On 2 June, the European Commission for Democracy through Law of the Council of Europe – commonly known as the Venice Commission – published a preliminary opinion on the Hungarian law bill concerning non-government organisations (NGOs) receiving foreign support.
This opinion, which was commissioned by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) at its April session, is to be definitively adopted in Venice this Friday 16 June, but the Hungarian Parliament will vote tomorrow, which lends this preliminary text particular importance.
Although the Venice Commission acknowledges that the law bill pursues the legitimate aim of ensuring the transparency of civil society organisations, which may help to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism, it advises the Hungarian authorities to carry out a public consultation before the text is definitively adopted.
The sanctions provided should be proportionate, apply only to the most serious breaches and not contain a reference to the dissolution of these organisations, the constitutional law experts of the CoE add.
They go on to stress that the requirement upon NGOs to refer to this foreign support in all media content and publications is excessive and should be removed.
The law bill does not cover sporting or religious organisations or political parties, the experts also point out, but the reasoning behind their exclusion from the scope of application lacks clarity. This exclusion should therefore be either explained or removed. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)