“The Government of Hungary expects that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) would rule on the mandatory immigration quota system in the second semester”, Minister of Justice László Trócsányi told Hungarian national broadcaster in an interview aired on 27 December 2015. “In addition to establishing a precedent, the case will also demonstrate what kind of a role law plays within the Union”, he added.

The Ministry of Justice is of the opinion that the Justice and Home Affairs Council’s decision of 22 September 2015 has faults both in substance and in form. The Minister labelled the filing of the lawsuit as a ‘courageous step’ adding that though many Member States agreed upon that issue, they hadn’t raised their voices. Slovakia also launched a similar legal procedure and the two neighbouring countries consulted on the matter, but according to Minister Trócsányi, Hungary’s case differs since the 380 thousand migrants and the administrative measures related to them heavily overloaded the public administration system. This is the reason why Hungary had plead on a subsidiary basis as well, requesting the annulment of the mandatory quota in the case of Hungary.

Minister Trócsányi expects that the ECJ will rule in the second half of 2016. According to his opinion, the case - besides establishing a precedent - will also demonstrate what kind of a role law plays within the European Union and in what instant the Court is guided by it. The quota decision has already failed in practice, since only 118 people out of 160 thousand had been resettled.

(Ministry of Justice)