HUNGARY Law and Practice Contributed by: Tamás Éless, Zsolt Farkas, Sarolta Szabó and Lili Bischof, Oppenheim Law Firm
• First, the court may award injunctive relief in order to prevent any change to the current situation if it would be impossible to restore the original situa- tion subsequently. • Second, injunctive relief may be awarded to ensure that it would not become impossible for the requesting party to exercise his or her rights subsequently. • Third, injunctive relief may be awarded to avert any imminent threat of harm to the requesting party. • Finally, the CCP gives the courts discretion by allowing such measures for any special and equi- table reason. Whether this is the case is, however, strictly interpreted by the courts, which only grant such requests in a narrow range of circumstances. Forms of Injunctive Relief The CCP does not specify in detail what kind of injunctive relief a party may request but states that it may consist of an obligation to behave in a way that the plaintiff would be entitled to demand on the basis of the right asserted in the lawsuit. The claim and the request for injunctive relief do not necessarily have to be identical, but injunctive relief cannot be awarded in respect of a matter not at issue in the lawsuit. Hungarian law does not permit injunctive relief that would constitute a prohibition on bringing parallel pro- ceedings in another jurisdiction. Under Hungarian law and jurisdiction, the issue of parallel proceedings is governed by the rules on lis pendens, which results in the termination of the procedure. 6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief According to the CCP, the court shall adjudicate the request injunctive relief as a matter of priority and shall make its arrangements without delay, but within eight days at the latest. However, in practice, a request for an interim measure is usually adjudicated within a month. 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis With regard to the adjudication process, the CCP stip- ulates that the court shall allow the opposing party to submit a statement on the application for injunctive relief. The court shall give the parties the opportunity
to respond to the application in the manner it deems most appropriate and, if it deems it necessary, may also hear the parties in person. 6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant Subsequently, in light of the court’s decision on the merits, if the court rejects the applicant’s claim, the injunctive relief becomes “unlawful” because the applicant would not have been entitled to demand a measure. Therefore, in order to balance the inter- ests of the parties, the applicant’s opponent may file a claim for damages against the applicant. Compensation is more effective if the successful party is not obliged to bring a separate damages action, and the issue is addressed in the main proceedings. Thus, the court shall require the provision of security as a condition for applying for injunctive relief if the opposing party can substantiate the disadvantages resulting from the requested measure that could serve as a ground for claiming damages. 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief The CCP does not set out restrictions on whether injunctive relief could only be granted against the opponent’s assets located in Hungary. However, Hun- garian authorities cannot enforce measures against foreign assets. Foreign authorities would need to act, and they may choose whether or not to recognise the Hungarian decision. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief As injunctive relief must always remain within the bounds of the right asserted in the lawsuit, such measures cannot be granted against third parties. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non- Compliance An order on interim measures is preliminarily enforce- able – ie, shall be declared enforceable regardless of an appeal and before the case is adjudicated on the merits. Thus, if the respondent fails to comply with the terms of an injunction, it may be enforced in accord- ance with the rules of judicial enforcement.
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