Pál Sonnevend Elected Constitutional Court Judge

Lawmakers in Hungarian parliament on Monday elected Dr. Pál Sonnevend a Constitutional Court judge, with 138 votes in favor and 6 votes against. The new judge was elected in a secret ballot for a nine-year term.

The election was necessitated by the ending of Csaba Hende's mandate as a judge following the 17th amendment to the Fundamental Law.

Prime Minister Péter Magyar congratulated Sonnevend on his election. In a post on social media, he wrote that "we could not have nominated a more qualified constitutional lawyer."

The prime minister noted that Pál Sonnevend is a professor and former dean at Eötvös Lóránd University's Faculty of Law and an internationally recognised expert in constitutional and international law. He previously worked at the Constitutional Court under former President László Sólyom, served as a constitutional advisor to Presidents Sólyom and Ferenc Mádl, and played a defining role in training generations of lawyers as a lecturer and dean at Eötvös Lóránd University, he noted.

Pál Sonnevend's scholarly work focuses on human rights, international law and the rule of law. He has represented Hungary at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and has appeared before the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union. His work has earned both domestic and international recognition, the prime minister added.