József Petrétei (born 10 October 1958) is former
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. The office was renamed to Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement after the
2006 election.
He is involved in controversial plans to allow possession of pornographic material involving people between 14 and 18, created and used exclusively by the participants. However, there is no plan to change the existing law (Hungarian Penal Code 195/A. §) that prohibits people over 18 to take, share or circulate pictures of people under 18, therefore much of the controversy derives from misinformation.
During his ministership, the
2006 protests took place in Hungary, which were a series of
anti-government protests triggered by the release of
Hungarian Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsány
Ferenc Gyurcsány (; born 4 June 1961) is a Hungarian entrepreneur and politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 2004 to 2009. Prior to that, he held the position of Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports between 2003 and 2004.
He ...
's
private speech
Private speech is speech spoken to oneself for communication, self-guidance, and self-regulation of behaviour. It is between the ages of two and seven that children can be observed engaging in private speech. Although it is audible, it is neither ...
in which he confessed that his
Hungarian Socialist Party
The Hungarian Socialist Party ( hu, Magyar Szocialista Párt), commonly known by its acronym MSZP, is a centre-left social-democratic and pro-European political party in Hungary.
It was founded on 7 October, 1989 as a post-communist evolution a ...
had lied to win the 2006 election, and had done nothing worth mentioning in the previous four years of governing. Most of the events took place in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
and other major cities between 17 September and 23 October. After the siege of the
Magyar Televízió
Magyar Televízió (''Hungarian Television'') or MTV is a nationwide public television broadcasting organization in Hungary. Headquartered in Budapest, it is the oldest television broadcaster in Hungary and today airs five channels: M1 HD, M ...
building (18 September 2006), Petrétei resigned but Gyurcsány disclaimed his decision.
On 20 May 2007, Gyurcsány announced the resignations of József Petrétei, National Police Chief László Bene and Budapest Police Chief Péter Gergényi. Gyurcsány said the move is intended to restore public confidence in Hungary's police and justice systems. News stories attribute the move to recent police scandals and the cloud cast by the disproportionate use of force during the 2006 anti-government demonstrations.
[Bos, Stefan (20 May 2007) "VOA News: Hungarian Minister, Police Leaders Resign Amid Corruption Charges" ''US Fed News'']
Later, in 2010, Petrétei said before the parliamentary sub-committee which investigated alleged contraventions, police crimes or maladministration during the 2006 protests that he did not give instructions to the policemen and he saw the Budapest riots and the MTV siege at his home on 18–19 September. He did not know about that a political intervention would have happened into the police's work.
Works
* Petrétei, József: Magyarország alkotmányjoga I. Alapvetés, alkotmányos intézmények Pécs, 2013, Kodifikátor Alapítvány.
* Petrétei József: Magyarország alkotmányjoga II.: Államszervezet. Pécs, 2013, Kodifikátor Alapítvány.
* Petrétei József et al.: Magyar alkotmányjog III.
* Petrétei József et al.: Jogalkotástan. 2004, Dialóg Campus.
* Petrétei, József: A törvényhozás elmélete és gyakorlata a parlamentáris demokráciában; Osiris Kiadó, Budapest, 1998.
* Petrétei József: Az alkotmányos demokrácia alapintézményei; Dialóg Campus, 2009.
References
* MTI Ki Kicsoda 2009, Magyar Távirati Iroda Zrt., Budapest, 2008, 873. old., ISSN 1787-288X
Prime Minister's OfficeJózsef Petrétei CV and list of publications
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petretei, Jozsef
1958 births
Living people
People from Pécs
Justice ministers of Hungary