Published on Eurydice (https://eacea.ec.europa.

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The system of state

In Hungary, the present structure of the state and the system of public administration institutions
were established following the democratic transition in 1989-90, and apart from minor
rectifications, modifications and modernisation it did not fundamentally change until 2010, when the
Fidesz-KDNP government with a two-third majority in the Parliament made significant changes.

The National Assembly (Parliament)

The electoral system used in Hungary is regulated by the Fundamental Law, the Act on Electoral
Procedure, and the Act on the Election of Members of Parliament.

The Parliament consists of 199 members from the elections in 2014, before there were 386 seats.
Pursuant to the new rules, the mixed electoral system consists of one round, and the efficiency
threshold was annulled, only the candidates receiving the most valid votes obtain a mandate,
irrespective of the number of the actual voters. Instead of the 176 individual constituencies there is
only 106. Regional lists were annulled so fragmented votes may only be produced in the individual
constituencies, and these are added to the number of the votes in the party list. At the same time, the
winning party is entitled to receive fragmented votes for the candidate winning mandate in the
individual constituency, whose amount is conforming to the difference in the number of votes for the
candidates in the first and second places. A mandate may be received for the result achieved in the
list but only if it exceeds the 5% threshold.

Hungarian minorities abroad received the right to vote, but Hungarian citizens who reside outside
Hungary may only vote for party lists. The national minorities are provided with the possibility to
obtain a mandate in an easier manner, and in case they fail to win a mandate in spite of the above,
they may send a national minority advocate to the Parliament.

The Parliament elects the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the members of
the Constitutional Court [1] and also the Chair of the Constitutional Court, the Parliamentary
Ombudsmen [2], the President of the Curia of Hungary and the General Prosecutor.

The President of the Republic

The President of the Republic of Hungary is elected by a secret ballot for five years by a two-third
majority of the Parliament. Hungarian citizens with the right to vote above the age of 35 are eligible
for the presidency. The first President of the Republic of Hungary was Árpád Göncz, elected in 1990
and re-elected in 1995. In 2000 the Parliament elected Ferenc Mádl, and in 2005 László Sólyom was
elected as President. In 2010 Pál Schmitt followed, but resigned in 2012 due to his plagiarism case
and was followed by János Áder, who was re-elected in 2017.
The President’s powers relate to several functions. The Parliament may be adjourned and dissolved by
the President of the Republic. He ratifies law and ensures its promulgation. If he disagrees with a law,
he has a one-time veto power over it before ratifying. He announces general parliamentary elections.
In addition, he may initiate various measures: the Prime Minister is elected by the Members of
Parliament based on the recommendation made by the President and also the President gives
mandate to form government. He appoints, among others, the ministers, secretaries of state (state
ministers), army generals and professional judges. He exercises the right to grant presidential pardon
for individuals (although the counter-signature of the Prime Minister is also required). The exercise of
certain powers requires a countsignature by the Prime Minister. The President of the Republic is the
Commander in Chief of the armed forces and he has certain rights concerning foreign affairs as well.

The Government

Executive power – government functions and the highest-level control of public administration – is
exercised by the government, in which the Prime Minister plays a dominant role. The Parliament holds
the vote on the election of the Prime Minister and on the adoption of the Government's programme at
the same time. The mandate of the head of government is also strengthened by the fact that he/she
can only be replaced after that the Parliament passes a motion of no-confidence. The Government is
formed upon appointment of the Ministers, who take their oaths at the same time. The establishment
of ministries is the prerogative of the National Assembly; their list is set out in law.

Following the 2018 elections, a new ministry, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology was set up.
This ministry is responsible for the management of the Hungarian vocational education and training
system, and as of 1 September 2019, the management of tertiary education.

The Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court of Hungary (CC) is a body of fifteen members elected for the period of 12
years by two-thirds majority of the Members of the Parliament. The President of the Constitutional
Court is elected from the members of the Court for a period ending at the expiration of his term of
office as a Constitutional Court Judge. The members of the Constitutional Court may not be party
members and may not pursue political activity. The members of the Constitutional Court may not be
re-elected. Persons who were members of the government or leading officials of a party or held high
state position in the four years preceding the day of election may not be members of the
Constitutional Court.

The amendment to the Act on the Constitutional Court that entered into force on 1 January 2012 re-
defines the competence of the CC in accordance with the Fundamental Law. The most significant
change is that the CC may, on the grounds of constitutional complaint, examine the conformity of
judicial decisions with the Fundamental Law as well as with the law applied to each case. From
January it also falls under the competence of the CC to start a process (following a judicial initiative)
to determine the constitutionality of the law applicable to the specific case case. The new
Fundamental Law retains the possibility of posterior norm control to the government, to one-quarter
of the Members of the Parliament and to the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, i.e. the possibility
open to everybody to turn to the Constitutional Court without legal interest is terminated.

