Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Hungary (Ratification: 1994)

Article 1(a) of the Convention. Penalties involving compulsory labour as a punishment for expressing political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system. The Committee previously noted that, under section 33(1)(d) of Law-Decree No. 11 of 1979, sanctions of imprisonment involve an obligation to perform labour, and that under the Criminal Code of 2012, the court may substitute the term of imprisonment by compulsory community service (sections 33(4) and 47), for offences which carry a maximum sentence of three years of imprisonment. It noted that sanctions of imprisonment ranging from one to three years may be imposed under the following provisions of the Criminal Code: sections 226 and 227 (defamation and slander), section 334 (blasphemy of a national symbol), section 336 (incitement against a decree of authority), section 337 (scaremongering or uttering, publishing a false statement to violate public order) and section 338 (stating or disseminating any untrue fact to disturb public peace). The Committee accordingly requested the Government to take the necessary measures, both in law and in practice, to ensure that no penalties involving compulsory labour or community service may be imposed for the peaceful expression of political views opposed to the established system.

The Government indicates in its report that sentences imposed under the Criminal Code do not sanction the mere expression of opinions but rather conduct representing a danger to the society. The Government further states that, under the above-mentioned provisions, a total of 2,349 persons were convicted by a final decision, between 1 June 2015 and 31 May 2018. The Committee however takes note of the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders on his mission to Hungary, of 19 January 2017, which states that defamation is a charge regularly brought against investigative journalists, defenders and watchdog organizations (A/HRC/34/52/Add.2, paragraph 31). The Committee considers that the sanctions applied in the above cases may fall within the scope of the Convention as they enforce a prohibition of the peaceful expression of views. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take all the necessary measures, both in law and in practice, to ensure that no penalties involving compulsory labour or community service are imposed for the peaceful expression of views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic system, for example by clearly restricting the scope of sections 226, 227, 334, 336, 337 and 338 to situations connected with the use of violence, or by repealing punishments involving compulsory labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard, as well as information on the application in practice of the sections referred to above, specifying the number of prosecutions made under each provisions and the type of penalties imposed.