On the Legal Nature of Clemency in the Context of the Clemency Case

Abstract

In April 2023, President Katalin Novák granted a presidential pardon to Endre K., the former deputy director of the Bicske orphanage, who had previously been found guilty and sentenced by the court. The President’s decision, which, eventually, only became known to the public in early 2024, sparked a fierce political and public debate, which became known as the ‘clemency scandal’. The fact that K’s offence was linked to a high-profile child abuse case, the granted presidential pardon caused a large public uproar, and a large part of the society deemed it unacceptable. Later emerged that a key figure in the clemency case was Bishop Zoltán Balog, who at the time was the synod president. His personal involvement – which he himself did not deny – also affected the public perception of the Reformed Church. The debate within the Reformed Church communities ranged from the theological and biblical interpretation of grace, through the impact on the Reformed Church and its connection with Hungarian state, to arguments on the public and criminal law implications of the presidential pardon; unfortunately, these latter oftentimes were misunderstanding the legal nature of the case. Now, it is clear that this case has served as a lesson and the ensuing debate regarding the interpretation of clemency was by no means confined to questions of faith. The debate raised not only moral questions, but during the discussion other serious issues have emerged concerning the organization, leadership and functioning of the Reformed Church. The scope of this paper is strictly confined to the legal implications of a presidential pardon and the case. Given the aforementioned legal misunderstandings, the paper seeks to clarify the public law issues arising from the case. The need for this is strongly justified by the fact that the whole problem has, after all, emerged from a primarily public and criminal law issue. Furthermore, the paper touches upon the lessons to be drawn from the public conduct of the leaders of the Reform Church during the ‘clemency scandal’.