Hungary is a modern, democratic state based on the rule of law – the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights says

"The ombudsman's reports are not binding, but the contents of the reports should be taken into account in a modern democratic constitutional state, such as our country" – Ákos Kozma, Commissioner for Fundamental rights said in an interview with the government-friendly Magyar Nemzet. The official, who was elected for a six-year term in 2019 gave an evaluation of his first three years as the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights.

As he said, he has three "challenging" years behind him, and "without the dedication and professionalism of his colleagues" he could not have "successfully carried out his work as a defender of rights." Mr Kozma reminded readers that the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights “is a fully autonomous body, operating independently of any other branch of power.”

He said it was difficult to single out any of the outstanding achievements of the work done over the past three years. Three years ago, "none of us knew what we were embarking on." A few months after he was elected, the pandemic broke out, "and just when we thought we could breathe a sigh of relief, the war in Ukraine started. We were faced with circumstances we had no experience with. We couldn't go back to previous ombudsman – or constitutional court or even international practice, so we had to find solutions on our own, from scratch."

According to Kozma, it was important to note that the ombudsman's reports are not binding, "but in a modern, democratic, constiutional state such as Hungary, it is appropriate to take into account what they say. Their real importance lies in the fact that, although they are not binding, they are put into practice and the recipients adhere to what we ask of them and what we suggest to them."

In 2021, for example, more than eighty percent of the two dozen or so reports on police actions regarding fundamental rights violations were accepted by the National Police Commissioner and he issued administrative decisions in full compliance with their recommendations, Kozma said.

In the interview, he also mentioned that they were working with other organisations to renovate several children's homes.

Last year, the ombudsman, Ákos Kozma did not review the anti-gay law, but stressed that “I pay special attention to ensuring that children under 18, who have already developed or are in the process of developing an LGBTQI identity, receive the help needed for coping with the psychological processes that go with such a voluntary decision.”

We have previously reported on the law which set a trap for the Hungarian opposition by conflating paedophilia with being gay, see our pertaining article here.