The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has prepared an information note in order to provide a brief overview about the fundamental asylum-related legal amendments entering into force on 1 July 2013 in Hungary. The amendments introduce a separate detention regime for asylum-seekers, seriously weakens the judicial review of immigration and asylum detention and the right to appeal in asylum procedures, as well as it fails to ensure adequate reception conditions. The HHC notes with serious concern these changes, some of which may raise incompatibility with international human rights norms and EU law.

The note  describes

• the legal situation between  January and June 2013,
• asylum detention,
• judicial review in asylum procedures and
• reception conditions.

In concluding the note the HHC raises its concerns that:

• no proper impact assessment was carried out before the amendments and
• key stakeholders were not provided with adequate time to consult and comment on the amendments.

The HHC will closely monitor the implementation of the amended regulation in the forthcoming months.

The paper can be downloaded here.

Statement of the European Refugee Council (ECRE):

This Monday, ahead of the European Parliament’s vote on Wednesday that formally adopted the recast Reception Conditions Directive, the Hungarian government amended its asylum legislation which will introduce the detention of asylum seekers for up to six months. Both UNHCR and ECRE’s Member, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) have warned that the grounds for detaining persons seeking international protectionare too broad, and as a result, there is a significant risk of the widespread detention of asylum seekers. Marta Pardavi, Co-Chair at HHC has critised the aim of the legislation:

"The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has always been against the detention of asylum seekers as a general measure and strongly recommends considering alternatives to detention in each individual case. We are concerned that the sole aim of this new measure is to deter asylum seekers from entering the EU through Hungary in order to seek protection. This way, Hungary essentially shifts its responsibilities to Serbia and other countries."

According to UNHCR, under the new Hungarian law, detention would be applied as a tool for migration control, penalising unauthorised entry and preventing unlawful onward movements, which would also run counter to the conditions in the European Convention of Human Rights (Right to Liberty and Security, Article 5) which would mean that a suit could be filed before the European Court of Human Rights. Among other grounds, the amendments introduce the possibility to detain asylum seekers to establish their identity or nationality, and when “there are well-founded grounds for presuming that the person seeking recognition is delaying or frustrating the asylum procedure or presents a risk of absconding”.

UNHCR has noted that most asylum seekers are unable to provide identification documents and that this should not automatically result in detention or be interpreted as unwillingness to cooperate. The legislation also allows the detention of families with children, which has been strongly opposed by UNHCR and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. Another major concern for UNHCR is the effectiveness of the judicial review which re-examines the lawful ness of the detention. According to a survey conducted by the Curia, the highest court in Hungary, out of some 5,000 court decisions made in 2011 and 2012 only three decisions discontinued immigration detention, while the rest simply prolonged the detention without any specific justification. UNHCR has also underlined that no budgetary impact analysis has been made available documenting the costs that will be incurred by implementation of asylum detention. Currently, asylum seekers in Hungary are detained under specific and exceptional circumstances. The new provisions will enter into force as of 1 July.