HUNGARY Law and Practice Contributed by: Tamás Éless, Zsolt Farkas, Sarolta Szabó and Lili Bischof, Oppenheim Law Firm
incurred are not enforceable before the courts, as set out in Act LXXVIII of 2017 on Attorneys. 2.7 Time Limit for Obtaining Third-Party Funding There is no legal restriction on when a party to the liti- gation should obtain third-party funding in the course of the proceedings.
the date of the harmful event differs from the date the damage actually materialises. The Hungarian Civil Code also sets out special limi- tation periods. It is also allowed and enforceable for contracting parties to agree on a limitation period that is different (longer or shorter) from the statutory limi- tation period, provided that the agreement aiming at changing the limitation period is executed in writing. Nevertheless, by force of law, any agreement exclud- ing statutory limitation altogether is deemed null and void. The statute of limitations can only be considered by courts if one of the parties pleads that the claim is time-barred (not ex officio) and the court shall decide on the statute of limitations in its judgment on the merits. Interruption of the Statute of Limitations The limitation period may be interrupted in certain cases – eg, if the debt is acknowledged by the obligor. The limitation period recommences after interruption or following the final conclusion of the proceedings on interruption. Pausing of the Statute of Limitations If the obligee is unable to enforce a claim for an excus- able reason, the limitation period may be paused. If the statute of limitations is paused, the claim remains enforceable for one year from the removal of the impediment, or, where the original limitation period is one year or less, for three months, even if the statu - tory period has already expired or less than one year – or less than three months, as applicable – would otherwise remain. 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant Jurisdictional questions in cross-border cases are pri- marily determined by the rules set out in international treaties and EU regulations, as well as Hungarian domestic laws. Within the European Union, the Brussels Ia Regula- tion (Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012) generally governs
3. Initiating a Lawsuit 3.1 Rules on Pre-Action Conduct
Any overdue claim of a pecuniary nature only, whose amount does not exceed HUF3 million may first be recovered by way of a payment order procedure only, or by attempting a settlement in a mediation proce- dure, provided that the parties have a known domestic address and the pecuniary claim does not originate from an employment relationship. In certain special cases, the law also prescribes other mandatory preliminary procedures – eg, mandatory preliminary proceedings before the press in press correction lawsuits, or non-contentious enforcement proceedings prior to lawsuits seeking termination of enforcement. Failure to complete such procedures results in rejection of the statement of claim without a decision on the merits. Before commencing a lawsuit, sending a notice let- ter is not obligatory in legal disputes. Regardless of the requirements, it is common in Hungary to send a notice letter to the other party in order to open a dialogue. 3.2 Statutes of Limitations The General Provisions on the Statute of Limitations The general limitation period for contractual claims is five years according to the Hungarian Civil Code. The limitation period commences from the due date of the claim. In damages cases, claims become due when the damage occurs; the limitation period therefore begins at the time of the damage. This may be crucial where
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