Hungary govt proposes new assembly law

The Hungarian government has submitted to parliament a proposal to replace Hungary's assembly law passed in 1989. The new law, sponsored by Justice Minister Laszlo Trocsanyi, seeks to ensure the right to "organise or participate in peaceful and unarmed demonstrations, whether licensed or -- in exceptional cases -- unannounced, held in public areas". Under the new law, an event attended by at least two people would qualify as an assembly, if held in public with the aim of expressing opinions on some public affair. The proposal would ban participation in meetings that have not been granted a licence. Organisers of such events would be in charge of the whole event, and would bear the responsibility of "leaving the venue in the state it was in prior to the event". The leader of the event would also be obliged to ensure peace and order during the event and would have the right to expel people disrupting it.