2004 freedominfo.org Global Survey Results - Hungary
Text from the freedominfo.org Global Survey: Freedom of Information and Access to Government Records Around the World, by David Banisar (updated 12 May 2004)

Article 61 (1) of the Constitution states:

"In the Republic of Hungary, everyone has the right to the freely express his opinion, and furthermore to access and distribute information of public interest." (1)

The Constitutional Court ruled in 1992 that freedom of information is a fundamental right essential for citizen oversight. (2) In 1994, the Court struck down the law on state secrets, ruling that it was too restrictive and infringed on freedom of information. (3)

Act No. LXIII of 1992 on the Protection of Personal Data and Disclosure of Data of Public Interest is a combined Data Protection and Freedom of Information Act. (4) The Act guarantees that all persons should have access to information of public interest which is defined as any information being processed by government authorities except for personal information. Agencies must respond in 15 days to requests and must publish or enable access to important data about their activities.

State secrets or official secrets and information related to national defense, national security, criminal investigations, monetary and currency policy, international relations and judicial procedure can be restricted if specifically required by law. Internal documents are generally not available for 30 years.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information oversees the 1992 Act. (5) Besides acting as an ombudsman for both data protection and freedom of information, the Commissioner's tasks include: maintaining the Data Protection Register and providing opinions on data protection and information access-related draft legislation as well as each category of official secrets. Less than 10 percent of the complaints filed with the Commissioner each year relate to freedom of information. In 2001, only 57 complaints were received, a drop of 34 percent from the previous year. (6)

Those denied access can appeal to the courts. There have been few such appeals.

The Ministry of Justice began in 2001 developing legislation that would split the two acts into separate laws. During discussions on the new bill, some powerful Members of Parliament suggested eliminating the Commissioner's Office, but that proposal was rejected. The law was amended in 2003 to set out detailed rules on what is "data in the public interest" but retained the single combined law.

The Secrecy Act of 1995 sets rules on the classification of information. It was amended in 1999 to incorporate NATO rules. (7) The Parliamentary Commissioner is entitled to change the classification of state and official secrets.

Individuals can have access to their own files created by the communist-era secret police under the 1994 Screening Act. (8) The Office of History in the Interior Ministry controls the files. The law was amended in January 2003 to allow for greater access following revelations that Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy once worked for the communist-era intelligence service. (9) The new laws makes information about high ranking public officials public data and allows victims to see the records of the people who spied on them.

Under the Act on Public Records, Public Archives, and the Protection of Private Archives, public authorities must transfer files within 15 years. (10) Any individual can access records created before May 1990 or over 30 years old. Archives can be closed for longer in the interest of privacy, state secrets, official secrets and business confidential data.

Hungary signed the Aarhus Convention in December 1998 and ratified it in July 2001. Access to environmental information is through the 1992 FOI/DP Act.

Notes

1. Constitution of the Republic of Hungary, http://www.mkab.hu/en/enpage5.htm

2. Decision 32/1992.(VI.29.) ABH

3. Decision 34/1999 (VI.24) AB

4. Act LXIII OF 1992 on the Protection of Personal Data and the Publicity of Data of Public Interest, http://www.privacy.org/pi/countries/hungary/hungary_privacy_law_1992.html

5. Web Site: http://www.obh.hu/

6. Annual Report of the Data Protection Ombudsman for 2001.

7. Act LXV of 1995 on State and Official Secrets.

8. Act XXIII of 1994 on the Screening of Holders of Some Important Positions, Holders of Positions of Public Trust and Opinion-Leading Public Figures, and on the Office of History.

9. Act III of 2003, 14 January 2003. For more information on the controversy, see RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 6, No. 117, Part II, 24 June 2002.

10. Act LXVI of 1995 on Public Records, Public Archives, and the Protection of Private Archives. http://www.natarch.hu/english/menu_41.htm