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Hungary CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Like other criminal justice systems in Marxist-Leninist
countries, Hungary's criminal justice system was, until
the late
1980s, heavily politicized. The system, like other aspects
of the
political system, was subject not to the rule of law but
rather
to the whims of the party. As part of its efforts at
democratization in the late 1980s, the government began an
effort
to create an independent judicial system.
Incidence of Crime
Crimes against both people and property soared during
the
1980s. Violent crime, which also increased dramatically,
was
disproportionately committed by Gypsies
(see Minority Groups
, ch.
2). Gypsies made up about 4.7 percent of the population,
but they
numbered 54 percent of those persons convicted of murder
and rape
and 49 percent of those convicted of robbery.
Criminal offenses against the state and private
individuals
cost the economy nearly US$50 million in 1988, or 0.5
percent of
the country's annual budget. Losses from criminal offenses
against private property doubled from 1987 to 1988.
White-collar
crime, especially bribery of office executives, also rose,
and
the country's efforts to increase the role of private
enterprise
led to a new type of criminal activity--money laundering.
By contrast, certain other types of activities formerly
considered illegal by the state had become legal under new
more
tolerant laws. Thus, in the late 1980s liberalized
passport and
customs regulations reduced currency crimes by 25 percent
and
smuggling cases by 20 percent.
In the 1980s, the level of alcoholism in Hungary grew
at the
fastest rate in the world. In the 1950s, the communist
regime
considered alcoholism to be a "remnant of the past," but
the
increase in alcoholism over the years had forced the
government
to pay attention to this problem. The rapidly rising rate
of
alcohol consumption was fueled by an increasing number of
women
and youth with drinking problems. About 120,000 children
lived in
families in which one or both parents were heavy drinkers,
and
reports surfaced of youth gangs drinking in Budapest
subway
stations.
However, the government's data showed that at least in
the
workplace the problem of alcoholism was diminishing,
rather than
increasing. Surveys taken between 1985 and 1987 showed
that
drunkenness in the workplace dropped each year: from 9.1
percent
in 1985, to 3.7 percent in 1986, and to 2.2 percent in
1987.
Nevertheless, alcohol, rather than controlled substances,
was
related to virtually all of the crimes committed under the
influence of any type of drug. In the first eight months
of 1988,
more than 18,500 crimes were committed under the influence
of
alcohol, while 37 crimes were committed under the
influence of
hard drugs (heroin and cocaine) and 84 under the influence
of
drug substitutes.
According to the Ministry of Interior, although hard
drugs
were shipped through Hungary, they did not appear to be a
serious
problem for Hungarian society. In the late 1980s, Ministry
of
Interior statistics cited only forty-five to fifty
prosecutions
per year for narcotics violations. Nevertheless, the use
of hard
drugs did appear to be rising.
The use of drug substitutes or the abuse of
prescription
drugs, however, caused the government serious concern.
Abusers
obtained opium-based and other drugs from hospitals,
pharmacies,
and drug factories by stealing, by forging prescriptions,
or by
buying drugs from staff looking for extra money. Glue
sniffing
was also a problem, especially for children aged seven to
fifteen. In the late 1980s, the press admitted that the
country
possibly had 50,000 drug addicts but did not mention the
drugs
responsible for addiction.
Before 1984 the government had denied the existence of
a drug
problem, but since then the subject has received wide
public
discussion. In the late 1980s, laws against the use of
controlled
substances were flexible and gave judges the ability to
adjust
sentences according to the quantity of the drug involved
and the
age of the seller. Those persons in possession of
"excessive
amounts" could receive up to an eight-year prison term.
Data as of September 1989
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