Upon invitation from Prof. Dr. András Zs. Varga, President of the Curia of Hungary, Prof. Dr. Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, paid an official visit, on 12 April 2024, to the Curia of Hungary to participate at a professional conference and subsequently an informal roundtable discussion.
The event was honoured by the presence of Prosecutor General Prof. Dr. Péter Polt, Constitutional Court Vice-President Prof. Dr. László Salamon, National Judicial Council President Dr. Péter Szabó, Hungarian Bar Association Vice-President Dr. András Szecskay, the presidents of the regional appellate courts and high courts, Prof. Dr. Zoltán Csehi, Hungarian judge of the European Court of Justice, Prof. Dr. Tihamér Tóth, Hungarian judge of the General Court of the European Union and Dr. Endre Juhász, former Hungarian judge of the European Court of Justice. On behalf of the host institution, the event was attended by the Curia’s court executives, judges and senior judicial advisors.
In his opening speech, the President of the Curia of Hungary expressed his thoughts on the obligation to apply European Union law and domestic law together, on the simultaneous enforcement of the primacy of European law in a given case and the protection of Hungary’s constitutional identity, on the importance of a substantive dialogue with the European Court of Justice and on the prominent role of preliminary ruling proceedings in the national courts’ case-law.
In his address, President Prof. Dr. Koen Lenaerts analysed the cooperation between the European Court of Justice and the national courts of the Member States of the European Union, in particular the recent decision of the European Court of Justice in case C-537/22.
To conclude the conference, the President of the Curia of Hungary bestowed the Amicus Curiae award on President Koen Lenaerts. Prof. Dr. András Zs. Varga emphasised in his laudatory speech that a constant and constructive dialogue between national courts applying EU law and the European Court of Justice, which formulates its decisions in the light of divergent national legal provisions and traditions, is the key to the effective enforcement of EU law. Prof. Dr. Koen Lenaerts has rendered unparalleled services in deepening and enriching the dialogue between the Luxembourg-based court and the Hungarian courts, including the Curia of Hungary.
At the roundtable discussion following the conference, the participants discussed the importance of professional dialogue between the European Court of Justice and the supreme judicial forums of the Member States. One important lesson learned from the discussion was that cooperation is impossible without mutual trust. Mutuality does not, of course, mean that everyone agrees with every decision or every detail of a decision, but it does mean that the debate is conducted in the knowledge that there is a court on both sides.
The presentations of President Varga and President Lenaerts can be viewed on the Kúria Média YouTube channel.
Budapest, 15 April 2024
The Communications Department of the Curia of Hungary
