Preamble

The judicial power in accordance with the Fundamental Law fulfils its constitutional role through a transparent judicial system consisting of independent, impeccable judges.

The judicial profession sets requirements for judges that are based on stricter moral rules than ethical norms generally accepted by society.

The objective of the programme is to provide assistance to witnesses subpoenaed to appear before the court confidently, being aware of their rights and without fear. Some of the good practices existing previously, but only used at a few courts are sought to be spread and strengthened on a national level by way of the programme.

Main achievements:

The National Office for the Judiciary collects and then processes data regarding juvenile or adult defendants who were convicted under Government decree 388/2017 (XII. 13.) on the mandatory data service for the National Statistical Data Collection Program. The collected data are not only used for domestic research but to provide information in case of international inquiries as well. The statistics also provide an overview of the main social, sociological, and criminal indicators regarding defendants and the issued punishments.

Fundamentals of the system of appointment and application of court leaders

The appointment of court leaders is for 6 years, except in the case of appointment as president of a chamber for an indefinite term. Court leader offices can only be held by judges appointed for an indefinite term.

The National Judicial Council (NJC) is the supervisory organ – as a body - of the central administration of courts.

The seat of the NJC is in Budapest, and it has 15 members.

Regarding its members, only the president of the Curia is delegated, according to the Act CLXI of 2011 on the Organisation and Administration of Courts. The other 14 judge members of the NJC shall be elected in a secret ballot by majority vote at the meeting of the delegated judges. 

In the performance of its tasks, NOJ pays extra attention to strengthening knowledge sharing regarding in-depth professional expertise and practical experiences concentrating in the judiciary organisation. The useful vehicles for this are professional networks. By relying on these networks it is possible to ensure that judiciary employees who maintain direct contacts with each other and apply outstanding expertise can work together in a coordinated, fast and efficient manner. 

Professional networks established in recent years include:

The Code of Administrative Court Procedure in force as from 1 January 2018 has brought about significant changes in the rules of procedure, with the range of cases to be adjudged in public administration lawsuits considerably extended.

One of the strategic goals set by the President of the NOJ is to simplify access to the courts, in connection to which the NOJ has been engaged in witness care in the scope of a separate national programme since 2013. It is common that the witness care representatives are the first persons whom the clients meet at the court, and consequently they are one of the key elements of enhancing trust in the courts.

I. Hungarian Academy of Justice

As from 1 January 2018, labour lawsuits may include labour claims arising from employment (established in accordance with Act I of 2012 on the labour code (Labour Code), orfrom  public servants’ service status, or from public service status with the exceptions laid down in law, or from public works relations, or from employment relations established under the Sports Act, or from study contracts entered into in vocational training, or from study  contracts entered into under the National Higher Education Act, or from work contracts made with a member of a social coop