Sąd Konstytucyjny Węgier

Abstract

The Constitutional Court of Hungary was established in 1989, which was a time of great political, economic, and social changes. During the first years of its functioning, the Court was to be comprised of fifteen justices; however, the bench remained incomplete until 1994. The difficulties in the appointment of justices were connected with the fact that the political parties represented in the Parliament were obligated to come to a consensus, which proved to be problematic. In 1994, the number of justices in the Constitutional Court of Hungary was reduced to eleven. The first chairman of the Constitutional Court was László Sólyom, who was later elected President. In 2010, after Fidesz won the parliamentary election, the process of appointing justices was simplified and a rule was instituted which dictated that it was the winning party who would decide the majority of the appointments. The legal base for the activity of the Constitutional Court can be found both in the Constitution as well as the appropriate statute. The Fundamental Law of Hungary, passed in 2011 (i.e. the Constitution of Hungary) acknowledges that the Constitutional Court’s purview includes first and foremost the analysis of conformity of the legislative acts. On the other hand, the current Act on the Constitutional Court was passed on November 14th, 2011, and it contains the detailed description regarding the structure and functioning of the Constitutional Court. According to the Act, the Constitutional Court consists of fifteen justices appointed for twelve years by the National Assembly. In the light of the current events, the chapter emphasises the relationship between the Constitutional Court and Viktor Orbán’s cabinet, as the latter has restricted the purview of the Constitutional Court several times, a move which was highly criticised both in Hungary and rest of Europe.