The Res Iudicata – Judges for Social Awareness Association, regarding to recent statements, which criticise Hungarian judges in a very negative way due to the preliminary hearing of a specific criminal case, wishes to express the followings:
The Italian press and – very sadly – some Italian judges’ associations* questioned the independence and the Europeanism of the Hungarian judges by criticizing the way the Italian citizen in-custody defendant appeared in the media wearing ankle cuffs during the preparatory hearing, which made her look like a criminal. The statements questioned not only the commitment to the respect of fundamental human rights of our fellow judges and of the Hungarian judiciary, but they have explicitly called on our European colleagues to boycott future international judicial training events organised in Budapest.
We find it particularly offensive that the judges’ associations form their opinion based on the information published in the Italian press or received from the family of the person concerned, and they accept as a fact that their judicial colleagues of a Member State of the European Union are involved in proceedings, that seriously violate the values of the EU and the fundamental human rights. Moreover, they call our colleague to account for the respect of a fair trial and the presumption of innocence, without respecting the principle mutual trust.
We are strongly convinced that this criticism is a result of the lack of in-depth knowledge of the facts. Contrary to the Italian and Hungarian political press statements, which describe the problem only as a court related matter, it is not a judicial discretion to decide the use of the coercive measures during the transfer of the in-custody defendant, but according to the Decree nr. 16/2014 of the Minister of Justice, it is decided by the prison service, which is under the direction of the executive. In the courtroom the presiding judge is allowed only, on his own responsibility, to order the remove of the handcuffs. The presiding judge does not have the power to make any decision regarding the use or the removal of ankle cuffs or any other coercive instruments.
During the trial it’s the discretion of the presiding judge to allow the remote participation of the in-custody defendant from the prison through video communication system, but in the case of a preparatory hearing, it cannot be ordered without the consent of the accused.
We would like to emphasise that the Hungarian Code of Criminal Procedure as a general rule ensures the publicity of the trials, and according to the law, everyone has the right to be informed about the procedure through the media, so for this reason the representatives of the press are allowed to be present in the courtroom and inform the public. But to protect the rights of privacy of the participants – including the accused – the media is allowed to take photograph and to make audio and video recordings only with their permission. If the defendant’s image is clearly and visibly shown in the media, it is presumable that she gave her consent, when was asked by the presiding judge. Consequently, being showed in the media wearing hand and ankle cuffs in the courtroom is primarily based on her own decision.
With the greatest respect for the freedom of expression of our fellow European judges, we urge them to be more carefully informed before making snap judgments!
Budapest, 3 February 2024
Zoltan GEBE,
Adrienn LACZÓ,
Anna MADARASI
the Board of Res Iudicata Association
https://www.areadg.it/comunicato/in-solidarieta-di-ilaria-salis
