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Polt confirmed as Chief Prosecutor, Handó elected Constitutional Court judge

Wednesday, November 6th, 2019

A left-wing commentator calls both the Chief Prosecutor and the new Constitutional Court judge controversial figures who have harmed the rule of law in Hungary. A pro-government columnist praises their record. READ MORE

Mild sentences in left-wing corruption cases

Monday, February 8th, 2016

Right-wing commentators blame the courts for failing to hand down exemplary sentences to corrupt left-wing businessmen and politicians, while on the Left, the mild verdicts are cited as proof that the charges were at least partly politically motivated. READ MORE

Racist serial killers’ life sentence

Thursday, January 14th, 2016

Commenting on the life sentence handed down to three extreme right-wing recist serial killers, the leading left-wing daily accuses the general public of apathy towards the death of six fellow citizens. READ MORE

More bitter ruminations on the Biszku ruling

Thursday, June 4th, 2015

Right-wing columnists fulminate against the appeal court which annulled the prison sentence handed down to former Communist Party chieftain Béla Biszku for his role in the post-revolution reprisals in 1956. An expert says while the ruling was well founded legally it signals a defeat for the Judiciary. A left-wing commentator suggests that Biszku is despised in Hungary – even without a sentence. READ MORE

Biszku’s trial back to square one

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015

A conservative commentator is disgusted by the ruling of the Budapest Appeal Court to scrap a five year prison sentence handed down by the first instance court to Béla Biszku, who as a key member of the Communist Party leadership in 1956 was accused of responsibility for the massacre of unarmed demonstrators after the anti-Communist revolt was crushed by the Soviet Union. READ MORE

European Court rules against effective life imprisonment

Friday, May 23rd, 2014

A conservative commentator condemns the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights as contrary to Hungarian public feeling. Her left-wing counterpart, on the other hand, wonders if courts will hereinafter sentence any criminal to life without eligibility for parole. READ MORE

Former PM Gyurcsány as a court witness

Monday, August 26th, 2013

Commentators from both the left and right agree that former Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány has successfully stolen the show and managed to use the court hearing in a land swap deal to gain publicity and accuse his opponents of acting against national interest. READ MORE

Racist serial killers face verdict

Thursday, July 25th, 2013

A liberal observer complains that the trial of the far-right gunmen who killed six innocent Roma has not had an edifying impact on the public perception of the Roma issue. READ MORE

Banks win loan court case

Tuesday, July 9th, 2013

A conservative blogger believes that creditors who demand radical state action and even the annulation of their mortgage loan contracts echo the public culture of the pre-1989 era. READ MORE

A judge’s approach to the vandalisation of Horthy’s statue

Monday, October 1st, 2012

Right-wing commentators are appalled by the statement of a judge who convicted but at the same time praised a protester for damaging a statue recently erected to Hungary’s interwar ruler. Left-wing analysts welcome the judge’s position and disagree with the Vice President of the Supreme Court, who scolded his colleague for expressing a personal opinion when issuing his verdict. READ MORE