Hungary nullifies independent judiciary, cementing Orban's authoritarian grip

[applegrove]

https://thinkprogress.org/viktor-orban-cements-authoritarian-grip-on-hungarys-courts-15218d4c1e97/

By Luke Barnes at Think Progress

"SNIP.....

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban took another step closer to becoming Europe’s premier autocrat by passing a law that effectively nullifies the country’s independent judiciary.

Under the new legislation, which passed through the Hungarian Parliament on Wednesday, the country’s supreme court is now stripped of its ability to judge what are known as administrative disputes. In Hungary, this is a wide-ranging description encompassing everything from electoral law to corruption to police abuse to tax evasion.

Instead, a new system will be set up over the next 12 months overseen by Orban’s justice minister, who will control which judges get promoted to settle the administrative disputes. Hungary’s existing independent judiciary would be significantly weakened and have no oversight of the new system.

The move to quash the independence of the judiciary is the latest autocratic move by Orban, who is feeling increasingly emboldened as the beleaguered European Union confronts political threats on all sides, be it from Brexit, the Yellow Vests protests in France, or the rise of far-right parties like AfD in Germany.

......SNIP"

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Wow,the people of

Hungry did not learn the first time.