Hungarian President Sulyok Tamás asks Venice Commission to review amendment

President Sulyok Tamás publicly released a 22‑page petition addressed to the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission. In the document he asks the Committee to determine whether the proposed 17th amendment to Hungary’s Constitution – which would terminate the incumbent president’s mandate and introduce a range of other institutional changes – is compatible with European constitutional norms, the rule of law and the principle of separation of powers.

Sulyok argues that the amendment is aimed at his personal removal for political reasons that are not listed among the constitutionally defined grounds for dismissal. He queries whether a president who is not directly elected can be held politically responsible or removed without proof of an intentional legal breach. The petition also seeks the Commission’s view on related questions about the amendment’s impact on the independence of the Constitutional Court, parliamentary term limits, the creation of a National Asset Recovery Office and the abolition of the parliamentary guard.

Despite the president’s request, the Hungarian government scheduled an urgent parliamentary debate on the amendment for 6 July, proceeding without waiting for the Venice Commission’s opinion. The proposal has sparked large‑scale protests by opposition parties and civil‑society groups, who warn that the changes would concentrate power and undermine democratic checks and balances.