Minister of Justice László Trócsányi is launching legal proceedings in Belgium for defamation.

As a member of the Hungarian Government and a Professor of Law at the University of Szeged, Minister of Justice László Trócsányi received an invitation to attend an international symposium entitled “Contrôles et hospitalités: vers des politiques migratoires qui renforcent la démocratie contemporaine” (“Monitoring and Hospitality: Migration Policies that Determine Today’s Democracy”) jointly organised by the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL) and St-Louis University in Brussels. At the event, he would have held a lecture in the company of many well-known university professors and international legal experts.

A few days prior to the conference, the President of the Belgian organisation "Centre Communautaire Laic Juif" (CCLJ) published a statement on the organisation’s website expressing his dismay that “a xenophobic, racist and anti-Semitic Minister” has been invited to the above-mentioned international conference. The statement was also used by several Belgian newspapers. Taking into account previous events, and in the interests of avoiding further conflict, Mr. Trócsányi had no choice but to cancel his participation at the conference.

The criticism published on the CCLJ website is total at odds with László Trócsányi, who also in his role as Minister of Justice has provided many pieces of evidence of his friendly attitude towards Hungary’s Jewish community and the importance of commemorating the victims of the Holocaust. Only last week, French daily Le Monde praised his role in the establishment of the Francophone University Centre, which receives university students from a host of West-African countries at the University of Szeged.

In view of the fact that the CCLJ has published such a hateful and personally insulting statement that lacks any and all foundations, Mr. Trócsányi has decided to launch legal proceedings for a symbolic amount of compensation for non-pecuniary damages at the Belgian court with the relative jurisdiction. The hearing of the case will begin at the French-language Frist Council of the Court of First Instance in Brussels on 18 October 2018. In court, the Minister will be represented by attorney François Jongen, professor at the Catholic University of Louvain and an expert in media law.

(Ministry of Justice)