Due to the recent amendment of the Companies Act with effect from 1 August 2022, EU citizens and companies can form a limited liability company or a branch office in Hungary fully online, in a fast-track registration procedure. The new provisions make it easier and faster to start a business in Hungary, even if there is minor restriction in relation with capital contributions. In this article we sum up the most important new rules.
While review of questions of law by higher courts is generally permitted at the judicial remedy stages of civil litigation in Hungary, questions of fact, and the free deliberation of evidence can only be reviewed exceptionally by the Hungarian Supreme Court under well settled case-law. Is the above rule also applicable under the new Civil Procedure Code? In our article, we answer this question by analysing the recent judgment of the Curia in a case concerning the impacts of COVID-19 on the Hungarian phase of the Giro d’Italia cycling race.
The assignment of claims is a common practice in business, yet under Hungarian law it has not been clear what rights are transferred to the new owner of the claim, and what claims can be litigated by the assignee. It has been also unclear whether the assignor and assignee can determine the extent of the rights transferred by assignment. Due to the recent decision of the Hungarian Supreme Court, that we analyse in this article, the picture has become clearer.
Following the ruling of Court of Justice of the European Union in 2020, invalidating the Privacy Shield, it has become significantly more difficult to comply with the GDPR for companies transferring personal data from the EU to the US. What changes will the new Transatlantic Privacy Shield Framework announced last month with a view to replace Privacy Shield bring for these EU companies? In this short article, we explain the principles of the new Framework and answer the above question.
One of the major innovations of the new Civil Procedure Code ("CPC"), which entered into force in 2018, was the introduction of the so-called "substantive legal guidance by the court", under which the judge may "assist" the parties under certain conditions to define the framework of the dispute as soon as possible and to bring the dispute to a conclusion within a reasonable time. Can the judicial assistance extend to the type of action that the plaintiff may bring? We examine the above question in the light of a recent decision of the Curia.
Can a company be sued for copyright infringement committed by its employee, a member or an agent if the offender committed the infringement while acting within the scope of the company's activities? Does the well-settled domestic case law on infringement of personality rights allow proceedings to be brought against both the legal person and the offender applicable? This article analyses a recent decision of the Hungarian Supreme Court(1) that provides answers to these questions.
In its recent decision, the Hungarian Supreme Court examined whether liquidation proceedings can be started against a debtor who received online invoices via email and failed to pay them. Is the principle of free evaluation of evidence in civil litigation also valid in insolvency proceedings in Hungary? Are contract provisions relating to the service of contractual notices applicable in such cases? This article analyses the decision and answers the above questions
During summer 2021, the European Commission published two new "standard contractual clauses" on data protection regulation, which can be applied on the one hand, to the legal relationship between data controllers and data processors covered by the GDPR , and to the transfers of personal data to third countries, on the other. In this article, we answer the questions: what these SCCs regulate, how do they differ from the previous SCCs and how can your company use the new SCCs?
Can a judge be disqualified from deciding a legal dispute on the grounds of bias if they have delivered a judgment which is unfavourable to the plaintiff in another case? Can a court be biased if a plaintiff has challenged a previous decision thereof before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)? This article answers these questions by analysing a recent Supreme Court judgment
In the recent weeks, a number of questions have been arisen whether the employer may know the data contained by the „immunity card”, which aim is to certify immunity to coronavirus. Is the employer entitled to request information from the employee regarding the immunity card or store the information concerning its employee? In this article we answer the above questions on the basis of the information („Information”) of Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.
In its recent decision, the Curia dealt with questions, which may affect many employer in Hungary. Whether the non-compete clause of an employment contract, obliging the employee to pay a fixed amount damages in case of breach of the non-competition agreement, is valid? We analyse the decision in our short article.
In its recent decision, the Curia dealt with the issue concerning what are the consequences if you fail to put in writing the employment contract which contains a probationary period clause. Is the probationary period clause valid or invalid in that case? We analyse the decision in our short article and answer the question above.
From September 2020 the rules, which regulate the status of the adult educators and the organisation of adult educations have changed. There are significantly more educations, which are considered as adult education and performing an adult education entails a lot more obligation. The changes affect almost every employer who organises certain kind of educations for its employees. We summarize the most important changes concerning the adult education.
