This declaration granted the government the ability to override laws enacted by the National Assembly through decrees, a power it would not otherwise possess under normal circumstances. Subsequently, the 2020 Act XII on the Defense Against the Coronavirus, known as the authorization act, was passed, empowering the government to suspend the application of certain laws, deviate from them, and implement other extraordinary measures during the state of emergency.

Martial Law, State of Emergency, and State of Danger

On May 24, 2022, the Hungarian Parliament adopted the tenth amendment to the Fundamental Law, along with an amendment to the disaster management law, both of which were published in the Hungarian Gazette that day and came into effect on May 25. On the same day, a government decree was issued declaring a state of emergency across the entire territory of Hungary due to the armed conflict in Ukraine and the subsequent humanitarian disaster.

The tenth amendment to the Fundamental Law, effective from May 25, 2022, introduced a new scenario for declaring a state of emergency:

The government can declare a state of emergency and introduce extraordinary measures as defined in a cardinal law in the case of an armed conflict, war situation, or humanitarian disaster in a neighboring country, an elemental disaster or industrial accident threatening life and property security, and to mitigate their consequences.

Following the ninth and tenth amendments to the Fundamental Law from November 1, 2022, the special legal orders were reduced from six to three, eliminating the preventive defense situation, terror threat situation, and the unexpected attack, while replacing the state of emergency with martial law. Thus, the current possible special legal orders include martial law, state of emergency, and state of danger.

Empowerment for Drastic Measures

Under the state of emergency, according to the disaster management law, the government has the authority to implement drastic measures. Fortunately, such measures have not yet been enacted. Examples include:

- In urgent cases, a government decree can be proclaimed via public service broadcasting and must be published in the next issue of the Hungarian Gazette;

- A ministerial commissioner can be appointed in case the emergency affects multiple counties or if necessary for the disaster management;

- Local disaster management activities can be taken over by a person designated by the lead of the territorial disaster management authority from the mayor;

- The decree can establish provisions differing from those related to the state budget;

- Economic activities can be mandated by decree, requiring companies to enter into contracts;

- In the dire threat of the emergency worsening, the operation of a business entity can be placed under state supervision;

- Restrictions can be placed on the public's presence on streets or public places, which must be communicated through media and local customary methods;

- Public gatherings on public properties can be prohibited by the police if defensive interests are harmed;

- It can be ordered that certain areas must be evacuated for a necessary duration, and new residences for the population can be designated.

Successive Authorizations

The parliament, on November 22, 2022, passed a law allowing the consecutive extension of the war state of emergency by up to 180 days each time. This law went into effect on the day of its proclamation at 9 PM.

Since then, the state of emergency has been extended three times, the latest on April 10, when the National Assembly authorized the government to extend the state of emergency until November 19, 2024, with 135 votes in favor and 47 against.

Justice Minister Bence Tuzson justified the legislative proposal as follows:

Thus, to ensure all necessary tools are available to help, support, and accommodate fleeing people, to ward off emerging economic damages, to mitigate the consequences, and to ensure the country can quickly overcome the harmful effects of the war, the government proposes to extend the state of emergency for another 180 days.

Legislation During the State of Emergency

Legislative activity has intensified remarkably during the state of emergency. According to data from Wolters Kluwer's Legal Database, 1,367 new laws (acts, government decrees, ministerial or other ordinances) were enacted in 2020, 1,517 in 2021, 1,446 in 2022, and 1,567 last year. For comparison, 912 new laws were created in 2019, 849 in 2018, 1,192 in 2017, and 1,235 in 2016.

In 2020, citing the state of emergency, 257 government decrees were issued, representing more than one-third of all government decrees (732). In 2022, the number and proportion of emergency-related government decrees increased to 267 (42 percent) out of 637. Last year, this ratio slightly decreased, with 202 out of 688 government decrees (29 percent) being enacted under extraordinary legal orders.

Two extreme examples of emergency legislation include sudden changes in fuel station regulations overnight and a late-night decree exempting viticulture products given for representation purposes from tax obligations, effectively supporting the struggling Hungarian wine industry during the end-of-year gift-giving season.