OCTOBER 2013

Government System of Hungary

Type of Government
The Hungarian Government is a parliamentary democracy. A parliamentary democracy is a democratic type of governing in which the party with the greatest representation in the parliament, legislature, forms the government and its leader becoming a prime minister/chancellor. In order to effectively rule over Hungary, its government divided its country into several administrative divisions. The administrative divisions include 19 counties, 23 urban counties and a capital city (Budapest). The Hungarian Constitution was written on April 25, 2011 and it came into effect on January 1, 2012.

Executive Branch
The Hungarian chief of state, the formal head of Hungary, is Janos Ader. The head of government is Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The head of government is the second highest official in a sovereign states executive branch. The Cabinet of Ministers and Prime Minister are elected by the National Assembly with the Chief of States recommendation. Other Ministers serving Hungary are proposed by the prime minister; appointed and relieved of their duties by the president. The chief of state is elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term and they are eligible for a second term. The last election for chief of state and head of government was held on May 2012.

Judicial Branch
The highest courts in Hungary are the Curia or the Supreme Judicial Court and the Constitutional Court. The Curia or the Supreme Judicial Court includes the Curia president and 8 judges. The Constitutional Court includes of fifteen members. The Curia president is elected from among its members for nine years by the National Assembly along with the recommendation of the chief of the state of the republic. Constitutional Court member are elected by two-thirds vote of the National Assembly and the members serve 12-year terms. Hungary also has subordinate courts. Subordinate courts are regional courts of appeal such as a county court which include the Municipal Court of Budapest along with local courts.

Legislative Branch
The Hungarian Legislative Branch is a unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyzules) which includes 386 seats. The members are elected by a popular vote under a system of proportional and direct representation to serve four-year terms. The last elections for the Hungarian Legislative Branch were last held on April 11 and 25, 2010. The next legislative branch elections are next to be held in spring 2014.