Hungarian Court Rejects Mandatory Health Certificates for Sex Workers

Hungary's Constitutional Court has annulled a legal provision requiring sex workers to provide a doctor's certificate on the ground that it conflicts with article 17 of the 1950 New York Convention. The ruling is to come into force on December 31 this year.

The reason given for its Monday ruling is that the certificate demanded by Hungarian law counts as a type of document which should be held by the sex worker, and this conflicts with UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others.

The legal provision annulled set the stage for the stigmatisation of sex workers and violated their right to human dignity, the court said.