On 18 October 2022, a delegation of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) visited the Curia.
The delegation was led by Mr. Filippo Donati, the current President of the ENCJ, and comprised Ms. Dalia Vasariene, the new President-elect of the ENCJ, who will take office at the end of this year.
One of the main objectives of their visit was to provide information on the exchange of experience among the members and observer bodies of the ENCJ as a family of Councils for the Judiciary, with a view to strengthening and maintaining judicial independence. In this context, the delegation considered it necessary to continue the dialogue with the President of the Curia of Hungary.
András Zs. Varga emphasised at the meeting that in Hungary the Fundamental Law and the laws governing the organisation of courts and the status of judges provide a stable and strong legal framework for ensuring judicial independence, which also allows the judiciary to publish freely about their activities. This is one of their strongest rights.
At the meeting, the framework for the central administration related activities of the National Judicial Council and of the President of the National Office for the Judiciary as “depoliticised minister” responsible for the administration of the courts was discussed. The President of the Curia stressed that he does not influence in any way the judges of the lower courts, nor does the Constitutional Court influence the Curia when it changes or annuls their decisions in the context of a legal remedy procedure.
At the discussion an overview of the proposals made in relation to the development of the Hungarian administrative court system and a presentation of the uniformity complaint procedure of the Curia of Hungary were also provided.
The participants of the meeting committed themselves to continue the dialogue in the future.
Budapest, 18 October 2022
The Communications Department of the Curia of Hungary
