8
SZABÓ AND VISSY v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT
aa) obtaining intelligence on aggressive efforts targeted against the independence
and territorial integrity of the country,
ab) obtaining intelligence on and combating covert efforts violating or threatening
the political, economic or defence interests of the country,
ac) obtaining information of foreign relevance or origin required for government
decisions,
ad) obtaining intelligence on and combating covert efforts aimed at altering or
disturbing by unlawful means the country’s constitutional order guaranteeing respect
for fundamental human rights, pluralist representational democracy, the constitutional
institutions and
ae) obtaining intelligence on and combating acts of terrorism, illegal arms and drugs
trafficking, and illegal trafficking in internationally controlled products and
technologies;”
18. Act no. CXI of 2011 on the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights
(“Ajbt.”) provides as follows:
Under section 18 (1) f), law enforcement organs – including the
anti-terrorist organ – are authorities subject to investigation by the
Ombudsman. There is only one limitation on the investigations conducted
by the Ombudsman: the report drafted on the secret intelligence activities of
organs authorised for using secret intelligence devices shall not contain data
from which the conclusion can be drawn that in the given case secret
intelligence activities were or have been carried out by the organ [cf. section
28(3)]. The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights shall annually submit a
report to Parliament about the investigated cases and may – except for
proposals for amendments – request Parliament to investigate any given
case. Where the finding of an abuse or maladministration affects classified
data, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights shall – simultaneously with
the annual report or, if the abuse or maladministration is very grave or
affects a great number of natural persons, before the submission of the
annual report – submit the case to the competent parliamentary committee
in a report classified according to the Act on the Protection of Classified
Data.
The applicants submitted a statement obtained from the Commissioner’s
Office on 9 July 2014, according to which the Commissioner had never
enquired into the field of secret surveillance measures.
19. Act no. CLI of 2011 on the Constitutional Court provides as follows:
Section 26 (1)
“Persons or organisations affected by a particular case may, under Article 24 (2) c)
of the Fundamental Law, submit a constitutional complaint to the Constitutional Court
where due to the application in the related court proceedings of a piece of legislation
contravening the Fundamental Law,
a) their rights enshrined in the Fundamental Law have been violated, and
b) legal remedies have been exhausted or no remedy exists.