February 25 2020 - 13:00 - 14:00 CET

An independent civil society is an essential actor in protecting the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights. As the EU looks to make its rule-of-law toolbox more effective, what role should civil society play? And how can the EU support the work of civil society organisations to make sure they can perform their role to promote and protect the rule of law? Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights NGO based in Budapest, will discuss their experience with monitoring, advocating on and litigating rule of law backsliding in Hungary, using the EU framework.

About the speakers 

Márta Pardavi is co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. A lawyer by training, she leads the organisation’s work in the field of refugee protection. She now also serves on the board of PILnet Hungary Foundation and Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival; previous to that, she was a member of the board, and later vice-chair, of the Europan Council on Refugees and Exiles in 2003-2011.

Edit Zgut is a Hungarian political scientist ( from ELTE) based in Warsaw. She is guest lecturer at the University of Warsaw, Centre for Europe, where she teaches Central European cooperation within the EU. As a PhD researcher at GSSR in the Polish Academy of Sciences her main field of research is democratic backsliding in Hungary and Poland and the constraining role of the ;

Moderator: Alex Andrione-Moylan (KU Leuven) 

Participation is free and the webinar can be joined from anywhere in the world.