Life emprisonment without parole

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Laszlo Magyar Group v Hungary (Application No 73593/10)

This group concerns the execution of the judgment reached by the ECtHR in the case of Laszlo Magyar v Hungary, establishing that life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (whole/actual life sentence) imposed upon the applicant violated Article 3 of the Convention; and the judgment in the T.P. and A.T. v Hungary case, establishing that, irrespective of the new “mandatory pardon procedure” introduced for whole lifers, Hungarian rules on life imprisonment without parole still violate Article 3. In the case of Laszlo Magyar, the Court also found violation of the right to a fair trial (Article 6) because of the excessive length of the criminal proceedings against the applicant, which lasted from 2002 to 2010.

In her presentation, Ms Novoszadek put forth several recommendations to support implementation of this group of cases, starting first and foremost with the need to abolish the institution of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. It would be necessary to ensure that a review complying with the ECtHR standards takes place no later than 25 years after the imposition of every life sentence, with further periodic reviews after that.