HUNGARY Law and Practice Contributed by: Tamás Éless, Zsolt Farkas, Sarolta Szabó and Lili Bischof, Oppenheim Law Firm
2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding
Furthermore, it usually takes between six and eight months from the submission of the statement of claim for the court to conclude the preparatory phase and commence the evidentiary stage. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings Statutory provisions as to the publicity of court pro- ceedings require that every hearing of the court must be open to the public, while the filings of the proceed- ings are only available for those who can demonstrate a legitimate interest in the outcome of the proceed- ings. Nevertheless, the CCP enables the court to pro- tect the hearings or filings or parts thereof from dis- closure depending on the subject matter of the case or the sensitivity of the data involved. Whether proceedings are pending between certain parties in a certain type of case, the court registry provides information upon request. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court According to the CCP, legal representation is manda- tory during the litigation procedure, except in actions falling within the subject matter jurisdiction of local courts. For specific types of litigation, the CCP may provide otherwise, such as in the case of labour cas- es, where legal representation is not mandatory. A person may pursue the professional activities of a lawyer, including legal representation before Hungar- ian courts, as a member of the regional bar associa- tion. The regional bar association may admit a person as a lawyer if that person complies with the requirements set out in Act LXXVIII of 2017 on Attorneys. This means that foreign lawyers may act as legal representatives before Hungarian courts only if they are admitted to a Hungarian regional bar association, which requires a certain level of knowledge of Hun- garian law.
Litigation funding is not defined under Hungarian law and it is not widely used in lawsuits in Hungary. How- ever, legislative amendments entering into force in January 2025, which increase procedural fees, may influence the use of litigation funding, as higher liti- gation costs could make such arrangements more attractive. In the absence of specific regulations, the means of litigation funding are not disclosed to the court and the courts do not issue any cost order (or other deci- sion) that in any way reflects the fact that the proceed- ings were financed by a third party. The court may not refer to third parties in the judgment for the purposes of cost allocation. Therefore, under the current laws, litigation funding transactions remain contractual mat- ters outside of the scope of the respective lawsuit. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits There are no legal regulations restricting or permitting third-party funding in specific categories of lawsuits. 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant Third-party funding is available for both plaintiffs and defendants. 2.4 Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Third-Party Funding There is no restriction on minimum and maximum amounts of third-party funding. However, market actors undertaking third-party fund- ing usually define a minimum amount relating to the case value and they will only consider funding cases where the case value exceeds their minimum amount. 2.5 Types of Costs Considered Under Third- Party Funding There is no established practice regarding what costs third-party funders would cover. 2.6 Contingency Fees Contingency fees are permitted by Hungarian law; however, fees exceeding two-thirds of the legal fees
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