The case stemmed from a complaint by the opposition Tisza Party alleging that from Feb 21, public broadcaster Kossuth Radio's Facebook page disproportionately covered events and statements from the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance.

While the National Election Committee (NVB) dismissed the claim, the Kuria upheld it on appeal, ruling that MTVA and Duna Mediaszolgaltato had violated the principle of equal opportunity under the election law, and barring further violations.

However, the Constitutional Court found that the Kuria had failed to justify why it applied media balance standards, which, it noted, are meant for regulated broadcasters, to a Facebook page, which the Kuria itself acknowledged did not qualify as a media service.

The court also criticised the Kuria for ignoring procedural fairness, treating uncontested parts of the NVB’s decision as settled without proper scrutiny. Also, the court said, the Kuria's decision violated the principles of the rule of law, legal certainty and predictability.

The court said the Kuria had effectively equated the principle of equal opportunity in electoral law with the balanced-coverage obligations for media providers, yet disregarded certain elements of the established legal practice for media services.

The Constitutional Court said it therefore annulled the Kuria’s decision, citing its conflict with the Fundamental Law.
 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com
 

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