Tünde Handó (born 1 May 1962) is a Hungarian jurist and judge, who served as the inaugural President of the OBH (National Judiciary Office) from 1 January 2012 to 30 November 2019.
Handó's appointment as President of the National Judiciary Office (OBH) faced criticism because of her connections to Fidesz politicians and because her husband, József Szájer is one of the key designers of the transformations in public law introduced by the second Viktor Orbán administration.
[6] According to the data published on the OBH website, Tünde Handó issued the presidential recommendation on 20 February 2012 to collect the criteria to be considered for the relocation processes.
[7] Tünde Handó as President of OBH appointed the Kecskemét Tribunal to hear the case at the first instance level where the trial began before the summer holiday and according to the court's report it was to end in 18–24 months.
Answering a journalist's question about “what are you doing in order to avoid even the pretense of political prejudice in Miklós Hagyó-case?” the Kecskemét Tribunal replied as follows in a news conference: “We are not doing anything.
The judge is totally independent, separate and delivers the decision only on the basis of his or her conscience, conviction and the law.” The father of Szabolcs Sárközi – spokesman of the tribunal – is a Fidesz politician in Kecskemét.
[9] According to the official rationale, the reason for the relocation was that the Metropolitan Tribunal was so overloaded that it could not have judged this case – in which a socialist politician was involved – in a timely way.
Defense added that the obligation of impartiality was also infringed since the relocation was signed by the President of OBH, who is also wife of József Szájer and the appointed court had already delivered a serious decision in Zuschlag-case in similar political context.
[19] On 2 December 2013 after 224 days passed the Constitutional Court established again that the relocation of cases is against the Fundamental Law and also breaches international conventions.
[20] Handó's OBH declared not to interfere with the judiciary's business: It is the acting judge who can decide the effect of the Const.Court's decision on the pending case.
[23] Mária Szívós as Chairperson of the counsel of the Metropolitan Court confirmed the pre-trial detention of Hagyó three times, automatically, without critic on the basis of a police report which never existed.