The Justice Minister said it is crucial for the Hungarian nation when and how Members of Parliament will decide about the government’s bill regarding the containment of the coronavirus.

On Tuesday, in her address opening the parliamentary debate of the proposed legislation, Judit Varga said the bill must be passed in order to enable the government to take the measures necessary due to the coronavirus epidemic in a timely manner.

She said Parliament can now express the will of the Hungarian nation “in the most reassuring way” in these historic times.

Ms. Varga said during the course of legislation it is Parliament’s choice and responsibility whether to enable the government to adopt extraordinary, but necessary measures in order to prevent, manage and eliminate the coronavirus epidemic and to alleviate and ward off its harmful effects, in the interest of guaranteeing the safety of people’s lives, health and property, their personal and legal security, and the stability of the national economy; or to reject this mandate, as “the opposition did in the first round” on Monday, make action against the epidemic and its effects significantly more cumbersome, and delay the introduction of essential measures.

Speaking about the proposed legislation, the Minister indicated that, as a rule of thumb, the government decrees issued in a state of danger remain in force for 15 days. Their extension also falls within government competence; however, a condition of this is that the extension should be authorised by Parliament, “this is Parliament’s responsibility”. “If Parliament does not consent to this, primarily the measures implemented so far will be lost,” she warned.

The bill creates the necessary cardinal statutory framework in order to enable the government to implement the most necessary measures, she indicated, observing that due to the extraordinary nature of the situation, the proposed bill does not identify an itemised list of measures that the government is allowed to adopt, but instead sets a limit for its scope for manoeuvring.

The goal is to enable the government to create and keep in force the decrees in question also when, due to the epidemic, Parliament is not in session, Ms. Varga said, highlighting that the mandate is not unlimited either in time or in scope; it is only granted for the duration of the state of danger. After this initial authorisation is granted, a parliamentary decision will only be required for its revocation.

The proposed legislation further requires the government to regularly update Parliament at its sittings about the measures adopted in the interest of the elimination of the state of danger, while in the absence of parliamentary sittings, the government must keep the Speaker of the House and the heads of parliamentary groups informed.

She also said the effectiveness of the containment effort is a public interest requiring special protection under criminal law. Therefore, the motion introduces two new factual scenarios into the Penal Code; namely, acts preventing the epidemic containment effort and scaremongering jeopardising the effectiveness of containment efforts during the effect of a special legal order. The latter would carry a prison sentence extending from 1 to 5 years. Fake news, statements which intentionally distort true facts and rumours can provoke panic to devastating effect, she said in justification.

The Minister further highlighted that during a state of danger by-elections and referenda are not allowed to be held. At the same time, she discarded claims that there will be no elections in the future in Hungary as cheap, vulgar and gross lies.

The Justice Minister recalled that since the state of danger was declared on 11 March, the government has introduced a number of measures to prevent and slow down the spread of the virus, to protect people’s health and to alleviate the negative economic effects.

The present situation is unprecedented not only in the history of Hungary’s thousand-year-old statehood, but also in the whole world, she stressed, adding that compliance with the unusual measures, unity and discipline could be the Hungarian community’s most important reserve.

“I would like to believe that the passage of the submitted bill will emerge as a manifestation of the nation’s political wisdom. […] We should first create an opportunity for life, and discuss things later,” Ms. Varga said.

(MTI)