Appeal submitted to top court against migrant quota referendum

Budapest, May 24 (MTI) – An appeal has been submitted to the Constitutional Court against parliament’s decision to hold a referendum in Hungary on the European Union’s mandatory migrant quota.

The top court said on its website on Tuesday that the anonymised appeal would be assessed in a priority procedure. Under the law, the court has 30 days to make a ruling.

The court’s general secretary Botond Bitskey said the appeal was submitted by a private individual. The President’s Office and the National Election Committee have been informed about the appeal, he added.

In the referendum, passed by parliament on May 10, voters would be asked: “Do you want to allow the European Union to mandate the resettlement of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of the National Assembly?”

According to the appeal, it is not in parliament’s power to pass such a decision, since the referendum question has an impact on EU common policy. The author of the document added that the referendum bill should have been discussed in parliament’s EU committee, which did not happen.

The president will not set a date for the referendum before the procedure is completed. Should the top court reject the appeal, the president will announce the date within 15 days of the court’s decision, setting it between 70 and 90 days from the decision.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters