Govt of Hungary passes law to set up new courts overseen by justice minister

Hungary's government will set up new administrative courts overseen by the justice minister under a law passed on Wednesday which rights groups say could undermine the independence of the judiciary.

The courts will deal with lawsuits about government business that are currently covered in the general legal system. The justice minister will oversee the budgets of the new courts and will have big powers in appointing the judges. The government has said the new courts were needed to "make administrative judicial procedures run more efficiently".