The constitutional amendment went through without legal problems

HUNGARY - In Brief 19 Jul 2026 by Istvan Racz

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Somewhat unexpectedly, President Sulyok signed the Constitution's 17th amendment last night, without turning to the Constitutional Court on the matter, to delay the amendment's taking effect. As a consequence:- His office term will end at midnight, today. Parliament's president, Ágnes Forsthoffer, a Tisza politician will take over as acting President of the Republic, and parliament is required to elect a new President within 30 days;- The office term of the head of the Constitutional Court and three other judges on that court, whose age is over 70, will end on August 1. In the future, judges in the Constitutional will have the right to elect the head of the Court; - Hungary's 2700 judges will get the right to call back the heads of the Supreme Court and of the National Bureau for the Judiciary. Judges will have a key role in the appointment of the new heads of the Court and the Bureau;- The maximum office term of members of parliament will be limited to 12 years.These steps are aimed at preventing another undue concentration of power, the same way as the previous limitation of the Prime Minister's office term to maximum 8 years. Measures to enhance the rights of judges are aimed at increasing the independence of the judiciary. Tactically, the amendment serves to remove the most important constitutionally independent but Fidesz-appointed top public officials, who could block Tisza's reform measures, including the once needed to get EU funds, at any point. There is broad agreement within the country, except for the Fidesz camp, of course, that President Sulyok has consequently missed meeting his constitutional obligations, except for signing into law everything that came...