Justitia Regnorum Fundamentum

Commissioner for Fundamental Rights László Székely, Deputy Commissioner for the Rights of National Minorities Elisabeth Sándor-Szalay, as well as Deputy Commissioner for Future Generations Gyula Bándi presented the 2018 Justitia Regnorum Fundamentum Award to three persons on the anniversary of the establishment of the Ombudsman institution. The awards were received by Lajos VÉKÁS, professor of law, Vice President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Éva MAYER, journalist, editor-in-chief of the journal for national minorities entitled Barátság, as well as Sándor KEREKES, professor of environmental economics, lecturer of the Corvinus University  of Budapest and the University of Kaposvár.

This award, founded by the Ombudsmen in 2007, is granted for outstanding accomplishment, professional activities or career to those who have achieved or contributed to the achievement of extraordinary, exemplary results in the field of protecting fundamental human and civil rights, in particular the rights of the child and other vulnerable groups, the rights of national minorities and the environment. The award is presented partly by the Commissioner of Fundamental Rights in his own competence, and partly on the basis of the proposals made by the Deputy Commissioner for the Rights of National Minorities and the Deputy Commissioner for Future Generations.

In the laudation of Professor Lajos Vékás, it was mentioned that what is recognized by the Ombudsman by granting this award is that the work and activities of the professor have served the enforcement of fundamental rights, as well as the realization of the constitutional values and state goals that are also recognized in the Fundamental Law of Hungary. The justification of presenting the award to Lajos Vékás emphasizes his role played in the preparation of the new Civil Code of Hungary, his educational activity, as well as the reputation that the award winner has gained in Europe with his research into private law, especially civil law and international commercial law.

Éva Mayer, who has helped the enforcement of the rights of national minorities with her untiring work, excellent expertise and empathy for several decades, received the award as an acknowledgement of her outstanding activities as a journalist, editor and organizer of cultural events. The journal Barátság, whose founder and editor-in-chief is Éva Mayer, does not only report on the life, events, artistic and scientific achievements of the national minorities living in Hungary but it also plays a significant role in the shaping of minority policy. At the same time, the award is also a recognition of the past decades of German national minority journalism and audiovisual media in Hungary, in which Éva Mayer has also played a very active role.

Professor Sándor Kerekes does his best to influence those politicians, officials and economic leaders who have the power to promote sustainable development – both in his capacity as a university lecturer and beyond his vocation as an educator as well, as is mentioned in his laudation.  He defines environmental economics more broadly than is commonly done, he expects the protection of the environment from a strong state, as the condition of the environment as a long-term interest will be pushed into the background if the state is weak and non-interfering. He encourages a stronger cooperation and the recognition of interdependence between the different sectors of the economy, saying that the world will otherwise not endure the environmental pollution caused by unbridled consumption.

Further information on the Justitia Regnorum Fundamentum Award, the award winners of this year and those of the previous years, as well as the full justification of presenting this year’s awards is available at https://www.ajbh.hu/en/web/ajbh-en/-/justitia-regnorum-fundamentum.