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**Headline:** HRW Warns Hungary’s Hasty Constitutional Amendment Risks Undermining Rule of Law Restoration
**Summary:**
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a stark warning that the new Hungarian government’s rushed proposal for a 17th Amendment to the constitution threatens to derail progress in restoring the rule of law following 16 years of Fidesz rule. The proposed amendment, published on June 22, 2026, with a mere five-day public consultation period ending June 27, aims to make sweeping changes to key state institutions. Most notably, it would summarily remove President Tamás Sulyok and the head of the Constitutional Court, Péter Polt, without following due process. HRW emphasizes that while the government of Prime Minister Péter Magyar has a legitimate mandate to reverse the arbitrary stacking of institutions with Fidesz loyalists, the method of doing so through a rushed and non-consultative constitutional overhaul is deeply problematic and reminiscent of the very tactics used by the previous administration.
The core of the controversy lies in the amendment’s provisions for the immediate removal of the President and the Constitutional Court president. Instead of utilizing the existing constitutional impeachment process, which would involve a hearing before the Constitutional Court, the government is opting to change the rules to force these individuals out of office. President Sulyok, elected by a Fidesz-majority parliament in 2024, and Justice Polt have both refused to resign. The amendment would also introduce a mandatory retirement age of 70 for Constitutional Court judges, effectively ending Polt’s term. HRW notes this mirrors Fidesz’s own 2011 judicial overhaul, which was later ruled unlawful by the Court of Justice of the European Union for reducing the retirement age to 62 in order to purge senior judges.
While acknowledging the profound challenges the new government faces, HRW points to several positive initial steps taken by the Magyar administration. These include allowing the prolonged state of emergency to lapse, restoring Hungary’s membership in the International Criminal Court, dropping politically motivated charges against Pride organizers and a leading independent journalist, and passing significant media reforms. However, Benjamin Ward, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, cautioned that the progress on restoring the rule of law is “precious and fragile.” The article concludes by warning that the government risks undoing its own good work with “hasty legislation that rides roughshod over due process and fairness,” emphasizing that in a state that respects the rule of law, the ends do not justify the means.
Ez a cikk a Neural News AI (V1) verziójával készült.
Forrás: https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/06/25/hungary-rushed-constitutional-changes-undermine-rule-of-law.