The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has expressed concern about Hungary delaying the implementation of a European Court of Human Rights ruling in the case of former supreme court president András Baka, the court said on Thursday, calling on the Hungarian government to fully respect its decisions.
The Committee of Ministers, which supervises implementation of the Strasbourg court’s rulings, adopted an interim resolution earlier in the day, calling on Hungary’s authorities to submit an updated action plan no later than Sept. 30 to dispel concerns about the freedom and independence of Hungarian judges. The committee also urged the Hungarian authorities “to introduce required measures to ensure that a decision by Parliament to impeach the President of the Kúria (supreme court) be subject to effective oversight by an independent judicial body.” They added that the committee would launch a re-investigation of the case before March next year in view of the information received in the meantime. According to the 2016 ECHR ruling, the Hungarian authorities curbed Baka’s right to free expression. The court said at the time that Baka’s human rights had also been violated through the premature removal from his position when the new Hungarian constitution terminated the former Supreme Court and established the Kúria, its successor.
The committee said in July last year that the Hungarian government had failed to dispel concerns about the independence and freedom of expression of judges and asked for further information.
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