Constitutional Court limits gov't rights to sack civil servants

Hungary’s Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that the government cannot sack civil servants without providing a reason for its action, as legislation drafted by the governing Fidesz party would have had it.

Parliament, where Fidesz holds a two-thirds majority, passed a bill in December 2010 that made it possible to dismiss government officials and civil servants without the employer saying why.

In February this year, the Constitutional Court ruled that government officials may be sacked only if their employer provides a reason for their dismissal. But the cancellation of the legislation enters is effective only as of 1 June, so until then the government can sack anyone it wants without having to explain.

The Constitutional Court annulled the legislation on civil servants as well on Tuesday (effective today), saying it infringed several fundamental rights, like the rule of law, entitlement to work, the right to take public office, the right to human dignity, and the right to seek legal remedy, the court said in a statement.