Out of Administrative Court Act: Hungary does not create a government-parallel justice

It was a dangerous plan for the Hungarian constitutional state, now it is off the table: the right-wing national government of Viktor Orbán in Hungary finally renounces the introduction of a new administrative jurisdiction.

The law will be withdrawn, said Justice Minister Judit Varga the state news agency MTI. Already in May, the entry into force of the law had been postponed indefinitely.

"After serious technical discussions, the government has come to the conclusion that the jurisdiction is to be saved from unnecessary discussions, which is why it will maintain the single system of jurisdiction," Varga said. An independent administrative jurisdiction will not exist.

The law, which had been overturned in December 2018, had been criticized in particular by the Venice Commission, a committee of experts from the Council of Europe. Main point of criticism: When ordering the leading judge, the government would have had the deciding word. However, the proposed courts would have ruled in politically sensitive cases, such as in election disputes and conflicts over decisions of the government-prudent media supervision.

In the past, the regular courts in these matters often spoke judgments that were not to the liking of the Orbán government. With the new law - so feared critics and experts - could have assigned the politically sensitive cases of the newly created, more submissive jurisdiction.

The judiciary in Hungary is basically exposed to strong pressure from the government of Orbán, which has been in office since 2010. The State Office for Courts created in 2012 harasses judges who do not want to be put on government line. The forced retirement of older and experienced judges, also in 2012, should make way for government-loyal followers. EU bodies have regularly complained about these interventions.