Hungarian Government and Parliament should respect the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

MDAC has signed a joint NGO submission, in which we call on the Minister of Justice and Public Administration to withdraw the proposal, which, if adopted by Parliament, would declare that Hungary is not willing to implement the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). 

On Friday 20 April 2012, the Hungarian Minister of Justice and Public Administration, Mr. Tibor Navracsics submitted a draft Parliamentary Resolution to Parliament not to implement the judgment of the ECtHR in the case of Fratanolo v Hungary. The judgment, handed down by the Strasbourg-based court in November 2011, is the second such decision establishing that Hungary had violated the right to freedom of expression protected by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms by criminalizing the wearing of the red star in public. According to the minister’s proposal, the penal provision should remain in effect and Hungary should not pay the just satisfaction awarded by the ECtHR.

This is an unprecedented act in 20 years of Hungarian democracy, since the proposed resolution, which carries serious political implications calls on the Hungarian Parliament and Government to breach and disregard an international treaty signed by Hungary. 

No Member of Parliament or political party has been requested or authorized by voters to disregard Hungary’s obligations deriving from her membership in the Council of Europe. We hereby remind the Government and all Members of Parliament who believe in democratic values and are committed to Hungary’s membership in the European Union that the EU is just in the process of acceding to the European Convention on Human Rights, and the jurisprudence of the ECtHR also guides legal developments and practices in the EU. By breaching her obligations as a member of the Council of Europe, Hungary would open yet another front line in the on-going disputes with the EU, regarding an issue in which the Government’s position is clearly untenable. The responsibility for this shall lie with the author and supporters of the parliamentary resolution, while its consequences will have to be borne by all Hungarian citizens.

Budapest, 24 April, 2012.