The ICDT organized a study trip for leading politicians from Myanmar with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, in cooperation with the National Assembly of Hungary. The project took place in Budapest between 9-14 September 2013.

During their one week long visit to Hungary, the delegates took part in discussion forums at the Parliament on the topics of the Hungarian lawmaking process, the parliamentary system, the organizational structure and the history of the National Assembly. Through introducing various of its divisions, the guests also got acquainted with the financial management and the human resources policy of its Office, the foreign relations and the information service of the House. As a first-hand experience, the delegation had the chance to visit the first plenary session of the season.

Based on fact-finding consultations, one of the most important topics for the politicians was the functioning and work of the parliamentary committees. As a result, they held meetings with members of and learned about the work of the Committee on Immunity, Incompatibility and Mandate, the Constitutional, Judicial and Standing Orders Committee, the Committee on Human Rights, Minority, Civic and Religious Affairs and the Committee on Audit Office and Budget.

The politicians also gained insight to the role of the executive power in the lawmaking process through a meeting with Dr. Krisztián Gáva, Deputy State Secretary for Justice and Public Law codification.

It was also a priority to introduce other relevant democratic institutions and their roles in a democratic system. At the Constitutional Court of Hungary the delegates were received by Chairman Dr. Péter Paczolay, alongside with other distinguished Court Members, and listened to a lecture on the history of the institution, its demarcation from the justice sector and some European models.

Anti-corruption was another topic of great relevance for the Myanmar delegation. In this regard, Dr. Erzsébet Németh, Vice-President for Communication and Institutional Relations of the State Audit Office of Hungary introduced the institution and its work. Dr. Dávid Szeverényi, Head of the European Anti-Fraud Office’s (OLAF) Coordination Bureau in Hungary, continued elaborating on the issue while presenting the functioning of the OLAF office.

Dr. István Kónya, Vice-President of the Curia (Supreme Court) introduced the justice system of Hungary and also talked about their activities against corruption.

One of the highlights of the program was a meeting with Péter Wintermantel, Deputy State Secretary for Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Please visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more information.)

The project of the ICDT was evaluated as highly successful and useful by the participants. They also emphasized the importance of future cooperation between the two countries. As a strategic partner in the Hungarian foreign policy strategy, the ICDT is looking forward to taking part in this process.