MOSCOW, April 11 - RAPSI. The European Commission will evaluate the measures taken by Hungarian officials following a ruling by the European Court of Justice that the mass retirement of judges following the adoption of amendments to Hungarian law, was age discrimination, the Budapest Business Journal said citing a statement by Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Justice.
Before 2012, the compulsory retirement age for Hungarian judges was, by law, 70. The amendments lowered the retirement age to 62. The law is also mandatory for prosecutors and notary officers.
The European Commission requested a written statement of explanation from Hungarian officials which the commission did not deem satisfactory. Last June, the commission filed a complaint with the European Court of Justice.
The court considered the complaint on a priority basis and agreed that there was a violation of the European Union Council's directive guaranteeing labor rights. The European Commission committed to overseeing the fulfillment of the court order by Hungarian officials.
In July 2012, the Hungarian Constitutional Court also ruled that the resolution to lower the retirement age was a violation of the constitutional rights of the country's citizens.
Later, in October, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) demanded that Hungarian judges that had been forced to retire be re-employed. Reportedly, there were at least 750 judges.
Earlier, in an interview for Nepszava, Reding said that the European Commission was not prosecuting Hungary but seeking compliance of Hungarian law with EU regulations, and this applies to all EU member states.