ABSTRACT
In Hungary, as in many other Central and Eastern European countries, the change in the political system in 1989–90 significantly affected the criminal justice system and penal policy. However, while the structure and institutions of criminal justice continued after 1990 without formal changes, the principles of functioning and the practice, that is the content, changed fundamentally. This change derived from the differences between the political system before 1989–90 and that which followed. Before the change in the system, Hungary had an authoritarian, one-party system. Upon the changes in 1989–90, however, a multi-party, democratic constitutional state came into existence. The changes were especially significant in the field of protection of human rights.
