Country

Hungary

Detention issue

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
MinisterialDecree No. 16/2014 (XII. 19.) on the detailed rules forthe enforcement of imprisonment, detention, provisional, detention and detention in lieu of a fineThe prisoner may be placed into solitary confinement when: the prisoner seriously endangers or violates the internal rules of the institution, the prisoner was engaged in a group rebellion, the prisoner refuses to comply with instructions from the prison staff, the prisoner’s behaviour is a threat to himself/herself or to the public. The maximum length of solitary confinement varies. It can last for a maximum of 30 days in maximum-severity penitentiaries (fegyház), 20 days in medium-severity penitentiaries (börtön) and 10 days in low-security penitentiaries (fogház). If the doctor does not recommend the continuation of solitary confinement due to the health status of the convict, then the solitary confinement shall be interrupted. Solitary confinement can last up to 20 days in a juvenile prison and up to 10 days in a juvenile remand prison. The juvenile punished with solitary confinement shall not be banned from school classes and reintegration programmes. Solitary confinement that may be imposed on the person in pre-charge detention is for up to 20 days.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2016The NPM concludes that the experience of several visits raise the suspicion that the practices of segregating persons deprived of their liberty are not always in compliance with the requirements of lawfulness, necessity, proportionality, and accountability in Hungarian detention facilities and the conditions of solitary confinement is not in line with the minimum requirements the law set out for this type of disciplinary instrument. Report details
2018The NPM recommended that the physician of the Central Holding Facility, in a justified case, can recommend not to place the detainee alone in a cell which may not be overruled by the body responsible for detention. When placing the detainees the management should aim to the extent possible not be put them in a cell alone, while bearing in mind the requirements of isolation and secure detention. Report details
2022According to the staff interviewed, the disciplinary situation of prisoners has not deteriorated during the epidemic, and in some cases, it has improved markedly, the rules on the risk of epidemics were basically respected by the detainees. The NPM also found no fundamental rights violations in the context of the disciplinary situation at the Bács-Kiskun County Prison, but pointed out that the guards’duty is to protect the detainees from each other while guarding them. Prison staff must be able to carry out their policing and supervisory duties adequately, including at the level of staffing, in order to put an end to inter-prisoner violence. Prison staff shall be alert to signs of disorder and shall be determined and adequately trained to intervene when necessary. Report details