Rights Group Urges New Hungary Government to Restore Rule of Law
By Editorial Team
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Hungary’s incoming government to take immediate action to restore fundamental rights and dismantle laws and institutions used to suppress dissent. This plea comes following opposition leader Péter Magyar’s landslide victory in Sunday’s elections, which is poised to end 16 years of rule under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
HRW specifically urged the new government to suspend and repeal the Sovereignty Protection Office, established in 2023 with broad powers to investigate journalists, civil society organizations, and academics receiving foreign funding. The organization also called for an end to emergency decree powers that have allowed the executive to bypass parliamentary debate since 2020.
Lydia Gall, senior Europe and Central Asia researcher at HRW, emphasized the importance of restoring the rule of law and democratic institutions in Hungary. Gall stated that early action to end rule by decree would signal a positive shift away from years of rights erosion.
The organization further urged the government to drop criminal charges against individuals such as Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony and Géza Buzás-Hábel, organizer of the 2025 Pride march in Pécs. HRW also called for an end to the investigation into journalist Szabolcs Panyi, which it deemed as retaliation for his reporting on public interest matters.
During Orbán’s tenure, the government concentrated power in the executive branch, weakened judicial independence, and exerted control over a significant portion of the country’s media. The Court of Justice of the EU has imposed daily fines on Hungary since June 2024 for failing to comply with asylum policy rulings.
Magyar’s Tisza party secured a two-thirds supermajority in the recent elections, granting the incoming government the ability to amend the constitution. HRW stressed the importance of implementing reforms to meet EU rule of law standards, which could unlock frozen EU funds due to previous breaches of EU law by the Hungarian government.
