Vona v Hungary: ECHR judgment on freedom of association

30-08-2013
The European Court of Human Rights stood up against racism and hatred when it ruled on the dissolution of an association under Article 11 of the Convention.

In its judgment delivered on 9 July 2013, the European Court found that Hungary had not violated the freedom of association by banning the Hungarian Guard Association (Magyar Garda). According to the ECtHR, Hungary was entitled to take preventive measures to protect democracy against associations if a sufficiently imminent prejudice to the rights of others undermined the fundamental values upon which a democratic society rested and functioned.