Brussels, 16/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Hungarian constitutional court, on Monday 16 July, rescinded the law, challenged by the European Union, which required judges to retire at age 62, the Reuters agency reports. The court took the view that this law infringed the independence of the Hungarian judiciary. That part of the law which lowered the age limit, previously set at 70, was found by the court to be in breach of the Constitution, and application was annulled retrospectively from 1 January 2012. It was in April that the European Commission decided to refer this law to the EU Court of Justice, deeming it in breach of European law and of provisions on discrimination at work. Referral came only after numerous observations had been made through a letter of formal notice and a reasoned opinion.
Viviane Reding, who is the commissioner responsible for this issue, welcomed the ruling and was pleased that the Hungarian court seemed to share the same concerns as the Commission. The case before the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) will not be closed because of this decision, however. On Monday, the CJEU agreed to a hearing on the matter on 18 September and, between now and then, the Commission will closely monitor the situation in Hungary and the way in which the authorities respond to this constitutional court ruling, the Commission stated. (SP/transl.rt)