Dr. Péter Tatár-Kis was appointed by the President of the National Office for the Judiciary (NOJ) for the leadership of the Budapest-Capital Regional Court for a one-year term. Péter Tatár-Kis graduated in 1996 in Miskolc. He started as a trainee judge at the Balassagyarmat District Court and was appointed secretary judge in 1999 and became a judge in 2000. Between 2008 and 2012 he served as vice-president of the Balassagyarmat District Court. He worked for several years in the NOJ, in 2016 he led the Judicial Department. In November last year he became president of the Balassagyarmat Regional Court, and since 17 June he has been head of the Budapest-Capital Regional Court.

How was your first working day at the Budapest-Capital Regional Court?

The first days were very pleasant. I met all the district court leaders, leaders of specific divisions and deputies at a management meeting and they assured me about their support in order to solve the near future tasks.

Compared to the leadership of the Balassagyarmat Regional Court, in what way is  it different to lead the Budapest-Capital Regional Court?

The Balassagyarmat Regional Court is the smallest court in Hungary in terms of the number of judges, and the Budapest-Capital Regional Court is the largest in Central Europe. Obviously, it needs more energy and more attention than the leadership of a small court. It requires different methods and different habits, but I think that this is not a problem for me. In the current situation, I think that my calmness and balance is an advantage in stabilizing the situation of the Budapest-Capital Regional Court.

What are the primary, most urgent tasks?

Getting to know the organization is the most urgent task for me, since as a judge of Balassagyarmat I had only little direct information about the Budapest-Capital Regional Court. Obviously, I have been aware of the problems before, but I would like to personally assess them.
It’s safe to say, there are no systemic problems, just fine tuning is needed within the organization. My goal is to achieve the best possible working conditions and the highest level of judicial performance in the Budapest-Capital Regional Court.
In the next few days I will personally interview both court leaders and representatives of different groups of the court. As a summary, I plan to announce a program for which I ask the support of judges and court leaders.

So do you actually set guidelines together?

Yes, I would like to set them together with the court leaders, but I also expect the support of the central administration, as we have more opportunities with them. If the NOJ joins us, we can do great things.

What do you mean? Do you already have specific plans?

Talking about plans in detail would be premature… As an outset, I can say that we are planning a lot of innovations both in communication and in contact with judges. I would like the judges to be directly informed of the efforts of the Budapest-Capital Regional Court and of the central administration.

How much is community building a part of your plans?

It is a very large organization, thus organizing monumental events where every employee can participate, is not an easy task. I think we have to start at micro level to build the community; building a closer relationship between district courts is a promising option, and the community can develop through many social events.