European Court of Justice declares “Stop Soros” law illegal

Luxembourg - The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has declared Hungary's “Stop Soros” law to be incompatible with EU law. With the provision, which aimed to improve the handling of illegal immigration, the country “has violated its obligations under the 'Procedure' and 'Admission' directives, judged the Luxembourg judges.

Hungarian law also prohibits conduct that cannot be considered fraudulent or abusive. In addition, this would limit the rights guaranteed in EU law of those who support migrants who want to apply for asylum, the decision said.

The legislative package passed in 2018 had, among other things, created the criminal offense of “aiding and abetting illegal immigration”. People were guilty of this if they helped migrants to apply for asylum, even though they did not apply for protection status due to persecution in their home country or had crossed a safe third country on the way. Last year, the ECJ had already objected to the provision according to which migrants in Hungary have no right to asylum if they entered via a transit country.

The ECJ also criticizes Poland
The regulation was directed, among other things, against the Hungarian-born US billionaire George Soros. In the past, the latter had repeatedly sponsored organizations and projects that aimed to give migrants the right to stay in Hungary.

Meanwhile, the Luxembourg judges also accused Poland of violating EU law. The country’s Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro (Solidarna Polska), who acts as the Prosecutor General, is not allowed to rule on the retention of judges in higher courts according to their judgment.

Source: Junge Freiheit