Hungarian parliament approves 10th amendment to constitution

The government has been given the power to declare a state of emergency in the case of an armed conflict, war, or humanitarian disaster in a neighbouring country, as parliament adopted the tenth amendment to the constitution on Tuesday.

The legislation was passed with 136 votes for and 36 against.

Under the amended constitution, from November 1, a special legal order can be introduced in the case of a state of war, emergency, or danger. A state of danger can be declared if “acts of war actually take place”. An armed conflict includes all armed clashes including a situation of civil war, while a humanitarian disaster could be any situation arising from a war or armed conflict, or from other reasons such as natural disasters causing a seriously difficult situation for masses of people.