The French-Hungarian Legal Day, held on 11 October 2019, focused on the European relationships, the application of EU law and its challenges faced by the national institutions, and the European – especially French – institutional solutions. The National Office for the Judiciary puts great emphasis on the importance of the training of judges in international and EU law, gaining practical experience, cooperation with partner organizations, meetings of colleagues both in Hungary and abroad.

At the event – which took place at the French Institution and the Hungarian courts were represented by 40 judges and trainee judges – dr. Judit Varga, Minister of Justice and dr. Judit Gyarmathy, Vice-President of the NOJ held an opening speech.

Judit Varga recalled the centuries-old Hungarian-French relationship, especially the fruitful judicial cooperation, while Judit Gyarmathy praised the high-level and successful Hungarian-French court relations.

The lecturers were judges from the Council of State (Conseil d'État) and the Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation), the Deputy Secretary of State and the Head of Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice, a prosecutor from the Prosecutor General’s Office, a professor, and judges from the Curia and all levels of domestic courts. The morning lectures focused on the unification and development of French and domestic jurisprudence, the dialogue between the courts of the Membes States (Hungarian, French) and the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the facilitation of the application of EU law. In the afternoon, workshops were held focusing on certain topics, such as the relevant and current questions and institutions relating to the fields of competition law, criminal law and alternative dispute resolution. As a result, experts from both countries and the participants had the opportunity to discuss practical issues and share good practices as well.

The opening speech by dr. Judit Gyarmathy is available below.