Overview
- President Tamás Sulyok signed the 17th constitutional amendment on July 18, triggering a legal timetable that will end his presidency at midnight on Monday and transfer presidential duties to Parliament Speaker Ágnes Forsthoffer until lawmakers elect a successor.
- Parliament’s amendment, pushed by Magyar’s Tisza party with a two‑thirds majority, forces retirement ages for Constitutional Court judges, sets a 12‑year cap on MPs and creates a national asset‑recovery office aimed at investigating alleged financial abuses from the Orbán era.
- Sulyok said he felt compelled to "rubber‑stamp" the law and warned it damages the rule of law and the separation of powers, while Prime Minister Péter Magyar said the changes restore accountability and pledged to nominate a new president soon.
- Viktor Orbán condemned the step as a threat to democratic safety, commentators expect immediate legal challenges and requests for international opinion, and EU bodies such as the Venice Commission are likely to review the amendment for rule‑of‑law compliance.
- The change completes a rapid institutional purge that has already suspended public broadcasters’ news services and closed the Sovereignty Protection Office, a sequence that could reshape Hungary’s courts and agencies and affect negotiations over EU scrutiny and funds.