Transparency International warns of capacity issues in Hungary's anti-corruption efforts

Miklós Ligeti, legal director of Transparency International Hungary, has raised concerns regarding the effectiveness of proposed anti-corruption measures in Hungary. While Prime Minister Péter Magyar has proposed shortening procedural deadlines to prevent criminal cases from dragging on for years, Ligeti argues that artificial deadline reductions will not solve the underlying issues.

Ligeti emphasizes that the justice system faces critical capacity problems, including severe staff shortages in investigative bodies and uneven caseloads in courts. He suggests that the government should focus on ensuring the necessary professional expertise and organizational conditions are in place rather than simply modifying laws.

Regarding the newly established National Asset Recovery and Asset Protection Office (NVVH), Ligeti notes that the agency must work in clear coordination with the police and prosecution. He highlights that the most significant challenge lies in the actual recovery of public assets, which may require balancing civil law tools and asset seizure with the need to maintain rule-of-law guarantees to avoid causing undue damage to entities through premature seizures.