Office of the commissioner for fundamental rights of hungary

The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights proposed that the Constitutional Court interpret Paragraphs (5) and (6), Article 25 of the Fundamental Law of Hungary to solve the constitutional law issue concerning the operation of the National Judicial Council.

Ombudsman for Future Generations Gyula Bándi encourages the creation of a legal and incentive system that guarantees the peace of the citizens at night in order to systematically reduce the noise pollution caused by the dynamically increasing air traffic in Hungary, which already generates mass-scale complaints filed by the citizens, and asks the competent minister to conduct a comprehensive review of the legal regulation of air transport.

The principle of the rule of law and that of the best interests of the child, as well as the right to respect for family life are violated by all such hospital practices in the course of which newborn babies are separated from their mothers during postnatal hospital treatment, disregarding the statutory guarantees, without any medical reasons and in contrary to specific requests. Ombudsman László Székely consulted the competent ministry for the elaboration of the right legal interpretation and rules of procedures.

On the proposal of his Deputy-Commissioner for Future Generations Gyula Bándi, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights László Székely reviewed the provisions of the Forest Act amended in 2017 and turned to the Constitutional Court with constitutional concerns.

It was 26 years ago, on December 18, 1992 that the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. Commemorating this decision, which was a milestone from the aspect of international law and for society too, the Day of National Minorities has been celebrated on December 18 every year since 1995. In addition to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 1992, this UN declaration was the first comprehensive international document which specifically called the attention of the states to the protection of the identities of national minorities as a value to be held in high esteem. It made provisions, among others, on the right of national minorities to their own culture and education in their respective mother tongues, on their meaningful participation in the decision-making on matters affecting the national minorities, as well as the possibility for them to keep contact with their mother countries freely and across borders.

The opening ceremony of the renovated building complex of the elementary school in Tarnazsadány took place on 29 November 2018. The project of 130 million HUF in total had been initiated by the maintaining institutions, the headmaster as well as the ombudsman and the deputy ombudsman for the rights of national minorities. The renovation has been badly needed for decades, however this time not only the sanitary unit attached to the main building has been renovated but also the windows and doors were changed, the classrooms were insulated and the roof has been fixed.

Each child and the rights of each child count, reminds us Commissioner for Fundamental Rights László Székely of the statement underlying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on Universal Children’s Day. Dr. Székely also calls our attention to that children are not small adults, they are not mere instruments or objectives, they are not simple statistical figures but humans with their own rights, dignity, free will, personality and developing character. It is a one of today’s key challenges to give them a carefree childhood.

October 28 is an important holiday not only in the life of the citizens of Greece but also, for the members of the Greek national community living in other countries of Europe, including Hungary. On this day, we remember the day of 78 years ago when the then Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas said no to the military ultimatum given to him by Mussolini, which would have equaled the occupation of Greece. It was in this way that Greece entered the World War on the Allies’ side. Although the firm and brave decision of the Greeks, then the Greek victory in the ensuing Greek-Italian war could not prevent the subsequent German occupation of the country, it still played a significant role in the victory of the Allied Powers in the Second World War and October 28 has ever since been a symbol of the Greek national consciousness, bravery and perseverance.

In the interest of maintaining legal certainty, Ombudsman for future generations Gyula Bándi requests the Government and the Parliament to take immediate measures to reasonably extend the deadlines for the penalty-free approval of wells drilled without a permit.

The Month of Serbian Culture in Hungary, which is now organized for the ninth time, commenced on September 7, 2018 with an opening ceremony and a classical music concert presenting the works of the Buda-born Serbian composer Péter Sztojánovits. The rich series of events closing on October 5 offered a wide selection of Serbian folklore, church music, jazz, theatrical art and contemporary poetry but Belgrade also introduced itself to the audience by some touristic programs. The journey on the “Pest Literatary Omnibus” was a special element of the program series, which showed the places of Budapest connected with Serbia through poems. Thus, in addition to presenting the culture of Serbia, the program offered an opportunity for showing the values of the Serbian community living in Hungary, as well as their activities aimed at preserving their identity and cultivating their traditions.

On October 5, 1981, Raoul Wallenberg was awarded posthumous honorary US citizenship by the Congress of the United States of America. On every October 5 since 1989, we have commemorated Raoul Wallenberg, the savior of humans, one of the heroes of the Second World War, who is a genuine role model for the generations that follow.