Minister of Justice and professor of law László Trócsányi has called for dialogue on the sphere of competence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in an article published in Thursday’s edition of Hungarian political weekly Figyelő.

“Only dialogue based on reciprocity can achieve results”, he said, adding that reforming the treaty on the sphere of competence of the ECHR “would be a long process with questionable results”.

“More realistic today is the reassessment of dialogue between judges and reinforcing the role of comparative law, which could result in a role based on the self-restraint of the Forum of Judges in Strasbourg”, he added.

Mr. Trócsányi stressed that the decisions of the institution are only truly legitimized if countries can accept them, i.e. if its rulings are not alien to the given society.

“It is the duty and responsibility of the ECHR to consider criticism from the United Kingdom, France and other countries”, the Minister wrote.

It would be a pity to sweep criticism of the operational and procedural functioning of the ECHR off the table without discussion. Determining minimal standards within the field of human rights with regard to the countries of the Council of Europe “would be useful and should be supported; it would be a step backward if we failed to appreciate the results”, the Minister stated.

“Excessive standardisation should not be supported, however”, Mr. Trócsányi said, according to whom on issues relating to refugees “the legal practices of the institution seemingly disregard the migration pressure that certain states are faced with today”.

“With relation to regulations and practices concerning refugees, the findings of the Court cannot be regarded as convincing when it comes to rulings on whether a country should be classified as a safe country of origin or transit state. It is difficult to ascertain whether it wishes to satisfy its duties as a defender of human rights or is acting as a true judiciary forum”, Professor Trócsányi wrote of the institution.

(MTI)