Hungary elects Pal Sonnevend to Constitutional Court after two-day process criticised by Amnesty

Hungary’s parliament elected university professor Pal Sonnevend as a Constitutional Court judge on Monday, two days after his nomination in a process criticised by Amnesty International and boycotted by Fidesz and KDNP.

Sonnevend was elected to a nine-year term with 138 votes in favour and six against in the 199-member legislature.

He replaces Csaba Hende, a former defence minister under Viktor Orban, whose term ended following a constitutional change approved earlier this month.

Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s ruling Tisza party named Sonnevend as its candidate on Saturday.

Magyar said the nomination reflected his government’s aim to return “capable, honest people capable of independent thought” to public office.

Amnesty International criticised what it called the “astonishing haste” of the process, noting that parliament had 60 days to fill the vacancy.

The rights group said Tisza had repeated what it described as the single-party selection process used under Orban, without professional or political consultation.

Fidesz and KDNP boycotted the vote. They said the vacancy had occurred “unlawfully” and described the constitutional change as “autocratic”.

Under the same amendment, the mandates of Constitutional Court president Peter Polt, described in the supplied material as an Orban ally, and three other judges are due to end next month.

Fidesz has said it will challenge several of Magyar’s legal changes before the 15-member Constitutional Court.

The constitutional amendment also removed President Tamas Sulyok, described in the supplied material as another Orban loyalist.

Parliament has until August 19 to elect a new president after chess player Judit Polgar rejected Magyar’s proposal that she take the position.