26/01/2012 Monitoring
Strasbourg, 26.01.2012 – The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has requested an opinion from the Venice Commission, the Council’s group of independent legal experts, on whether another five laws recently adopted in Hungary are in line with the Council’s standards. This is in addition to an opinion on three laws which has already been requested by the Hungarian authorities.
The request comes as part of an ongoing investigation by the committee – launched in the spring of 2011 – into whether or not to open a “monitoring procedure” in respect of Hungary after 24 members of the Assembly raised “serious concern” about developments there in four areas related to human rights, the rule of law and the functioning of democratic institutions.
The new laws to be assessed are those on Freedom of Information, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecution, Nationalities and Family Protection. The Venice Commission is already preparing an opinion on Hungary’s laws on the judiciary, freedom of religion and parliamentary elections, following a request from the Hungarian authorities.
Kerstin Lundgren (Sweden, ALDE) and Jana Fischerová (Czech Republic, EDG), co-rapporteurs for the Assembly’s Monitoring Committee, announced that they will return to Budapest on 16 and 17 February 2012 to gather further information on recent developments. They made a first fact-finding visit in July 2011.
Ten of the Council of Europe’s 47 member states are currently subject to the Assembly’s monitoring, which involves dialogue with the authorities of a member state over its obligations as a member state of the Organisation.