Hungarian law provides that only jurists of outstanding theoretical knowledge or having at least twenty years of legal practice may be elected members of the Constitutional Court.

The new constitutional mega-amendment again puts an end to the independence of the judiciary, brings universities under still more governmental control, opens the door to political prosecutions, criminalizes homelessness, makes the recognition of religious groups dependent on their cooperation with the government and weakens human rights guarantees across the board.

[4][5][6] György Schöpflin—formerly Jean Monnet Professor of Politics at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London and currently[when?]

member of the European Parliament for Viktor Orban's party, Fidesz—has stated that the assertions of Kim Lane Scheppele „are teeming with misunderstandings, errors of fact, misreadings and ill-will.

On the other hand, according to Kumin, the entry is full of factual mistakes as well, of which the worst is the question of the decisions of the previous Court, which are and will be valid – contrary to Scheppele's text.

On 6 March 2013, Europe's main human rights watchdog, Council of Europe President Thorbjorn Jagland, said that the amendments set to be voted on next week by Hungarian lawmakers might have been incompatible with European legal principles and asked Hungary to postpone the approval of a series of constitutional amendments so legal experts can review the changes.

[10] On 7 March 2013, Deputy Prime Minister Navracsics sent a letter to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland, to give some additional written explanations to the Proposal on the Fourth Amendment to Fundamental Law of Hungary.

[11] On 8 March 2013, the government of the United States raised its concerns both about the content of the proposed amendments "as they could threaten the principles of institutional independence and checks and balances that are the hallmark of democratic governance" and about the process by which they were to be accepted: "[The USA] urges the Government of Hungary and the Parliament to ensure that the process of considering amendments to the constitution demonstrates respect for the rule of law and judicial review, openness to the views of other stakeholders across Hungarian society, and continuing receptiveness to the expertise of the Council of Europe's Venice Commission.

"[13] On the same day, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso too expressed concerns to Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the amendment vote in Hungary's parliament next week to change the constitution, arguing it contravenes EU rules in areas such as the judiciary.

"[16] In The New York Times column of Nobel Laureate economist Paul Krugman, Princeton University international constitutional scholar and Hungary specialist Professor Kim Lane Scheppele[17] writes: Critiques have also been made in the official working documents of the European Parliament[20][21][22][23] and by the Venice Commission on Hungary.