On March 13, 2012, National Assembly Fundamental Rights Commissioner Máté Szabó asked the Constitutional Court to examine the Transitional Provisions of the Fundamental Law to determine their constitutionality based on their de jure status as temporary and possible de facto status as permanent (source in Hungarian).  

On December 28, 2012, Constitutional Court annulled the following stipulations of the Transitional Provisions of the Fundamental Law, substantiating the claim of the Fundamental Rights Commissioner that they were not, in fact, transitional, but permanent (source in Hungarian):  

-the provisions defining the “crimes of the communist régime” and those responsible for them;  

-the provision authorizing the president of the National Judicial Office to transfer legal proceedings from one court to another;  

-the provision permitting the government to impose special taxes to pay for the cost of financial obligations stemming from court decisions;  

-the provision stating that the National Assembly shall identify “recognized churches.”

The Constitutional Court annulled the above stipulations of the Transitional Provisions on procedural, not substantive, grounds.    

The Fourth Amendment to the Fundamental Law reinstated these provisions. 

 Last updated May 17, 2018.