NGOs turn to top court over ‘stigmatising law’ in Hungary

NGOs have turned to Hungary’s Constitutional Court over the recently adopted law on the financing of civil organisations which the NGOs say stigmatises them.

In a statement on Tuesday, 23 NGOs signed up to the constitutional complaint organised by the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ – Társaság a Szabadságjogokért) and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (Magyar Helsinki Bizottság) civil groups.

The NGOs said they consider the law to be legally problematic and harmful to society, adding that the law only served to underline public trust in the organisations as well as their credibility.

“All this harms the right to privacy set down in the fundamental law, harms respect for laws governing the private sector, and violates the freedom of expression and association,” the NGOs said.

In reaction, Fidesz communication chief Balézs Hidvéghi said in a statement that “Soros-funded pro-migrant organisations” reject transparency because they do not want to declare from whom, and how much support, they receive from abroad. It undermines trust in the organisations that they refuse to admit whose interests they serve by helping migrants, Hidvéghi said.

By refusing to register, the organisations not only break Hungarian law but also defy the opinion of Hungarians. In the last “national consultation” query, 99 percent of respondents supported the law on NGOs, Hidvéghi said.

Source: MTI