The concept of the rule of law “idolised by the left” is “an arbitrary political tool used to sidestep meaningful debates” and avoid having to hear out political opponents, Justice Minister Judit Varga said in an article in the Saturday issue of daily Magyar Nemzet.
The minister noted that Hungary and Poland have challenged the mechanism in the European Union budget linking EU funding to the rule of law in the Court of Justice of the European Union, arguing that it “seriously infringes on legal certainty” and should not be allowed to remain in force.
Varga said the mechanism violated the principle of legal certainty requiring the application of a law to have a predictable outcome. “If this requirement isn’t met, arbitrariness remains the only option,” the minister said.
In a Facebook post in which she shared her article, Varga said that if the conditionality mechanism had to be applied by a lawyer, “they’d be in big trouble and probably wouldn’t even take the job.”
Varga compared the mechanism to the idea of the penal code consisting of the single provision “you must be a good person”.
Featured photo by Zsolt Szigetváry/MTI
