Hungary Lawmakers Rescind Law Creating Orban-Controlled Tribunal

(Bloomberg) -- Hungary’s parliament rescinded a law that created a top court under government control, a concession by Prime Minister Viktor Orban as he tries to avoid punishment from the European Union for undermining the rule of law.

Parliament, where Orban’s lawmakers have a two-thirds majority, agreed Tuesday to delay plans to strip the supreme court of its oversight of public administration and to transfer cases on issues ranging from corruption to elections to a new top court under the justice minister.

Lawmakers are also expected to back a government bill later on Tuesday to extend the cabinet’s control over scientific research, a move that may allow the illiberal premier to continue his consolidation of power over all walks of life in the eastern European country.

Hungary is facing an Article 7 probe in the EU for allegedly flouting the rule-of-law, a rarely applied process that may lead to the suspension of its voting rights in the bloc.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoltan Simon in Budapest at zsimon@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey, Andras Gergely

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