Substantial expansion of the Integrity Authority’s functions and powers

The legislative amendment package submitted to Parliament on Tuesday aims to facilitate the fulfilment of the super milestones set out in the agreement between the Government and the European Commission. As part of this process, the legislation linked to the super milestones will be clarified. (For example, the establishment of the Integrity Authority was one of these super milestones.)

The draft bill introduces significant changes to the asset declaration system. As part of these measures, the Authority will be granted extensive and enhanced oversight powers for the review of asset declarations. The Authority will be empowered, among other things, to scrutinise the asset declarations of the President of the Republic, members of Parliament, local government representatives, members of the Constitutional Court, mayors, judges, as well as other senior government officials and their relatives. The scrutiny will include the verification of the completeness and accuracy of the declarations, as well as the identification of the sources of unsubstantiated changes in assets. Furthermore, the Authority will be empowered to impose fines.

Under the draft bill, the Authority will have access to a wider range of data in the course of its investigations than before. Moreover, certain provisions of the Public Procurement Act pertaining to the Integrity Authority will be amended, and several legal instruments previously unknown to the Hungarian legal system will be introduced. The Authority will be granted new functions and powers in connection with motions for revision as well.

The amendments will also affect the regulations concerning the functioning of the Anti-Corruption Task Force.

An assessment of the practical implementation and applicability of certain provisions is expected to be possible only after the law enters into force, based on practical experiences, given that several new powers and legal instruments are being introduced into the Hungarian legal system for the first time.

Overall, the draft bill will result in a significant expansion of the Integrity Authority’s functions and powers. In the period leading up to the entry into force of the law, we will commence the necessary preparations to ensure that the new functions can be discharged without delay once the law enters into force.