The authority of the Constitutional Court was limited by a new regulation: the Constitutional Court
may not examine and annul laws on the budget, taxes, customs and charges only if these
are violate the right to life and human dignity, the right to the protection of personal data, the
freedom of thought, conscience and religion, or the rights related to the Hungarian nationality.
The Judiciary Organisation

The function of the judiciary system is to serve justice, the main forms of which are criminal justice,
civil justice and controlling the legality of administrative decisions.

In 2012 the judiciary system was reformed in Hungary. Accordingly, jurisdiction may be exercised by
the following courts:

the Curia of Hungary

Regional Courts of Appeal
General Courts
District and Municipal Courts (hereinafter jointly referred to as District Courts), and
Administrative and Labour Courts

The central administration and organisational structure of the courts were transformed. In the new
system the President of a body independent from legislative and executive powers, i.e. the National
Office for the Judiciary (NOJ) fulfils the duty of central administration. The President of NOJ is elected
to the recommendation of the President of the Republic, for a period of 9 years, from among the
judges who have been in service for at least 5 years, by two-thirds majority of the Members of the
Parliament. The chief administrative and the chief technical executive posts are separated: now a
different person is the President of the NOJ and the President of the Curia of Hungary. The President of
NOJ performs his/her functions under strict control, supervised by the National Council of Justice (NCJ)
consisting only of judges.

The President of NOJ performs the central administration of courts, undertakes the competences
relating to their budget, and supervises the administration activities of the presidents of regional
courts of appeal and general courts. The President appoints the chief court staff and makes proposals
to appoint judges; also, in case a court is under heavy workload, the President may, at the court’s
request or at the proposal of the Prosecutor General, designate another court to ensure that the cases
are assessed within reasonable time.

According to the 7th modification (after the 2018 elections) of the Fundamental Law the courts are
now divided to regular and administrative courts. The administrative courts decide on administrative
disputes and other matters which are specified in the law. The highest authority for the administrative
courts is the Supreme Administrative Court, which guarantees the unified application of the law in all
administrative courts, and imposes legally binding decisions on the administrative courts.

As of 31 March 2020, the administrative and labour courts were abolished due to a change in
legislation. As of 1 April 2020, eight courts (Budapest-Capital Regional Court, Budapest Environs
Regional Court, Debrecen Regional Court, Győr Regional Court, Miskolc Regional Court, Pécs Regional
Court, Szeged Regional Court and Veszprém Regional Court) are acting in administrative lawsuits at
first instance.

The Budapest-Capital Regional Court has exclusive jurisdiction over cases that previously fell within
the exclusive jurisdiction of the Budapest-Capital Administrative and Labour Court (e.g. visa and
statelessness matters). In administrative court cases, the Supreme Court of Hungary (’Kúria’) acts in
appeal or review proceedings at second instance. The Supreme Court may exceptionally act as a first
and exclusive forum, e.g. in assembly matters.

In labour court cases, the competent regional court acts at first instance, the competent regional
court of appeal acts in appellate proceedings and the Supreme Court acts in review proceedings. The
new provision is in the favour of the employees, as the employer can only bring a lawsuit in the
regional court of the employee’s domicile or place of residence, and there is still no place for a
jurisdiction clause in labour court cases.

Public Prosecutor’s Office

The Prosecutor General is elected to the recommendation of the President of the Republic by two-
thirds majority of the Members of the Parliament. Due to an amendment of the Constitution in 2010
the term of office of the Prosecutor General was extended from 6 years to 9 years, also the
Parliament may not address the Prosecutor General with interpellation any longer.

Ombudsman

The general rules for the election of the Ombudsman are included on the one hand in the
Fundamental Law, on the other hand in the Act on Providing the Fundamental Laws. The
Commissioner for Fundamental Rights and its Deputies are elected for six years by the two-thirds of
the Members of the Parliament. In 2012 the mandates of the Commissioner for national and ethnic
minorities, and the Ombudsman for Future Generations ceased to exist, in the future their tasks will
be fulfilled by the Deputies of the new Commissioner for Fundamental Rights.

Public administration, local governments

Hungary has a two-tier local government system as on the Act on the Local Governments of Hungary,
as well as the Fundamental Law distinguishes a municipal and a regional level. Municipal local
governments and regional local governments are jointly referred to as local governments.

The country is divided into 19 counties, 7 statistical regions and Budapest, the capital. County level
governments are also elected locally and directly but they have extremely restricted powers and
budget. Settlements have an opportunity to establish regional co-operation on voluntary and multi-
purposive basis. The above micro-regional associations provide opportunity for a more efficient
organisation of the fulfilment of municipal tasks, and a customised application of the instruments of
the national regional development policy to solve social and economic problems specific to the micro
region.

