioners, success rate of petitions and details of the two most common types of procedures: the constitutional complaint and judicial initiative, the role of the president and the Constitutional Court, the role of the judge-rapporteur, consequences of unconstitutionality and acceptance of decisions). Furthermore, the role of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (CFR), as a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) in Hungary, is analysed, discussing how the concepts of independence, pluralism, access, funding and broad mandate apply concerning the ombudsman.