| Revision as of 13:43, 8 March 2013 editHarnad (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users1,490 edits updates on recent constitutional developments and international reactions, moved and named controversy section← Previous edit | Revision as of 20:12, 8 March 2013 edit undoHarnad (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users1,490 edits →Ministers without portfolio: more international responses to Hungarian constitutional crisisNext edit → | ||
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| On the 8th of March, 2013. the government of the USA raised its concerns both about the content of the proposed amendments ''"as they could threaten the principles of institutional independence and checks and balances that are the hallmark of democratic governance"'' and about the process by which they were to be accepted: ''" "urges the Government of Hungary and the Parliament to ensure that the process of considering amendments to the constitution demonstrates respect for the rule of law and judicial review, openness to the views of other stakeholders across Hungarian society, and continuing receptiveness to the expertise of the ]’s ]."'' <ref>http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/03/205838.htm</ref> | On the 8th of March, 2013. the government of the USA raised its concerns both about the content of the proposed amendments ''"as they could threaten the principles of institutional independence and checks and balances that are the hallmark of democratic governance"'' and about the process by which they were to be accepted: ''" "urges the Government of Hungary and the Parliament to ensure that the process of considering amendments to the constitution demonstrates respect for the rule of law and judicial review, openness to the views of other stakeholders across Hungarian society, and continuing receptiveness to the expertise of the ]’s ]."'' <ref>http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/03/205838.htm</ref> | ||
| On the 8th of March 2013, in a letter to the ], ], the ], and counterparts in ], the ] and ] called for the ] to be given new powers allowing it to freeze EU budget funds to a member state in breach of Europe's "fundamental values."<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/08/hungarian-prime-minister-warned-power</ref> | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 20:12, 8 March 2013
 | This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (November 2010) |
Politics of Hungary takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic. The Prime Minister is the head of government of a pluriform multi-party system, while the President is the head of state and holds a largely ceremonial position.
Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The party system since the last elections is dominated by the conservative Fidesz. The two larger oppositions are Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and Jobbik. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Republic of Hungary is an independent, democratic and constitutional state, which has been a member of the European Union since 2004. Since the constitutional amendment of 23 October 1989, Hungary is a parliamentary republic. Legislative power is exercised by the unicameral National Assembly that consists of 386 members. Members of the National Assembly are elected for four years.
Executive branch
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | János Áder | Fidesz | 10 May 2012 |
| Prime Minister | Viktor Orbán | Fidesz | 29 May 2010 |
The President of the Republic, elected by the National Assembly every five years, has a largely ceremonial role, but he is nominally the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and his powers include the nomination of the Prime Minister who is to be elected by a majority of the votes of the Members of Parliament, based on the recommendation made by the President of the Republic. If the President dies, resigns or is otherwise unable to carry out his duties, the Speaker of the National Assembly becomes acting President.
Due to the Hungarian Constitution, based on the post-World War II Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Prime Minister has a leading role in the executive branch as he selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them (similarly to the competences of the German federal chancellor). Each cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in consultative open hearings, survive a vote by the Parliament and must be formally approved by the president.
In Communist Hungary, the executive branch of the People's Republic of Hungary was represented by the Council of Ministers.
Legislative branch
Main article: Elections in HungaryThe unicameral, 386-member National Assembly (Országgyűlés) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the prime minister. Its members are elected for a four year term. 176 members are elected in single-seat constituencies, 152 by proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies, and 58 so-called compensation seats are distributed based on the number of votes "lost" (i.e., the votes that did not produce a seat) in either the single-seat or the multi-seat constituencies. The election threshold is 5%, but it only applies to the multi-seat constituencies and the compensation seats, not the single-seat constituencies.
Political parties and elections
For other political parties, see List of political parties in Hungary. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Hungary.Template:Hungarian parliamentary election, 2006
Judicial branches
A fifteen member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality. This body was last filled on July 2010. Members are elected for a term of twelve years.
The President of the Supreme Court and the Hungarian civil and penal legal system he leads is fully independent of the Executive Branch.
The Attorney General or Chief Prosecutor of Hungary is currently fully independent of the Executive Branch, but his status is actively debated
Several ombudsman offices exist in Hungary to protect civil, minority, educational and ecological rights in non-judicial matters. They have held the authority to issue legally binding decisions since late 2003
Financial branch
The central bank, the Hungarian National Bank has been fully independent between 1990–2004, but new legislation gave certain appointment rights to the Executive Branch in November 2004 which is disputed before the Constitutional Court.
