In a judgment published this week, the Constitutional Court of Hungary ruled that the provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure that allows for unlimited pre-trial detention pending a first instance judgment is unconstitutional. The decision comes six years after the Ombudsperson asked for a constitutional review based on a request by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and the Eötvös Károly Institute. In December 2013, the Hungarian Parliament adopted an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, whereby the four-year time limit on the duration of pre-trial detention pending a first instance judgment was abolished for those accused of crimes punishable by a prison term of up to 15 years or life-long imprisonment. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee argued from the outset that eliminating the time limit with regard to pre-trial detention contradicts the Fundamental Law of Hungary, and raises serious concerns in light of international standards and specifically the relevant case-law of the European Court Human Rights. In January 2014, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and the Eötvös Károly Institute submitted a request to the Ombudsperson, asking him to initiate the constitutional review of the respective provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Following that request, the Ombudsperson turned to the Constitutional Court regarding the....

This post was originally published on Magyar Helsinki Bizottság.