Top court axes land asset law amendment on national parks

Budapest, June 1 (MTI) – Hungary’s top court ruled on Monday that the recent amendment to the land asset law concerning national parks is unconstitutional.

At the same time the part of the law enabling the termination of lease contracts and lease rights for certain land belonging to the National Land Fund is not unconstitutional, the body ruled.

Parliament approved with a simple majority at the end of April the law under which the land rights of national parks were put into the ownership of the National Land Fund and leasehold rights were terminated.

President Janos Ader refused to sign the law and turned to the top court for an opinion.

The court said that changing the approval conditions of the law from a supermajority to a simple one had been unconstitutional. It also ruled against the principle that the land fund would prioritise the economic aspects of managing the land as opposed to ensuring they remain protected nature reserves.

The opposition Egyutt party called on the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition to “forget about re-regulating the amended passages on national parks”. Egyutt said Fidesz should accept the top court’s ruling and refrain from amending the constitution or using other “legal tricks” to push the bill through.

Green party LMP said it welcomed the top court ruling as it believed that the amendment approved by the ruling parties had “fundamentally endangered” the goals of protecting the country’s natural habitats. Benedek R. Sallai, a party lawmaker, said it was “reassuring” that the Constitutional Court had taken its responsibilities of looking after the environment seriously, especially considering that the desire by certain interest groups to take hold of natural resources had grown in the recent past.

The radical nationalist Jobbik party also welcomed the decision, which they interpreted as a sign that “the Fidesz law failed and the positions of the people, professionals, civil and green groups and Jobbik have triumphed.”