9.2. Draft-bill-related powers
affecting his or her tasks and competences, and may make proposals for the
amendment or making of legal rules affecting fundamental rights and/or the
expression of consent to be bound by an international treaty.
With a view to the National Preventive Mechanism’s power to make legislative proposals, the State has to submit to the National Preventive Mechanism, ex officio, all draft bills related to detention conditions already in the
preparatory stage of legislation. I gave complex reviews on all draft bills, i.e.,
I formulated my opinion on the basis of the experiences gained during the
NPM’s visit, as well as the conclusions of my inquiries conducted within the
frameworks of my general activities.
Under Act CXXX of 2010 on legislation, the entity preparing the draft has to
ensure that all organizations entitled by the law to review draft bills concerning their legal status or competence could exercise this right.173 The organs
responsible for codification submitted the drafts to me primarily to demonstrate that they had incorporated my proposals to amend, repeal or prepare
certain legal regulations as indicated in my reports.
With a view to my competence to review draft bills, I participate in codification only on an exceptional basis. As a positive example, it may be mentioned that in the course of preparing the new act on criminal proceedings
I had the chance not only to submit my written opinion but also to participate, upon request, in the professional consultations.
In 2016, I was requested by the organs responsible for codification to review
212 draft bills. Almost 60 per cent of these draft bills originated in the Ministry
of Interior and the Ministry of Human Capacities. I was pleased to have the
opportunity to review an amendment to Act CCXL of 2013 on the execution of
punishments, criminal measures, certain coercive measures and confinement
for administrative offenses, drafted in connection with the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Varga & Co. versus Hungary.174
I was usually given by the competent ministries five working days to
formulate my position; however, I had only one working day to review the
planned amendment of the Police Act, drafted in connection with the fight
against terrorism.
My opinion expressed in connection with the draft bills has no binding
force; however, their fundamental rights protection aspects may contribute
to increasing the effectiveness of codification and eliminating potential deficiencies and contradictions.
I barely received any feedback on the reviewed drafts even if they had
been revised, which made it rather difficult to check whether my remarks
had been taken into account.
173
174
See Section 19, Subsection of Act CXXX of 2010 on legislation.
See Case AJB-4246/2016.
63
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