Save the Date for the IFTD event:
18 June 2026, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary
and Call for Nominations for the Ebru Timtik Award (deadline 11 May 2026)
Background
The annual International Fair Trial Day (IFTD) is observed each year on 14 June. Established in
2021,** the initiative is supported by over 100 legal associations across the world who are
committed to the vital importance of the right to a fair trial and addressing the serious
challenges to due process rights worldwide.
The IFTD is coordinated by a Steering Group* which, each year, through a nomination process
selects a focus country where fair trial rights are being systemically violated, and organises an
event and related activities to draw attention to the situation in that country. The event brings
together national and international stakeholders to examine systemic fair trial issues and
develop concrete recommendations to address them, which are shared in a public statement
and report on the event.
Alongside the IFTD, the Ebru Timtik Award is granted each year by an independent jury to an
individual or group that has made a significant contribution to the defence and promotion
of the right to a fair trial in the focus country. It honours Ebru Timtik, a lawyer from Turkey
who posthumously received the first edition of the Award, having lost her life on 27 August
2020 as a result of a 238-day hunger strike protesting against the systemic violations of fair
trial rights in Turkey.
2026 International Fair Trial Day Focus Country: Hungary
Following careful consideration of the state of fair trial rights in the country and the potential
impact of the initiative, Hungary has been selected as the IFTD focus country for 2026. In
recent years, the Hungarian government has engaged in a sustained and systematic process
of undermining judicial independence, eroding fair trial guarantees, restricting media
freedom, and shrinking civic space. These developments form part of a broader dismantling
of democratic institutions and an ongoing consolidation of power within the executive, such
that the European Parliament has acknowledged “an increasing consensus among experts
that Hungary is no longer a democracy”. The pace and severity of this democratic backsliding
have intensified markedly in 2024 and 2025, with successive constitutional amendments
accelerating the erosion of judicial checks and balances. The most far-reaching developments
occurred with the adoption of the 14th and 15th constitutional amendments in December
2024 and April 2025. Adopted without meaningful consultation and heavily criticised by the
Venice Commission, these reforms epitomise Hungary’s deepening democratic
backsliding. By late 2025, the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee warned that the
country’s rule of law crisis was worsening, threatening the Union’s legal order and values. The
European Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law Report likewise found “no progress” on seven of
eight key recommendations from the previous year. Hungary’s troubling record before the
European Court of Human Rights reinforces these concerns: in 2024, the Court issued 51
judgments concerning Hungary, 48 of which found at least one violation of the Convention.
Fair trial guarantees have been further undermined by restrictions on the rights of defence.
In March 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was advised that Hungarian
legislation violates the right to access a lawyer, which undermines the “practical and effective
exercise of the person’s defence rights”, particularly under the trial waiver mechanism in Act
C of 2012. Reports further indicate that authorities frequently appoint substitute ex officio
defence lawyers during the early stage of police interrogations, limiting the right to effective
legal assistance. Structural barriers persist within the legal aid system, including high
eligibility thresholds, low remuneration for ex officio lawyers, and limited understanding of barriers, or mental health challenges are particularly disadvantaged, while gender-sensitive
judicial practices, online resources for domestic violence support and training for justice
actors on gender-based violence remain largely unavailable.
The broader context shows a steadily shrinking civic space and weakening of media pluralism.
Legislative and administrative measures have imposed severe constraints on independent
civil society organisations, including through the 2025 bill on Transparency, which grants the
government extensive powers to monitor and penalise entities critical of official policies. This
follows the entry into force of the 2023 law on Defence, establishing the Sovereign Protection
Office with wide investigative powers over individuals and organisations deemed “threats to
sovereignty.” These laws have been condemned by the Venice Commission, the
Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, the OSCE Representative on
Freedom of the Media, and the Expert Council on NGO Law, while the European Commission
has referred Hungary to the CJEU for breaching the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Pressure by international actors and solidarity and support to the Hungarian legal
community remain crucial to improve the human rights situation in Hungary. The 2026 IFTD
offers a concrete opportunity for dialogue and promises to have a strong impact with
strategic analysis of policy and systemic conditions.
Call for nominations for the Ebru Timtik Award
The Steering Group of the IFTD also invites nominations of one or more individuals or an
organisation for the Ebru Timtik Award from amongst those who have demonstrated
outstanding commitment and sacrifice in upholding fundamental values related to the right
to a fair trial in Hungary. The individual(s) or organisation nominated for the award must be
or have been active in defending and or promoting the right to a fair trial in Hungary through
either a recent outstanding piece of work in relation to this fundamental right or their
distinguished long-term involvement in fair trial issues.
The deadline for nominations is 11 May 2026. Nominations are welcomed from organisations,
or groups of individuals supported by an organisation (see point 3 below). Nominations must
be submitted in English to and include:
(1) the candidate’s detailed biography
(2) a letter signed by the nominating organisation/group of individuals explaining the reasons
why they/it consider(s) that the candidate should be granted the Award, and
(3) one recommendation/supporting letter from an unrelated, external organisation, if the
application is submitted by a group of individuals.
For full details of the award criteria and process, please see “Selection criteria for the grant
of the Ebru Timtik Fair Trial Award”. After the deadline, a jury composed of independent
experts on the right to a fair trial, including one or more from the focus country, will review
and assess the nominations and determine the award recipient(s).
The Steering Group for the International Fair Trial Day and Ebru Timtik Award 2026