In certain cases, the Hungarian Labour Code does not require the dismissal to be justified by Employer. But what, if despite that, the employer gives justification for the dismissal? Is it possible for the Labour Court to review the legality of such non-mandatory justification? And can the defect of this non-mandatory justification render the dismissal unlawful? In its recent decision, the Hungarian Supreme Court examined the above question concerning that analyse the decision in our article.
Travel restrictions to Hungary (“Travel Restrictions”) can be regulated on unilateral, bilateral or multilateral level. So far, we have knowledge about one unilateral and three bilateral travel restrictions adopted by the Hungarian government, so this overview will be focused on these. However, given the fast-changing nature of the situation, it can be the case that more bilateral agreement will be adopted, that change the current legal environment.
Can employers withhold the wage of employees because of an ongoing internal investigation? Is the suspicion that the employee caused damage sufficient to hold back mone, or the payment cannot be refused in this case? We analyse the recent decision of the Hungarian Supreme Court and answer this question in this article.
Whether the lack of handover makes the dismissal unlawful based on the recent judgment of the Hungarian Supreme Court? What happens in case the employee fails to take over the dismissal? We address these issues in our article by analysing a recent judgment of Hungarian Supreme Court.
After the bill, passed in 2018 on restrictions of foreign investments, Hungary further limits the domestic investments of the foreigners because of the COVID-19. The new decree extends the scope of the investments to be notified and introduces fines, too. We explain the most important provisions of the decree in this article.
According to the Labour Code, if the executive unlawfully terminates his employment, the employer is automatically entitled to damages equals to twelve months’ absentee fee without proving the actual damage. Can this rule be applied in an opposite situation? We explain the recent decision of the Curia which answers to this question.
Is the employee considered as an executive employee if though the parties qualify the employee as executive, but refer to the wrong provision of the Labour Code? Does the will of the parties or their contractual declaration matter in this case? We analyse the latest decision of the Curia in our short article.
Measures taken due to the corona virus in recent weeks in Hungary affected the enforcement of securities over real estate, as well. The Governmental Decree regarding this matter provides more assistance to the Debtors who got into trouble due to State of Emergency to overcome the difficult period and may affect indirectly the enforcement proceedings started earlier, weakening the chances of creditors to satisfy their secured claims within reasonable time.
Is a penalty for delayed performance enforceable if the purchaser fails to reserve its rights immediately? Or is enforceability excluded only if the purchaser expressly waives its right? This article analyses the Supreme Court's judgment in a recent construction dispute, in which the court appears to have maintained its estoppel-based practice despite recent legislative changes.
Can the unfairness of cross-border claim be reviewed ex officio in case of consumer contracts in such a simplified procedure, like the European order for payment procedure? In our article, we analyse the recent judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Bondora case and its possible effects on cross-border debt recovery, covering also the Hungarian legal regulations.
In its recently published decision, the Hungarian Data Protection Authority (NAIH) has dealt with the questions of the usage of the corporate email account for private purposes and the monitoring of the e-mail account. As the topic can affect every employer, who provides an e-mail account for its employees for working purposes, we summarize the most important conclusions of the decision in our short article.
Can you dismiss your employee, if caught on hidden camera while stealing cash? In its recent decision, the European Court of Human Rights answered this question in the affirmative, however it is doubtful, whether this ruling is compatible with strengthening data protection in the EU, particularly following the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union.
The case law of Hungarian construction disputes in the last years sheds light on the intention of courts to protect the “weaker party”. The Supreme Court has already started to protect subcontractors by declaring certain contract terms invalid, and its recent decision even places more risks at general contractors. How to cope with these challenges in Hungary? We address this question in our article.
Employers often use non-compete agreement in Hungary, but labour courts frequently declare them invalid. Can a training course serve as compensation of the agreement? Or what to do, if it turns out after years, that the leaving colleague does not mean a real and serious threat for your company? In its opinion published recently, the Hungarian Supreme Court gave a guidance on non-compete agreements, which we summarise in this article.
The loss of confidence was a frequently used reason of termination by employers, which was not defined by the Labour Code, therefore it is for the judicial practice to give substance to it. We summarize in our article, in which case was well-founded the termination based on loss of confidence in the practice of Labour Courts.
In the recent days you may have heard the name of Amazon mostly because of the rainforest fires in Brazil. But if you operate a web shop, or just plan to do it, you will be more interested by the Amazon case in Luxembourg. Indeed, the Court of Justice of the European Union has delivered a judgment in the summer, which sheds light on how customer relation with online buyers should be maintained by web-shops in the EU