The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers examined again this week the execution of the László Magyar group of cases. This group, which dates back as far as 2014, concerns violations of the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment due to the applicants’ life sentences, either without eligibility for parole or with eligibility for parole having served up to 48 years and one month in prison.
In an interim resolution adopted at this week’s quarterly meeting to supervise the implementation of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights, the Committee underlined that the violations found by the Court did not require the applicants to be given the prospect of imminent release. What is required is that the applicants’ life sentences can be regarded as reducible in accordance with the Court’s case-law, so that they are provided with a prospect of release and a possibility of review, both of which must exist from the imposition of the sentence.
Expressing deep regret about the continued absence of information on any developments, the Committee exhorted the authorities to align their legislation with the Court’s case-law in respect of both types of life sentences and to set up a timeline for the legislative process which would both reduce the waiting period for life prisoners and address the concerns regarding the lack of sufficient procedural safeguards in the mandatory clemency procedure.
The Committee of Ministers invited the Hungarian authorities to submit an updated action plan, including information on all outstanding issues, by 15 March 2025 at the latest. It decided to resume its examination of this group of cases in June 2025.
