The abolition of the Position of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the National and Ethnic Minority

Policy Response DateJune 5, 2012 Country: Hungary Address: Budapest General Type: Institutional discrimination Racism and discrimination phenomena: Nationalism
Groups affected / Interested in: Ethnic minorities, National minorities Key socio-economic/institutional areas: Political discourse -parties - orgs, Political participation, Integration - social cohesion Hate speech/Racist Discourse Medium: Political Discourse

 

According to the former Act on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities, a specialized Parliamentary Commissioner had competence in cases of ethnic discrimination (among a variety of minority rights). The new Act on the Parliamentary Commissioner of Fundamental Rights [1] abolished the position of an independent minority ombudsperson, and from 1 January 2012, a deputy commissioner of the Parliamentary Commissioner of Fundamental Rights will be the responsible protecting the rights of ethnic and national minorities. According to legal experts, this raises concerns from the viewpoint of the European Union Racial Equality Directive [2] because it is not clear if the new deputy commissioner has the same mandate,[3] and apparently, the abolition of the position of the minority ombudsperson means a cutback compared to the pre-existent level of protection.[4]

 

Sources:

  1. 2011. évi CXI. törvény az alapvető jogok biztosáról [Act CXI of 2011 on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Fundamental Rights], http://net.jogtar.hu/jr/gen/hjegy_doc.cgi?docid=A1100111.TV, Accessed on: 27.01.2013.
  2. Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. Official Journal L 180, 19/07/2000 P. 0022 – 0026, :http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32000L0043:en:HTML, Accessed on: 27.01.2013.
  3. Bánkuti, M et. al., Februeary 2012, Opinion on Hungary’s New Constitutional Order: Amicus Brief for the Venice Commission on the Transitional Provisions of the Fundamental Law and the Key Cardinal Laws,  https://sites.google.com/site/amicusbriefhungary/, Accessed on: 27.01.2013.
  4. Pap, A, 06.07.2011, Kisebbségi jogok az alaptörvénybe [Minority rights in the Fundamental Law], Szuverén.hu,  http://szuveren.hu/vendeglap/pap-andras-laszlo/kisebbsegi-jogok-az-alaptorvenyben, Accessed on: 27.01.2013.