Transparency International has criticized Hungary’s new bill on freedom of information for its measures to integrate the existing four ombudsman offices into a single one.
The organization said the new ombudsman heading the office would be appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister and will not be independent of the executive power or able to protect citizens’ rights from breeches by that very branch of power.
The watchdog said another step in the wrong direction was that laws on data protection and information freedom, currently guided by two-thirds majority laws, would be removed from that category and only the law on the ombudsman’s office will be a qualified majority law.
Wherever laws come into friction, those concerning basic rights will not have priority, it added.
The organization said it welcomed a change regarding the obligations of publishing data connected to decision-making.
Under the changes, it must be weighed up where the public interest lies more: in disclosing data or keeping it under wraps.
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