President Tamás Sulyok has asked the Council of Europe’s constitutional advisory body, the European Commission for Democracy through Law, better known as the Venice Commission, to assess the existing constitutional issues and provide expert assistance in resolving the controversial situation while taking European constitutional values into account, the Sándor Palace said in a statement to MTI on Friday.
According to the statement, the president of the republic — in keeping with his oath — is carrying out his duties in accordance with the current Fundamental Law, just as the government and members of parliament are expected to do.
The statement recalled that following the parliamentary elections of April 12, declarations made by the governing party and the prime minister made it clear that a new political demand had emerged for the reinterpretation of the role of the president of the republic.
“Calls for the removal of the head of state based on political reasons, which are therefore impossible to interpret under the Fundamental Law, have created a deeply contradictory situation within the current constitutional order, adversely affecting the constitutional functioning and authority of the institution of the president of the republic. Furthermore, the prime minister publicly and clearly voiced concerns that the head of state — in accordance with constitutional obligations under the Fundamental Law — could exercise constitutional oversight over legislation during the lawmaking process necessary for accessing EU funding, which in certain cases could result in delays that make access to financial resources more difficult,” the statement said.
The Sándor Palace stressed that the president of the republic, as a patriot, is also committed to ensuring that Hungary gains access to the EU funds to which it is entitled as soon as possible, and that during his time in office he has not obstructed the proper and effective functioning of the branches of government on any occasion.
The statement added that EU fundamental values are also constitutional values. For this reason, the president considers it troubling if anyone views constitutional requirements not as standards to uphold, but as obstacles to be removed from the legislative process.
“At the same time, the head of state once again firmly reaffirms that, as before, he remains ready to cooperate with the government, parliament, and all constitutional bodies. If legislation and lawmaking serve to uphold and protect fundamental constitutional — and therefore EU — principles, and are not carried out in violation of them, there is no reason to fear that the head of state would in any way obstruct or delay legislation backed by democratic legitimacy,” the statement said.
In light of the above, President Tamás Sulyok has requested “an assessment of the existing constitutional issues and the expert assistance of the body in resolving the contradictory situation while taking European constitutional values into account” from the Council of Europe’s constitutional advisory body, the European Commission for Democracy through Law, commonly known as the Venice Commission, the Sándor Palace statement concluded.
The Strasbourg-based Venice Commission, which consists of constitutional law experts from 46 member states, is a body of the Council of Europe tasked with providing legal advice to its member states and assisting countries seeking to align their legal and institutional systems with European and international standards in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Artificial intelligence was used for the translation of parts of the original Hungarian text.
