The Hungarian court system with special emphasis on the principle of the independence of judges

Abstract

The question of ensuring the independence and impartiality of judges is one of the basic principles of justice, and basic principles of state functioning in general. Successful functioning of justice and the realization of this principle is largely linked to the method of selection of judges, which is, nowdays, an important issue in the world's major legal systems. They all aim to find a solution for the selection of judges that could implement reinforcement of the principle of independence of judges and their impartial trial. Regarding this, significant differences are noticeable between countries which apply civil law and ones that judge by the principle of common law, especially bearing in mind that certain political cultures exist in which there are no limits that the court involve even an external factor to the trial verdict. In this thesis we present the Hungarian justice system and methods of selection of the judges, comparing it with the Serbian model, and then presenting solutions in English, American, German and French judiciary, trying to display current prevailing international trends in countries that apply the legal system of Common law, or in those who judge by Civil law. Finally, by the method of comparative analysis, we present our own view on this issue, being aware that the problem of selection of the judges should be cautiously regulated, given the experience of some other countries, which is especially reflected in post-communist countries in which, up to the 1990s, only one-party system existed, characterized by the fact the judges were selected by the communist Party personnel, that in former Yugoslavia used to be called 'socio-politically suitable'. Nowdays in Hungary, Serbia and many other countries, judicial councils represented by judges, prosecutors, lawyers and law professors have a central role in the selection of the judges (in Serbia there are special judge and prosecutor councils). In France, the election of judges is conducted by the competition exam.