Courts to be in charge of registration of churches, says justice minister

Budapest, June 15 (MTI) – The drafting of an amendment to the church law is nearing completion, under which the registration of churches will be the competence of courts instead of parliament, Justice Minister Laszlo Trocsanyi told daily Magyar Hirlap in an interview on Monday.

Hungary’s Constitutional Court annulled passages on the registration of churches in February, 2013, saying the church law failed to stipulate that detailed reasons must be provided when a request for church status is refused and it lacked a provision allowing applicants to appeal. The court also noted the potential for political influence when granting church status by a parliamentary vote.

Trocsanyi told the paper that the draft amendment would soon be submitted to the government. Consultations with the churches are also planned, he said, adding that the legislation would be submitted to parliament in the autumn.

The minister also commented on a bill to be submitted by ruling Fidesz on two categories identifying safe countries of origin and safe transit countries in connection with migration.

Trocsanyi said a response had to be given both on a national, as well as on a European level to the influx of a large number of people to Europe from the Mediterranean region, parts of Africa and politically unstable countries. Trocsanyi said the causes had to be identified and steps taken in the countries in question.

“We can, for instance, justly consider Serbia, an EU candidate country, both as a safe country of origin and a safe transit country,” he said.

In connection with the European Parliament’s recent resolution on Hungary, Trocsanyi said it is “a big question” as to whether or not the EP had acted beyond its authority when it stated an opinion on a member state’s internal affairs.

The European Parliament on Wednesday passed a resolution condemning Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s statements on the possibility of reinstating the death penalty in Hungary and the government’s recent questionnaire on migration and terrorism.

Photo: MTI

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