Skip to content
Search
SUBSCRIBE
  • CURRENT
  • POLITICS
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • CULTURE & SOCIETY
  • REVIEW
  • OPINION
  • INTERVIEW
  • PRINT ISSUES
Menu
  • CURRENT
  • POLITICS
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • CULTURE & SOCIETY
  • REVIEW
  • OPINION
  • INTERVIEW
  • PRINT ISSUES
  • About
Menu
  • About
  • CURRENT

New Judges Confirmed to the Constitutional Court

  • CURRENT

New Judges Confirmed to the Constitutional Court

The building of the Constitutional Court of Hungary
Wikimedia Commons
Mária Ádám-Haszonics, Zoltán Lomnici, András Patyi, and Réka Varga have all been confirmed to the Constitutional Court by a two-thirds majority vote in the parliament, replacing the four term-limited former justices on the 15-member panel. The Court has the power to strike down legislation if they find it incompatible with the Fundamental Law of Hungary.
  • Márton Losonczi
  • — 05.07.2023

Four new judges were confirmed to the Constitutional Court of Hungary in a vote in the National Assembly on Tuesday, 4 July. Four former judges on the 15-member panel had just served out their 12-year-long term limit. Egon Dienes-Oehm, Béla Pokol, Péter Szalay and Mária Szívós will no longer sit on the Constitutional Court’s bench.

Four new members were nominated to the Court by the governing Fidesz-KDMP coalition. The opposition parties only put forth one nominee of their own, a former MP for the Socialist Party (MSZP), Gergely Bárándy. However, he failed to gain enough support in the House Committee, thus his nomination was not even put to a vote.

A two-thirds majority is needed to confirm a judge to the Constitutional Court bench. All four nominees by Fidesz-KDMP managed to secure the votes needed—no surprise there, as the party coalition has held the Constitution-amending supermajority since 2010. Most of the opposition party MPs did not even show up for the vote, only 150 members recorded their choice either in favour or against the judges. All nominees received exactly 136 votes—from the 135 Fidesz-KDMP members, plus one maverick from the opposition.

Here are the four new judges on the Constitutional Court.

Mária Ádám-Haszonics, who was the chief notary public at the Budapest Mayor’s office under former Mayor István Tarlós, then worked in former President János Áder’s staff; Zoltán Lomnici, who served as the President of the Supreme Court (which was later reformed into the Curia of Hungary) between 2008 and 2012, and is currently an advisor to the President of the Curia; András Patyi, a former notary public, rector of the University of Public Service, and chief advisor to the Constitutional Court; and finally, Réka Varga, a former advisor to Ministry of Justice and the Hungarian Red Cross, as well as the former dean of the Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies at the University of Public Service.

What Does the Constitutional Court of Hungary Do?

The Constitutional Court of Hungary predates the first democratically elected government after the fall of the Socialist regime, having been established in 1989. It set up the rules for the first parliamentary elections of the Third Hungarian Republic, held in the spring of 1990.

It has the power of judicial review, meaning it can strike down laws passed by parliament if it deems it violates the Fundamental Law of Hungary, without the possibility of an appeal. The President of the Republic can also refer laws for review to the Constitutional Court instead of signing them, a process known as ‘constitutional veto’. The Court’s current president is Justice Tamás Sulyok, serving in the role since 2016.


Related articles:

Justice Minister Judit Varga Resigns From Her Post  UPDATE: State Secretary of the Cabinet Office Bence Tuzson to Replace Varga
The Key Findings of the 2023 EU Justice Scoreboard — Where Does It Leave Hungary?
  • Tags: 12-year-term, appointment, Constitutional Court, courts, Fidesz supermajority, Fundamental Law, Hungary, judges, judicial branch, judiciary, justice system, National Assembly, Parliament, Tamás Sulyok, vote

READ NEXT

Viktor Orbán speaking in the National Assembly on 25 September 2023.

Orbán: The Hungarian Patriotic Government Does Not Want to Return to the Gyurcsány Era

Ádám Bráder 26.09.2023

Katalin Novák Holds Talks with Tesla Founder Elon Musk 

Ádám Bráder 26.09.2023

Erasmus Safe Until November; Negotiations to Continue in October

Ádám Bráder 25.09.2023

CITATION

Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.

ABOUT

TERMS & CONDITIONS

PRIVACY POLICY

LOG IN

CONTACT

[email protected]

© Hungarian Conservative 2023

  • Privacy Policy
  • General Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Made by DIGITALHERO

  • CURRENT
  • POLITICS
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • CULTURE & SOCIETY
  • REVIEW
  • OPINION
  • INTERVIEW
  • PRINT ISSUES
  • CURRENT
  • POLITICS
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • CULTURE & SOCIETY
  • REVIEW
  • OPINION
  • INTERVIEW
  • PRINT ISSUES
Search

About

SUBSCRIBE

Tired of browsing?

Choose the Hungarian Conservative newsletter. Sign up for free – cancel anytime.

By signing up, you consent to receive our newsletter and allow Hungarian Conservative to use your data for marketing purposes. You can unsubscribe at any time.