Press releases

It infringes upon the principle of legal security if the child welfare service acting on a reported child abuse requests the action of another authority having similar legal competence in the matter simultaneously with its own proceedings. Investigating a complaint, Ombudsman Máté Szabó established that it runs contrary to the requirements of a fair procedure when the authorities impose restrictions, with no legal authorization, on the decisions of a parent exercising his/her supervision right.

A nine-month inquiry of the commissioner for fundamental rights has revealed improprieties constituting an infringement of the requirement of legal certainty and violating basic rights of persons in community employment. In his report Máté Szabó has urged the competent ministries to the early implementation of several measures to eliminate problems and improprieties concerning the regulation on community employment and its application.

The number of complaints filed to the Office increased by 25% during the first year of the transformed, reorganized ombudsman system. The Office managed to accomplish its legally defined, partly new tasks in 2012 with a uniform approach, flexible organization of work and considerable surplus labor.

Ombudsman Máté Szabó deems it exemplary and significant from the point of view of defending the rights of helpless average people that the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the regulation precluding the disbursement of rehabilitation allowances to people engaging in activities earning minimal income. According to the Ombudsman, the Court confirmed that the basic requirements of legal security and equal opportunity should prevail during the transformation of the disability provision system. The Ministry of Human Resources has already submitted to the Government the draft amendment of the relevant legal regulation.

According to the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, the affected entrepreneurs' right to property is violated by the manner in which the law-maker prohibited the operation of the slot machines; in addition, it is contrary to the principle of protection of legitimate expectations and the requirement to ensure sufficient time for preparation in order to adapt to the legal environment. Consequently, Máté Szabó requested the annulment of certain amendments of the Act on Gambling Operations that have been in force since 10 October 2012.

The Constitutional Court (hereinafter as : "CC") annulled certain provisions of the Family Protection Law affecting rules of inheritance and the definition of family. Upon the initiative of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, the CC had carried out the inquiry of certain sections of the law and it announced its decision yesterday. The CC shared Máté Szabó, ombudsman's view according to which the Clauses of the law affecting rules of inheritance and the definition of family are discriminatory. The Court ruled the provisions contrary to the Fundamental Law, as a consequence of which it annulled them.

The Constitutional Court, approving the petition filed by Ombudsman Máté Szabó, in its decision of 18 December 2012 declared as contrary to the Basic Law and annulled the provision of the Act on Legal Aid which excluded that persons in precarious social situation submitting a constitutional complaint receive legal advice and legal representation financed from state budget.

The State Motorway Management Co., Ltd. (SMMC) fines the unlucky owners if car thieves fleeing in their vehicles fail to pay for using the nation's motorways. It is harassment and it infringes the requirement of legal certainty, stated Ombudsman Máté Szabó commenting on complaints.

Due to the lack of adequate legal and technical conditions to ensure that Nationality communities get involved in local government decision-making process, these communities are not able to exercise all the rights to which they are entitled. The commissioner for fundamental rights has turned to the minister of administration and justice.

The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights considers the provision of the new Labour Code flawed, according to which the pregnant employee may invoke the protection against termination only if she notified the employer of her pregnancy before the disclosure of the termination. According to Máté Szabó, the obligation of preliminary notification violates pregnant women's human dignity and their right to privacy. Consequently, the Commissioner resorted to the Constitutional Court for a review.

Mediation and alternative dispute settlement are, without any doubt, useful, effective, cost­effective and child-friendly methods in both child protection and criminal justice. A mediation model meeting the expectations of children's rights has been working well in Western Europe. This method is scarcely used in Hungary since its application is hindered by the absence of training of childcare specialists, insufficient knowledge and legal problems, stated Ombudsman Máté Szabó.

Within the frames of a general project called the "Losers of the Crisis" the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights organised a workshop on 29 November 2012. The conference focused on three social issues; the changes in the system of pensions and disability allowances, the wage of employees in medical fields and the costs of enforcement proceedings.