Lawyers’ Chamber ‘shocked’ by accusations levelled at Hungarian president

The Hungarian Lawyers’ Chamber (Magyar Ügyvédi Kamara) has said it was “shocked” that a political party had called President Tamás Sulyok a “common criminal” and “servant of the land mafia” over his previous work as a lawyer.

In a statement on Monday, the chamber said it was “deeply concerning” that “in the heat of the political battles” political players were making accusations that “seriously harm public trust in not just the office of the president but also the legal profession”.

The chamber said it was convinced that Sulyok’s work as a lawyer had been held in “high public esteem”. It added that the president had always stood up for lawyers’ and the chamber’s independence in his academic work and during his time as a Constitutional Court judge, which he considered fundamental pillars of the rule of law and public trust.

They said this public trust had been “attacked with the aforementioned harsh statements.” They added that the Lawyers’ Chamber always took the necessary action against lawyers who violated the laws or ethics rules pertaining to them and would also take action against the “unworthy attacks” made against lawyers in the interest of protecting public trust in the profession.