| Project Description | The establishment of an independent mechanism and body for investigating complaints against the police is essential for the right of complaint to become effective, meaningful and capable of fulfilling its important role of providing a safeguard against excessive use of police powers. The project’s objective is to contribute to establishing such mechanisms in CEE countries. Hungary was the first among the CEE countries to introduce an independent police complaints body and the experiences of the reform process could be useful for the stakeholders of other CEE countries. An international conference (also attended by experts from Western countries with a longer experience in the functioning of such bodies) will contribute to raising awareness of the need to make complaints mechanisms more effective, provide an overview of available models and solutions, and will at the same time provide an opportunity for relevant Hungarian stakeholders to discuss the experiences gathered during the first year of the Hungarian complaints board’s operation. Through project supported by CEE Trust to Hungarian Helsinki Committee later contributed to establishment of Hungarian independent police complaints body. This is one of the most successful projects supported by CEE Trust in Hungary and as such it is worth spreading this best practice to other countries of our region. |
