TIMELINE OF UNDERMINING THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY IN HUNGARY 2012–2019

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Amnesty International Hungary prepared a comprehensive timeline to showcase the Hungarian government’s constant attacks on the independent judiciary.

Judicial independence has been under constant threat and has been systematically undermined by the governing majority in Hungary since 2011–2012. Steps threatening judicial independence included the centralisation of the administration of courts, the lowering of the mandatory retirement age of judges, terminating the mandate of the Supreme Court’s President prematurely, attempting to set up a heavily government-controlled administrative court system, and exerting pressure on critical judges. Below, we outline the most important events of the past seven years in this regard.