You can download the winter V4 Human Rights Review here.

We are delivering the winter issue of the online journal V4 Human Rights Review, which reports on developments in the areas of human rights and democracy in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

We start with a report from the V4 conference on democracy, rule of law and human rights written by Pavel Doubek. The main focus of the conference was on judicial independence, as well as on hate speech and discrimination. What are the opinions of each country’s experts on recent developments in these areas? 

In the Czech section, Eliška Hronová discusses the gender pay gap, as the Czech Republic is one of the countries with the highest gender pay gap in Europe. In her article she focuses on how pay transparency could contribute to the reduction of pay inequality.

In the Hungarian section, Péter Kállai explains the recent developments with regard to the disruption of the largest Hungarian news portal. What are its consequences for media freedom in Hungary?

In the Polish section, Łukasz Szoszkiewicz provides an insight into the situation of the LGBT+ community. The matter gained attention this summer after an LGBT+ activist was arrested, which triggered various reactions not only in Poland.

In the Slovak section, Erik Láštic reflects on how the judges of the Constitutional Court are selected and focuses on events that took place over the last two years, including the recent developments that give rise to optimism.

 

Content

  • V4 Human Rights Conference: Judicial Independence, Hate Speech and Discrimination

Czech republic

  • Pay transparency – A tool for the reduction of the gender pay gap
  • The President of the Czech Senate in Taiwan
  • Development of the accessibility of the right to a favourable environment and its practical consequences

Hungary

  • How the largest Hungarian news portal has ended as we knew it
  • A victory for Hungarian civil society? CJEU condemns Hungary for its attack on civil society
  • #free SZFE – Another university deprived of its autonomy

Poland

  • Rights of LGBT+ persons in Poland
  • Poland to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention on Combatting Domestic Violence Against Women
  • Presidential elections in Poland: Polarised society votes in times of pandemic

Slovakia

  • The politics of judicial selection: Searching for constitutional justices in 2019 Slovakia
  • Health workers’ right to conscientious objection to abortions in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights
  • Right to information in V4 countries: Up to international and regional standards?