Operation of the NJC

The permanent office of the National Judicial Council was established on 1st March 2013. The permanent office provides administrative and operational support regarding the filing system, organisation of the meetings and general operation of the NJC under the leadership of a judge.

The NJC has disposal of an independent budget from 1st January 2013. The budget of the NJC may be expended on the operation of the permanent office, the expenses of the meetings, organisation its own events, its international relations, participating of the members of the NJC on other events, the operation of the website, and on other expenses relating informatics. The total amount of the allocated budget is HUF 16,420,000.- (app. EUR 55,000.-) for 2013.

The NJC shall adopt decisions on matters falling under its scope of authority at a meeting; in extraordinary cases or in cases necessitating prompt action, it may take decisions in a different manner.

Meetings of the NJC

The NJC shall hold its meetings as necessary but at least four times a year. The meeting shall be convened by the President of the NJC.

The meeting of the NJC shall be convened and the proposed items shall be put on the agenda if proposed by at least one-third of the members of the NJC. The plenary meeting of the Curia or the plenary conference of a court of appeal or tribunal may propose any issue falling within the competence of the NJC to be put on the agenda of the NJC and discussed by the NJC.

The NJC shall have a quorum if at least two-thirds of its members are in attendance. The NJC shall adopt decisions with a majority opinion. In the event of a tied vote, the vote of the President shall decide.

Publicity of the meetings

The meeting of the NJC shall be open to judges, except when the NJC orders a closed meeting to be held. The NJC may order a closed meeting, especially if this is indispensable for the purpose of protecting classified information, business secrets or any other secret defined in a specific legal act, furthermore if that is justified for the purpose of protecting the personal rights of the person heard at the meeting.

Meetings – closed meeting included - of the NJC shall be attended by the President of the NJO, the Minister responsible for justice, the Prosecutor General, the President of the Hungarian Bar Association, the President of the Hungarian Chamber of Notaries Public and the President of the NJC with consultative rights, furthermore by any ad-hoc expert invited by participants with consultation rights, and the representatives of any civil society and other interest groups invited by the President of the NJC. A minute-taker shall participate in NJC meetings.

At the meetings of the NJC, in case he/she is impeded, the Minister responsible for justice shall be substituted by a State Secretary, the President of the NJO shall be substituted by the general Vise President deputy of the NJO, the Prosecutor General shall be substituted by the deputy Prosecutor General, the President of the Hungarian Bar Association shall be substituted by the Vice President, and the President of the Hungarian Chamber of Notaries Public by the Vice President.

Minutes and summary of the meeting

Minutes shall be taken of the meeting of the NJC, and a summary shall be prepared of the decisions concerning the broader context of administration of courts and the activities of judges which might draw public interest. The President of the NJC shall ensure that the minutes and the summaries are prepared. The points of the agenda to be included in the summary and the content of the summary shall be decided upon by the NJC at the meeting. The summary shall not contain any agenda items discussed in a closed meeting.

The minutes shall contain the names of those present, the agenda adopted, the discussion of individual agenda items, more precisely the name of the speaker, the essence of the contribution, the fact of voting, the method of voting, the outcome of voting and the text of the decision.

The summary shall contain a concise overview of agenda items discussed at the meeting and the decisions.

The NJC on the central website of the courts and on the internet

The annual plan of meetings of the NJC and a summary of the meeting, as well as the minutes of the preliminary opinions on the persons nominated as President of the Curia and President of the NJO shall be published on the central website.

The minutes of the NJC meeting shall be put on the intranet, except in the case of a closed NJC meeting. 

Rules of organisation and operation of the NJC

The NJC shall establish the detailed rules of its operation in the rules of organisation and operation.