By the Hungarian Helsinki Committee
In Hungary, the Constitutional Court ruled that the mandatory clemency procedure for people serving life imprisonment without parole violates the Fundamental Law because it does not offer realistic prospects of release. The annulment of this procedure will take effect on 31 May 2027, giving time to the legislator to introduce a constitutionally compliant review mechanism.
In September 2026, Hungary’s Constitutional Court declared the mandatory clemency procedure for prisoners serving life sentences without the possibility of parole (whole-life imprisonment) unconstitutional, as it violated the right to human dignity and the prohibition of inhuman or degrading punishment, as enshrined in Articles II and III of the Fundamental Law (29 September 2026, Decision no. 8/2026. (X. 8.)). The Constitutional Court did not consider whole-life imprisonment as such to be unconstitutional, but held that the current review mechanism did not provide a realistic prospect of release and lacked adequate procedural safeguards.
Introduced following the ECtHR’s judgment László Magyar v. Hungary dated 2014, the mandatory clemency procedure is initiated after 40 years of imprisonment. A five-judge Clemency Board examines the prisoner’s conduct, personal circumstances and prospects of rehabilitation and issues a reasoned recommendation. The Minister of Justice forwards it to the President of the Republic, who makes the final, discretionary decision. If clemency is refused, the procedure must be repeated after two years, unless the convicted person withholds consent. The ECtHR had already found this mechanism to be incompatible with Article 3 of the Convention in its judgment T.P. and A.T. v. Hungary handed down in 2016.
The Constitutional Court, after reviewing the historical evolution of life imprisonment in Hungarian criminal law, based its assessment on ECtHR case law and comparative European legal standards and practices, including German constitutional jurisprudence. It considered that the 40-year delay before the clemency procedure can be initiated offered many prisoners little realistic prospect of review during their lifetime. Furthermore, the Constitutional Court identified several procedural shortcomings. Although the preparatory stages contain safeguards, the President is not bound by the Clemency Board’s assessment and is subject to no statutory deadline, decision-making criteria or obligation to provide reasons.
The Constitutional Court deferred the annulment of the provisions governing the mandatory clemency procedure until 31 May 2027 to avoid leaving whole-life prisoners without any review mechanism and to allow time for new legislation. The current rules therefore remain applicable, with no immediate change to release eligibility. Nevertheless, the decision is likely to lead to substantial reform of the review system for whole-life sentences, while neither requiring nor guaranteeing prisoners’ release.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has long pressed for reform, challenging whole-life imprisonment before the Constitutional Court in 2009, participating in litigation before the ECtHR and urging execution of the Strasbourg judgments before the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
The European Prison Litigation Network (EPLN) and its members and partners monitor developments in domestic prison law across Europe and provide concise analyses of the most significant changes affecting prisoners’ rights at national level. These updates are intended to support practitioners in identifying emerging European trends, drawing on comparative experiences, and strengthening their legal practice and advocacy in defence of prisoners’ rights.
Funded by the Robert Carr Fund. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the Robert Carr Fund, which cannot be held responsible for them.
