Hungarian justice minister: Independence of judges not in danger

The newly established administrative courts do not endanger the independence of the judiciary in Hungary, and the Venice Commission’s opinion on the matter was “balanced and took the aims and efforts of the Hungarian government into account,” Justice Minister László Trócsányi said in an interview published in daily Magyar Nemzet on Monday.

Administrative courts dealing with matters of public administration are set to start operating as an independent branch of the judiciary from January 1, 2020. Trócsányi had requested that the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission review the procedure to avoid discrepancies between international and Hungarian legislation. The commission’s opinion was published on Friday.

In the interview to Magyar Nemzet, Trócsányi said that

next to criticism, the commission had also acknowledged the Hungarian government’s efforts to align the country’s legal system with “the country’s traditions and European standards”.