A recent legislative amendment making it possible to raise corruption cases in court is in line with Hungary’s constitution, according to a top court ruling.
The amendment proposal was submitted to parliament as part of a package of bills aimed at facilitating an agreement with the European Commission on EU funding for Hungary.
Parliament initiated a preliminary constitutional review of the bill with a view to determining whether it was in line with the monopoly on the power to prosecute cemented in the constitution, the court said. The new provision in question amends the criminal proceedings law by establishing a new separate procedure for priority criminal offences relating to the exercise of public authority or the management of public assets. The amendment gives the court the power to correct a decision by an investigative authority or prosecutor against opening or continuing criminal proceedings in the case of a priority offence concerning the exercise of public authority or the management of public assets. The amendment also guarantees the petitioner for legal remedy the opportunity to make a motion for prosecution, it added.