PANYIK v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT
3
is to be considered as biased if the objective adjudication of the given case may not be
expected from him/her for some reason. The fact that the respondent already lodged
motions of bias against the court or against certain judges of the court in several
previous cases does not necessarily entail that the judges concerned become biased
towards the party. In connection with the present case the respondent did not adduce
any concrete ground or reason that the impartial adjudication of the present case could
not be expected from the panel president. Considering moreover that the respondent
did not lodge a motion for bias against the two [other] members of the panel, the
Regional Court rejected the motion for disqualification (section 18 (1) of the Code of
Civil Procedure).”
II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW
14. The rules governing disqualification of judges can be found in
Act no. III of 1952 on the Code of Civil Procedure, which, in its relevant
part, provides as follows:
Section 13
“(1) Cannot participate as judge in the administration of the case and is disqualified
thereof:
a) the party, the person authorised or obliged jointly with the party, those who fully
or in part claim the subject of the action for themselves, or whose rights or obligations
might be affected by the result of the action,
...
e) who cannot be expected to ascertain the case objectively due to other reasons”
15. Chapter XIV of the Code of Civil Procedure contains the
dispositions relative to petition for review before the Supreme Court.
According to section 271(2), petition for review is precluded in a property
law case if the disputed value does not exceed HUF 1,000,000.
THE LAW
I. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 6 § 1 OF THE CONVENTION
16. The applicant complained that the tribunal which heard his civil case
was not impartial. He relied on Article 6 § 1 of the Convention, which
provides as relevant:
“In the determination of his civil rights and obligations ..., everyone is entitled to a
fair ... hearing within a reasonable time by an ... impartial tribunal...”