HUNGARY Law and Practice Contributed by: Tamás Éless, Zsolt Farkas, Sarolta Szabó and Lili Bischof, Oppenheim Law Firm
9. Damages and Judgment 9.1 Awards Available to the Successful Litigant Forms of Awards Depending on the type of the statement of claim, the court adopts a judgment, which may include an impo- sition of an obligation on the defendant, a declaration that a right or legal relationship exists or does not exist, or a change in the legal status or relationship of the parties (creation, termination or modification), or, of course, the rejection of the claim. The court may also adopt partial judgments and inter- locutory judgments in special cases. Remedies Against a Judgment The main ordinary remedy is the appeal, which allows a party to contest a first instance judgment and cer- tain court orders before a higher court. The appellate court examines both the legal and factual elements of the case. Among the extraordinary remedies, a judicial review may be sought against a final judgment from the Curia (Supreme Court) in cases involving significant legal errors or violations of substantive law. Another extraordinary remedy is the retrial, which ena- bles the reopening of a final case when new facts, evidence, or circumstances arise that could have affected the original judgment. 9.2 Rules Regarding Damages Punitive damages are not available in Hungary; how- ever, special forms of liability for damages apply in cases involving, for example, hazardous activities or product liability. There is no special rule on limiting the maximum amount of damages. However, based on the general rules regarding extracontractual liability, the maxi- mum sum of damages is limited by the foreseeability thereof. A party may be exempt from delictual damages according to the test of generally expected behav- iour, while in case of liability for breach of contract,
the conditions for this exemption are very strict and difficult to meet. 9.3 Pre-Judgment and Post-Judgment Interest The interest to be paid by the losing party is calculated according to the relevant provisions of substantive law governing the legal relationship between the parties, irrespective of the date of the judgment. Therefore, the interest accrues until the sum of the claim is paid to the successful party from the date when the claim became due. 9.4 Enforcement Mechanisms of a Domestic Judgment Enforcement of domestic judgments is primarily gov- erned by Act LIII of 1994 on Judicial Enforcement, while the CCP determines when a judgment becomes enforceable. A domestic judgment may be enforced once it has become final and binding, or if it has been declared preliminary enforceable by the court. In such cases, the court issues an enforcement clause, which certifies that the decision is enforceable. Enforcement is carried out by court bailiffs, members of the Hungarian Association of Judicial Officers under the supervision of the competent district court. The enforcement proceeding is initiated upon the request of the successful party. The enforcement mechanisms available include the attachment of bank accounts or wages, the seizure and sale of movable or immovable property, the enforcement of receivables from third parties, and the compulsory performance of non-monetary obli- gations, such as eviction or the delivery of specific property. 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country Legal Basis for the Enforcement of a Foreign Judgment First, according to EU law, judgments brought by courts seated in member states shall be ex lege con- sidered as decisions of Hungarian courts and enforced in the same way as Hungarian judgments.
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