"We cannot be guided by a constantly changing date, 
and have thus created a target theoretical working hypothesis of January 1, 2002."
Hungary’s Minister of Justice Ibolya Dávid on Hungary’s
accession to the European Union

Ibolya Dávid:
Setting the laws of her land

Approaching the end of the twentieth century, Minister of Justice Ibolya Dávid is the only woman in the Hungarian cabinet. Since accepting the posting of Minister of Justice in 1998, the conservative leader of the MDF (Hungarian Democratic Forum) has made controversial and unprecedented decisions: she has overruled a pardon made by the President of the Republic Árpád Göncz, and her ministry has introduced tough drug and crime legislation. While she believes in change, it is only within the context of her strongly-held conservative values.

Ibolya Dávid was guest speaker at the August 27th American Chamber of Commerce luncheon held in honor of the visit of a high profile study mission of influential women leaders from Washington State and headed by US Senator Patty Murray and the Governor’s Executive Women’s Council.

In her address to the delegation, the Minister of Justice recalled a time in Hungary during the end of the last system in the 1980’s when there were over 80 female political representatives in parliament.

"While at the moment women make up a mere ten percent of the representatives in our parliament," commented David, "now those who are in their positions have not been hand-picked, but owe their careers to their own abilities."

A lawyer by profession, Ibolya Dávid maintains a relatively low-profile considering her key position in the government. At the same time her popularity rivals her government boss Viktor Orbán. While Orbán and his outspoken government partner József Torgyán have been known to publicly bicker of late, Ibolya is quietly yet steadfastly attempting to revamp the laws of the land in hopes of a swift harmonisation with European Union norms.

Orbán and Torgyán are in a balancing act. They are trying to maintain a brittle coalition. Dávid maintains her course. "I am one who was born to do," said Dávid at the luncheon, "and have strange feelings towards those who spend their time creating ideologies."

While Orbán must answer allegations with respect to his family’s acquisition of stone mines, Torgyán must put to rest his share of controversy answering accusations of nepotism some months ago.

All the while, Hungary’s Minister of Justice is one of the very few leading and popular politicians that remains untainted by controversy. Is it be possible that Ibolya Dávid has plans to be Hungary’s first female Prime Minister? Business Hungary spoke with Ibolya Dávid earlier this year:

Ibolya Dávid: In the last ten years, with the transitions here, we have witnessed the speedy introduction of an enormous number of new laws in Hungary. Naturally, this was the result of changes in the Hungarian system, which included the need to invalidate older laws and to instigate the creation of an incredible amount of new legislation. New laws became necessary because of the fast-moving social and economic changes that were taking place. The cost of quickly done work, however, is the quality. There was no choice though, for our predecessors: if you were to have created this legislation in a slow and considered fashion, society would begin to function outside of the law.

Andrew Princz: This was the period of the Antall government ...

Ibolya Dávid: Yes, this was the period after '89, the period of the last ten years. At that time we had to execute the work quickly, that would perhaps have to be revised in a half year; it was simply that we had no choice. Those who were proponents of creating "codex" style classical laws, did not understand the realities of the day. After such a drastic change of the system, and with the alterations in social conditions, it was understood there was no other way to react to maintain an orderly transition.

Our immediate concern, though, is the legal harmonisation for European Union accession that was accepted by the Hungarian government last September. This is based on a presumptive date of January 1, 2002 as the moment when we would accede to the European Union. This is a hypothetical, theoretical date, without which we could not work. We cannot be guided by a constantly changing date, and have thus created a target theoretical working hypothesis of January 1, 2002.

Andrew Princz: In terms of drug laws, is the Hungarian government's tightening of the laws not working in reverse of international reactions to the growing drug problem? Is imprisonment the answer, versus the concept of trying to treat the problem as an illness?

Ibolya Dávid: The effects of drug consumption are an enormous danger, not only in Hungary, but throughout the world. The regulations that have been in place in Hungary in recent years were illusory as they punished the person who acquired the drugs, while they turned a blind eye to the person who consumed them. I would like to stress that we did leave the opportunity for those who are dependent on drugs to choose treatment rather than punishment. Why should a person who is not dependent, however, be able to choose treatment? It cannot be a solution for the person who is not dependent, because he is not sick. It is the person who is sick who would have such a right.

Andrew Princz: Why is it that there is only one woman representative in the cabinet of the governing party?

Ibolya Dávid: This has to do with, among other things, the make-up of the coalition, the personal view of the Prime Minister and the position of the nominating parties. For my part, this has resulted in a kind of a surplus of the duties that I respectfully undertake. By virtue of being the only woman in cabinet, the moment that issues come up such as women’s issues, charitable causes, children and social tasks ... the first person they think of is me. It is my pleasure to comply with these responsibilities.

Andrew Princz: Are there any plans to create a Ministry that is responsible specifically for the status of women which would address these issues in the future?

Ibolya Dávid: The Government does not want to change its present structure.

Andrew Princz: How is it that the you vetoed a pardon proposed by President Göncz in the Kunos affair?

Ibolya Dávid: The constitution allows for this, so both the President of the Republic and the Minister of Justice were proceeding lawfully. Without the countersignature of the Minister of Justice, the mercy granted by the President of the Republic is not effective. I bore the political responsibility.

* Andrew Princz, September 14, 1999 (Copyright)
* Photo credits Rita Éder, István Kozma Mátyás (Copyright)