The general rights of local governments, in compliance with the Fundamental Law, are detailed in the
Act on Local Governments of Hungary. The new regulation required the clarification of the relation,
the tasks and spheres of action between the state and the local governments. Local governments still
have to fulfil the following tasks among others: kindergarten education, basic health care, settlement
development, children well-being and social services, however, except for kindergarten education, the
tasks of general education and institutional health care were removed from the tasks of local
governments, and in addition to the above, several public administration tasks were transferred to
the Government Offices, and certain tasks of disaster management are also fulfilled by the
deconcentrated bodies of the state.

With the new system of the public and municipal tasks, a new task funding system was also
established, whose definite aim is to provide functioning local government services in all settlements
of Hungary. In the sense of the above, a budget cannot be accepted with a deficit. In order to
eliminate deficits, between 2012 and 2014, the Government executed a local government
consolidation in each settlement with a population below 5,000 people. Based on the new municipal
office structure, those settlements whose population is below 2,000 people, may not operate an
independent local government.
Education administration

Horizontally, administrative responsibilities are shared within ministries; mainly between two
ministries directly responsible for education and training (namely the Ministry of Human Resources
[3]and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology [4]) and other ministries. Vertically, administrative
control is shared at central (national), regional (regions, counties), local (settlements) and institutional
levels. Sectoral administration at national level is mainly implemented through a comprehensive
general framework of regulations.

In terms of general education, the authority of the Ministry of Human Resources is restricted to
general administrative and regulatory responsibilities. These are the following: setting the criteria and
conditions for compulsory education and providing a framework of operation for public education
institutions and the examinations at the end of upper secondary education. The sectoral
administration of vocational education and training as well as adult training is undertaken by the
Ministry of Innovation and Technology in accordance with the relevant legal regulations.

The supervision of higher education is provided by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology.

Educational expenditures in relation to the GDP have decreased between 2007 and 2013. However,
since 2014, growth has been observed. According to the data of the Central Statistical Office (KSH),
Hungary spent 4.38% of the GDP on education expenditure in 2016.

In 2018, the central budget spent 81 billion HUF more on education than in the previous years, in
2019, the sector could expect a surplus of 15 billion HUF compared to 2018. The growth will continue,
in 2020 there will be another 60 billion HUF more for education than in the previous year. In the 4th
quarter of 2018, 25.1% of the Hungarian population had a tertiary education qualification, and among
the age 30-34 the proportion of tertiary education graduates was 34% in 2019.

In 2019, the highest completed level of education was vocational school for 18% of the population,
while for 20% it was primary school. The smallest proportion, 17%, consisted of people without a
completed primary education, but most of these people have not reached school age yet or they were
still attending to primary school. In 2018, the number of upper-secondary school leavers with a
maturity exam increased by nearly 800 to a total number of 61,800. In 2018, 1.5 times more
graduates completed their studies in vocational schools compared to 2017, their share of all upper-
secondary graduates increased to 3.3%. 55.5% of upper-secondary graduates still obtained their
certificate in upper-secondary general schools, and 42.1% in upper-secondary vocational schools. In
2019, the distribution of the highest educational attainment of the population aged between 15-74
was as follows: 1.27% completed less than the required minimum for graduating primary education;
17.8% completed primary education; 32.2% completed vocational school; 30% completed the upper-
secondary grammar studies with a successful maturity exam, and 18.7% the share of tertiary
education graduates.

The level of education of women has increased more than it has for men over the past decade.
However, women are still in majority among the low-educated. In 2016 30% of men and 36% of
women had a completed primary education. In 2016, 31% of men and 35% of women had the
maturity exam (upper secondary grammar school leaving exam) as the highest education level. First
time that the proportion of women with a maturity exam was higher than the proportion of men was
in 1980. In 2016, more than half of the graduates (56%) were women. The same trend continued in
2019.

27% of people aged 15 and over fulfilled maximum the 8 grades of primary school. Since the census
in 2011 their rate has fallen by 5%.
Since the census in 2011, the number of the higher education graduates aged 20 and over has
increased with 4%, therefore now every fifth person has a degree.

Hungary’s commitment to the EU 2020 Strategy is to increase the proportion of graduates between
age 25 and 34 to 34% by 2020. In 2015, 34.3% of the population had a degree, this rate fell to 32.1%
in 2017, increased to 33.7% in 2018, than fell to 33.4% in 2019.

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Source URL:
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/main-executive-and-legislative-bodies-35_en

Links
[1] http://www.mkab.hu/index.php?id=home_en
[2] http://www.obh.hu/indexen.htm
[3] http://www.kormany.hu/en/ministry-of-national-resources
[4] http://www.kormany.hu/en/ministry-for-national-economy