Hungary must reform legislation on lifelong prison sentences, CoE says

At its latest quarterly meeting to supervise the implementation of rulings from the Court, the committee has said it “is required is that the applicants’ life sentences can be regarded as reducible, in accordance with the Court’s case-law, so that the applicants are provided with a prospect of release and a possibility of review, both of which must exist from the imposition of the sentence.”

In its statement, the committee called on the authorities to align Hungarian legislation with the case-law of the European Court “by reducing the waiting period for life prisoners before they are eligible for release and to address concerns raised by the Court regarding procedural safeguards.”

The Committee also expressed deep regret about the continued absence of information on any relevant developments and invited the Hungarian authorities to submit an updated action plan by March 2025 at the latest, the statement said.