PM Orbán undermining freedoms of courts, media, NGOs, and academics?

Europe’s top court ruled on Tuesday that Malta’s system for appointing judges aligned with EU standards, in a case which campaigners said had forced the government to carry out reforms. The European Commission has long accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban of undermining freedoms of courts, media, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and academics, as well as of violating the law with his restrictive migration policies.

The ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) came after Repubblika, an organisation which campaigns to protect justice and the rule of law in Malta, challenged the country’s system of appointing judges in a national court. That court then sought guidance from the Luxembourg-based CJEU on whether the Maltese system complies with the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and the CJEU set out the criteria to guarantee judicial independence and impartiality.

The CJEU judges said it was not counter to EU law for a prime minister to appoint members of the judiciary as long as an independent body assessed candidates and gave an opinion.

The Maltese requirement that the prime minister must provide the reasons for choosing a candidate not put forward by the independent body was an additional safeguard, they said. Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela welcomed the ruling.

“It demonstrates that our reforms have been recognised and our judicial system has been effectively strengthened for the benefit of our citizens,” he said in a tweet.