A response to the resolution issued on Tuesday by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CE). At its meeting on 5 June 2019, the Committee of Ministers of the CE, which oversees the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) of Strasbourg, discussed the Hungarian steps taken to implement the Gazsó-judgment related to the length of procedures.

Due to the legislation of procedural laws in recent years, the improvement of the financial conditions of the operation of courts, and the administrative activity of the National Office for the Judiciary, the Hungarian courts are today in the forefront of European justice regarding the timeliness of judgments. This is confirmed by the data collections of the CE's body dealing with the effectiveness of judgments (CEPEJ) and the European Commission's justice scoreboard as well.

The backlog in administrative litigation is the second lowest in Hungary, and the Hungarian courts are the 5th fastest to finish civil (family, economic and administrative) lawsuits in the European Union. As a result, the number of Hungarian-related cases initiated because of the length of proceedings pending before the ECHR has been drastically reduced in the recent period. Thus, the findings of the CE Committee of Ministers regarding the duration of court proceedings do not relate to the current situation, but reflect on the caseload problems of the Hungarian courts that have been solved years ago.

The decision adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the CE concerns the preparation of an effective internal remedy for protracted proceedings and does not make any statement neither about the rule of law nor the operation of courts in Hungary. Regarding the preparation of an effective internal remedy for protracted proceedings, the Ministry of Justice submitted a bill to the Parliament and cooperated closely with the CE Secretariat in order to find an appropriate solution compatible with ECHR case law. Cooperation and the steps taken so far are also appreciated in the decision of the Committee of Ministers.