HUNGARY: National Laws

Summary: General overview of Hungary's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.

National laws on children's rights

Status of the CRC in national law
Article 24 of the Constitution of Hungary empowers the Constitutional Court to review any conflict between legislation and international treaties and to annul laws or legal norms deemed to be in conflict with international treaties. This means that the CRC is of superior force to domestic law and can be cited before, and applied by, the Constitutional Court.

Constitution: the Constitution of Hungary contains a number of rights provisions that apply without reference to age, but also a number that specifically address the rights of children:

• Basic stipulations, article G: provides that a child born to a Hungarian citizen is a Hungarian citizen by birth
• Art. XV(1): entitles children to such protection and care as is necessary for their physical intellectual and moral development
• Art. XV(2): enshrines a right of parents to choose the upbringing of their children
• Art. XV(3): obliges parents to care for minor children, including in ensuring their children's education
• Art. XVIII(1): prohibits the employment of children, except as set forward in law and insofar as the employment does not harm their physical, mental or moral development
• Art. XXVIII(2): provides that the level of contribution for public necessities for people with children must be established by taking into consideration the costs of bringing up a child

Legislation: Hungarian law related to children has not been consolidated into a single Act or Code, rather legislation of particular importance for children can be found from various sources:

• The Penal Code
• The Criminal Procedure Act
• The Civil Code
• Act XXXI of 1997 on the protection of the child on the management of public guardianship
• Act LXIV of 1991 on the Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Act IV of 1952 on marriage, family and guardianship
• Act LXXXIV of 1998 on the support provided for families
• Act CXXV of 2003 on equal treatment and the promotion of equal opportunities
• Act XXVII of 2001 on the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour
• Act LXIX of 2000 on the minimum age of employment
• Act L of 2000 on the medical examination defining aptitude of children and young people to do non-industrial work
• Act LXXIX of 1993 on public education
• Act LXXVII of 1993 on minority rights
• Act LXXIX of 1992 on the protection of the foetus
• Act LXXX of 2007 on asylum
• Act XXXIV of 1994 on the police

Legal Research
The Hungarian Parliament publishes its legislation and the Constitution in Hungarian (http://www.mkogy.hu/) and provides more limited legislative materials in English (http://www.mkogy.hu/angol/angol.htm). The Constitution of Hungary is available in English through the Parliament's website (http://www.mkogy.hu/angol/alk_angol.htm). The 1000 years of law website contains an extensive collection of Hungarian law in Hungarian from between 1000 and 2003 (http://www.1000ev.hu/). In addition, the GlobaLex project at New York University has published a guide to legal research in Hungary (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Hungary1.htm) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/hu/) and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/hungary.php) both provide a collection of links to legal and governmental resources.

Case Law
CRC Jurisprudence
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Case Law Research
The website of the Constitutional Court publishes the Court's decisions in Hungarian (http://www.mkab.hu/) and more limited case law resources in English (http://www.mkab.hu/decisions_stat/decisions). The Supreme Court has a section of its website dedicated to court decisions and case law analysis in Hungarian (http://www.lb.hu/), but at the time of writing few resources were available. The Supreme Court also has a parallel English version of the website (http://www.lb.hu/en) though with fewer resources than the Hungarian counterpart.

Compliance with the CRC
In its Concluding Observations of 2006, the Committee on the Rights of the Child noted the State's declaration that in the event of a conflict between national law and the CRC, that the CRC would be applied, but expressed concern that the decentralised approach endorsed by the Child Protection Act placed responsibility on local authorities without providing them with sufficient means to establish effective child protection and welfare services.

In depth analysis
Among the more specific concerns raised by the Committee during its 2006 Observations was the incompatibility of the juvenile justice system with the Convention. The Committee expressed concern at reports of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment of children by law enforcement officials and adults with whom children were detained and the over-representation of Roma children in detention. The Committee urged the State to reform the juvenile justice system, including to ensure that deprivation of liberty is only used as a measure of last resort, children have access to legal aid and an effective complaints mechanism, and that the principle of non-discrimination is applied in the justice system.

Specifically with regards to reports of arbitrary detention, police brutality and ill-treatment of children in detention, the Committee urged the State to enforce its laws on torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and to investigate all allegations of such treatment, and punish those found responsible.

The Committee also raised serious concerns about the number of children who were victims of violence and sexual abuse within the family. The corresponding recommendations urged the State to take measures to combat this abuse, including by reviewing legislation with an aim to strengthening protections and developing and introducing an effective and mandatory reporting mechanism for professionals working with children.

Current legal reform projects
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects in Hungary.