July 4th, 2012

Constitutional Court voids decree preventing state scholarship graduates from leaving country

By

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday voided a government decree that was to make state scholarship students sign contracts to restrict their later freedom to work abroad, the court’s press spokesman András Sereg announced.

The court ruled that the act on national higher education unconstitutionally authorised the government to define the contracts. The court established that regulating student contracts directly impacted the right of affected students to take part in higher education which constitutes an essential element for state subsidies to higher education.

The right of free movement of labour must be defined in law, according to the Court, and thus the government decree must not enter into force. Judge András Bragyova appended a parallel explanation to the resolution while judges István Balsai, Barnabás Lenkovics, Béla Pokol, Péter Szalay and Mária Szívós joined separate opinions.

The government decree stated in part that students awarded grants are obliged after graduation to work in Hungary for a period equal to double their period of study within 20 years. The Constitutional Court ruled that this affects directly the right to free choice of occupation.

The cabinet respects the ruling, the Human Resources Ministry stated Tuesday evening, adding that the act on higher education will be amended to take the ruling into account.

The National Conference of Student Councils (HÖOK) welcomed the ruling. HÖOK president Dávid Nagy said ombudsman Máté Szabó had turned to the Court at their request.

For more than 15 years, Hungary Around the Clock has published the premier daily news briefing available for business executives, diplomats, journalists and other decision-makers who need to stay abreast of political, economic and general news about Hungary. For a free one-week trial subscription delivered to you by e-mail or fax, please click here.
Topics
Share
  • Viking

    Yet another Fidesz-law that has been repelled
    Yet another oppourtunity for ‘leto’ to demand all judges to be replaced by Fidesz affiliates (no previous experience required – good oppourtunities for ‘on-the-job-training’)

  • steve

    how about saying that democracy and checks and balances actually exist. your petty cynicism is getting old as is Leto
    make worthy comments or shut up

  • Leto. مؤدّب

    “The right of free movement of labour must be defined in law, according to the Court, and thus the government decree must not enter into force. ”

    Okay, make it a law then. A cardinal one. :)

    • Pete H.

      And then the European court can strike it down.

    • Leto. مؤدّب

      Just heard on the news that they’ll submit it as a law. :)

  • Curious George

    I think Hungarians should find ways to do things for the country. I’m in favor of graduates working within the country for a fixed term to pay back scholarships. We have this condition, and it works well.
    Maybe they could convert all scholarships to loans, and waive the repayment if graduates worked in Hungary. It might get around the movement of labor law, since the ‘scholarship’ loans would optional, and no one is under any obligation to take state money.

  • Anonymous

    I don’t see why the students can’t be given interest-free loans to pay for their education. Then they can pay it back from where-ever they work. Those working overseas would probably be able to pay it back a lot sooner.

    • Leto. مؤدّب

      “interest-free loans”?

      Let me recommend you studying concepts like “inflation”, “interest” or the “time value of money”

      “Interest is compensation to the lender, for a) risk of principal loss, called credit risk; and b) forgoing other investments that could have been made with the loaned asset. These forgone investments are known as the opportunity cost. Instead of the lender using the assets directly, they are advanced to the borrower. The borrower then enjoys the benefit of using the assets ahead of the effort required to pay for them, while the lender enjoys the benefit of the fee paid by the borrower for the privilege. In economics, interest is considered the price of credit.”

      -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interest
      -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_value_of_money

      • Anonymous

        An interest free, or low interest loan for the university fees, would still be a subsidy.

        But much less of a subsidy than full payment of all fees, i.e. the current system.

        Are you saying that the government couldn’t afford it? It is basically the current system, but asking people to pay some of it back, where-ever they work.

        • Leto. مؤدّب

          Then it would be a scheme which could not be budgeted on the timescales involved. What if inflation would be 20% yearly in 15 years?

          BTW, one could argue if a system designed to be zero-profit is subsidy or not.
          Here are the details if you read Hungarian:
          -http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Di%C3%A1khitel

          You simply cannot operate at break-even with interest-free loans.

          • Nod

            Eh, but isn’t a loan with zero interest still a better deal than a grant which doesn’t have to be repaid at all?

          • Anonymous

            It isn’t to break even. The system currently doesn’t break even. This isn’t about the diakhitel system, it is about the state scholarship system.

          • Leto. مؤدّب

            It depends on to whom. The taxpayer or the students?

            BTW, 96% of the borrowers pay orderly.

          • Leto. مؤدّب

            @Anonymous:

            I’m sorry, you are right. This is about the state grants indeed.
            So the restriction to leave the country is even more justified. Either pay up if you want to leave after graduation or pay for your tuition yourself.

          • Anonymous

            I don’t want to argue, I just had an idea and wrote it down. I regret that.

More content from Hungary's leading foreign-language media network
About Politics.hu | Become an All Hungary Member | Newsletters | Contact Us | Advertise With Us
All content © 2004-2013 The All Hungary Media Group. Articles, comments and other information on the All Hungary Media Group's network of sites are provided "as is" without guarantees, warranties, or representations of any kind, and the opinions and views expressed in such articles and columns are not necessarily those of the All Hungary Media Group.