Administrative divisions
Hungary is divided in 19 counties (megyék, singular - megye), 23 urban counties* (megyei jogú városok, singular - megyei jogú város), and 1 capital city** (főváros); Bács-Kiskun, Baranya, Békés, Békéscsaba*, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Budapest**, Csongrád, Debrecen*, Dunaújváros*, Eger*, Érd*, Fejér, Győr*, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Hódmezővásárhely*, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvár*, Kecskemét*, Komárom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nógrád, Nyíregyháza*, Pécs*, Pest, Salgótarján*, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Szeged*, Szekszárd*, Székesfehérvár*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabánya*, Tolna, Vas, Veszprém, Veszprém*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg*
Involvement in International Organisations
Hungary is member of ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (member, as by 1 May 2004), FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, ITUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, Visegrád group, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee
Ministries
Note: with restructruring and reorganization, this information may change even within a governmental period.
| English name | Hungarian name | Minister |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Home Affairs | Belügyminisztérium | Sándor Pintér |
| Ministry of Rural Development | Vidékfejlesztési Minisztérium | Sándor Fazekas |
| Ministry of Defence | Honvédelmi Minisztérium | Csaba Hende |
| Ministry of National Development | Nemzeti Fejlesztési Minisztérium | Zsuzsanna Németh |
| Ministry of Human Resources | Emberi Erőforrás Minisztérium | Zoltán Balog |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Külügyminisztérium | János Martonyi |
| Ministry of Administration and Justice | Közigazgatási és Igazságügyi Minisztérium | Tibor Navracsics |
| Ministry of National Economic Affairs | Nemzetgazdasági Minisztérium | Mihály Varga |
Ministers without portfolio
(Sources differ on the English names.)
===International controversy about new Constitution of Hungary and amendments
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On 1 January 2012, a new constitution came into force, which impedes any successor government from changing policies enacted by Fidesz. For instance, Fidesz loyalists occupy councils in charge of the media, judiciary, and budget for nine-year terms. Furthermore, the borders of electoral districts have been changed to deeply favour Fidesz and virtually guarantee that they either remain in power or retain a share of parliamentary seats that is sufficient to block any meaningful change to policies enacted by Fidesz.
The EU and other international organisations have expressed deep concern with respect to these developments in Hungary. On 17 January 2012, the European Commission launched legal action against Hungary over the new central-bank law, judicial reforms, and the independence of the new data ombudsman.
On the 1st of March 2013, Princeton University international constitutional law scholar and Hungary specialist Kim Lane Scheppele wrote:
- "the government is… introducing... many constitutional… amendments which were introduced before and nullified by the Constitutional Court or changed at the insistence of European bodies. The new constitutional amendment (again) kills off the independence of the judiciary, brings universities under (even more) governmental control, opens the door to political prosecutions, criminalizes homelessness, makes the recognition of religious groups dependent on their cooperation with the government and weakens human rights guarantees across the board. Moreover, the constitution will now buffer the government from further financial sanctions by permitting it to take all fines for noncompliance with the constitution or with European law and pass them on to the Hungarian population as special taxes, not payable by the normal state budget…. It annuls all of the decisions made by the Court before 1 January 2012 so that they have no legal effect. Now, no one in the country – not the Constitutional Court, not the ordinary courts, not human rights groups or ordinary citizens – can rely any longer on the Court’s proud string of rights-protecting decisions."
On the 5th of March 2013, Michael Link, undersecretary in the German Foreign Ministry, in "Hungary must remain a country of the law," called on Hungary "to demonstrate that the country has an effective separation of power between the legislative and the judicial."
On the 6th of March 2013, Europe’s main human rights watchdog, Council of Europe President Thorbjorn Jagland, said that the amendments set to be voted on next week by Hungarian lawmakers may be incompatible with European legal principles and asked Hungary to postpone the approval of a series of constitutional amendments so legal experts can review the changes.
On the 8th of March, 2013. the government of the USA raised its concerns both about the content of the proposed amendments "as they could threaten the principles of institutional independence and checks and balances that are the hallmark of democratic governance" and about the process by which they were to be accepted: " "urges the Government of Hungary and the Parliament to ensure that the process of considering amendments to the constitution demonstrates respect for the rule of law and judicial review, openness to the views of other stakeholders across Hungarian society, and continuing receptiveness to the expertise of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission."
On the 8th of March 2013, in a letter to the European commission, Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister, and counterparts in Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland called for the European Union to be given new powers allowing it to freeze EU budget funds to a member state in breach of Europe's "fundamental values."
External links
References
- Website of the Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
- Buckley and Eddy (5 January 2011). "Hungary risks isolation over new constitution". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- "Hungary's travails: Budapest vs Brussels". The Economist. 17 January 2012.
- Kim Lane Scheppele, New York Times, March 1, 2013 http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/01/guest-post-constitutional-revenge/ Constitutional Revenge
- http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/DE/Infoservice/Presse/Interviews/2013/130305-StM_L_FAZ.html
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/european-rights-watchdog-urges-hungary-to-postpone-vote-on-disputed-amendments-to-constitution/2013/03/06/87ac1526-867b-11e2-a80b-3edc779b676f_story.html
- http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/03/205838.htm
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/08/hungarian-prime-minister-warned-power
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