Top court to rule on central bank amendment by April 8

Budapest, March 13 (MTI) – The Constitutional Court is expected to rule by the April 8 deadline on a request for a review of two law amendments by President János Áder, the top court’s general secretary said on Sunday.

Áder asked for a review of the amended central bank act, because the amendments were not in line with constitutional norms on the management of public funds and on handling data of public interest, Botond Bitskey told MTI. Áder also found fault with the retroactive effect of the law, which was the same concern he raised about another amended law, the one on postal services.

The amended central bank act aims to put a 10-year ban on public access to data on foundations and businesses owned by the central bank. The proponents of the amendment argued that assets held with the foundations and businesses are separate from public funds, but critics say this data should also be open to the public. Parliamentary Speaker Laszló Kövér and head of the national data protection authority Attila Péterfalvi were among those who criticised the proposed limitation on data access.

Similarly, the amended law on postal services would also limit access to data on market-oriented finances at the Hungarian Postal Service.

The top court can only review the parts of the amendment which are in connection with the concerns Ader had raised with it, or “any other part that is in close context” with the questioned parts, Bitskey said. The Constitutional Court currently only has 13 members instead of the previous 15, as the mandate of former head of the court Péter Paczolay expired last February and László Kiss’s mandate was up last Thursday. Parliament has not yet voted for their replacements. In the second half of April the mandates of two other members will also expire, he said.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters