The Hungarian prosecutor’s office withdrew the charges against Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony. The turning point was brought by the verdict of the Court of Justice of the EU on the primacy of European law.
On Thursday, the Hungarian prosecutor’s office withdrew the charges against the mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, in the case of violating the freedom of association and assembly. She decided so with regard to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which was delivered after the indictment was filed. TASR informs about it according to the reports of the agencies MTI and AFP.
- The prosecutor’s office withdrew the charges against Budapest Mayor Karácsony.
- The reason is the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
- The law used to ban the event violated EU law.
- European law takes precedence over national law.
- The accusation no longer meets the conditions of the crime.
Prosecutor’s Office for V. and XIII. the Budapest district filed charges against the mayor as the organizer of the Budapest Pride 2025 event on January 28.
The prosecutor’s office added that the indictment at that time corresponded to the legal provisions in force at the time the crime was committed. However, after the indictment was filed, the Court of Justice of the European Union stated in its April judgment that the law on the protection of children, which was the basis for the ban on the event, violates Union law in several points. According to the court’s decision, this legislation contradicts the rules of the internal market of the European Union, the basic freedoms and the basic values of the EU.
European law takes precedence
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office clarified that based on the jurisprudence regarding EU law – which was also confirmed by the Hungarian Supreme Court (Kúria) in several of its decisions – the national court is obliged to ensure the priority status of European law. If a national law is in conflict with Community law, there is no need to wait for the national law to be repealed in advance through legislative or other constitutional proceedings.
Since the assembly office prohibited the event explicitly on the basis of a provision that was later proven to violate EU law, the facts described in the indictment of the prosecutor’s office no longer fulfill the essence of the crime. With regard to these facts and based on the provisions of the criminal code, the Prosecutor’s Office for V. and XIII. the Budapest district withdrew the accusation, according to MTI in a statement.
