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CAN THE DEBTOR BE LIABLE TO PAY COURT COSTS IN HUNGARY?
07 June 2023
In our previous article, we introduced the costs of the litigation in Hungary. In this article, we will examine which party is liable to pay these costs and whether the debtor be liable to pay court costs in Hungary.
Our previous article is available here: WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF THE LITIGATION IN HUNGARY? - Blog - Smartlegal
With regard to costs, we need to look at two things: who is obliged to advance and who is obliged to bear the costs.
Who is obliged to advance the costs?
The plaintiff shall pay a court duty when submitting his claim. Similarly, the duty of appeal must be advanced by the appellant, and the duty of judicial review and complaint by the party who request it.
The costs of the evidentiary procedure (e.g., cost of the court-appointed expert, travel costs of witnesses), shall be advanced by the party who wishes to prove its statements, and the same applies for the costs of the legal representatives.
The cost of the translator, who is needed because the oral use of the mother tongue on the hearing (e.g., in case of a witness) shall be advanced and paid by the Hungarian State. However, the cost of the official translation of documents shall be advanced by the party, who uses the foreign-language documents as evidence.
Who is obliged to bear the costs?
As a general rule, the winning party's litigation costs are reimbursed by the losing party. If the parties are obliged to pay legal costs to each other, the court will only order payment of the difference.
If the parties conclude a settlement during the litigation and it has been approved by the court, the agreement of the parties shall prevail.
In the event of termination of proceedings, the defendant's litigation costs are normally reimbursed by the plaintiff, unless the proceedings are terminated, e.g. by settlement, death or dissolution.
Reimbursement of litigation costs may be claimed by charging it at the latest until the end of the hearing or, failing that, until the decision closing the proceedings has been taken.
In the decision closing the proceedings, the court decides who bears the litigation costs and to what extent and orders the party concerned to pay them.
As we mentioned, in general, all of the costs shall be borne by the losing party, however the judge may order the partial reimbursement of the attorney’s fee, occurred on the winning parties’ side.
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