(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

At the end of July 2006, the Office of the Hungarian Prime Minister released their legislative plans for the Autumn comprising the Act on classified information.

Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) have filed two requests inquiring about the details of the draft, but the PM’s Office refused to disclose anything about it.

Last time the Hungarian Government submitted the draft of a new Act on classified information (ACI) to the Parliament was in early December 2005 when the Parliament discussed it in an expedited procedure and completed its first reading within two weeks. Debate continued throughout January and the only obstacle was the government’s having not attached the Penal Code’s amendments regarding the criminal sanctions of illegally disclosing classified information.

This was the situation when three NGOs (the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Protect the Future and the Press Freedom Centre) intervened, calling a press conference to demand that the Government revoke the draft and prepare a completely new document. The protest was successful. In January 2006 the Government postponed further parliamentary debate on the draft legislation and at the beginning of February 2006 the Parliament finished its winter session without adopting the ACI.

Before submitting the draft to the Parliament, only the ministries and “professional bodies” (i.e. the secret services) were consulted, there was no public debate and the media and NGOs working in the areas of freedom of speech and information were not informed. This resulted in a more restrictive text than the one already in force. If approved, the draft law would have enabled the government to deprive citizens from open debate on public issues and would also have prevented them from expressing alternative positions that differed from the government’s view.

HCLU’s major concern was the threat to journalists. According to the Penal Code, journalists who disclose secret documents are subject to imprisonment, even in cases when the journalist was not proven to have known that the documents were classified.

According to the draft of the ACI, these sections of the Penal Code would have stayed in force for an undetermined time. HCLU considers as unacceptable that during the drafting of the new ACI the relevant sections of the Penal Code were neither reviewed nor amended.

Secondly, the right of individuals to have access to the retained data is a constitutional right in Hungary. In theory, all citizens can – under certain conditions – acquire this information if they have been the subject of a secret service investigation. According to the draft law the disclosure of such information would depend on the discretionary decision of the state, instead of being its obligation.

Thirdly, the draft law would reduce the time limit on releasing secret information to 80 years from the present 90 years which is still excessive in HCLU opinion. Furthermore, in cases involving state secrets, the draft law would extend the time limit to 60 years from the present 20 years while the draft law’s definition of “secret” does not meet the standards of a democratic state.

If approved, it would have undermined the freedom of information safeguards embedded in the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Act. The categories of the draft law’s data specification were extensive. For example, there were sections which classified statistical data on public affairs and on public funds as secret. Additionally, the draft law would have enabled the government to classify all international affairs-related data, without regard to the relevant international conventions.

If the present government does not live up to the commitments made in its manifesto, where it states that the act on state secrets has to be adjusted to the act on publicity of public interest data, and fails to engage in public debate on the new ACI, the proponents of freedom of information will have a harder job than before the elections.

Statewatch- HCLU - Threat to journalists and freedom of information from draft secrecy law (08.2006)
http://www.ecln.org/docbin-2006/HCLU-aug-06.pdf

Manifesto - New Hungary − Freedom and Solidarity
http://www.miniszterelnok.hu/domain2/files/modules/module25/fileok/New...

(Contribution by Adam Foldes - HCLU, Hungary - www.hclu.org)