HUNGARY Law and Practice Contributed by: Tamás Éless, Zsolt Farkas, Sarolta Szabó and Lili Bischof, Oppenheim Law Firm
11. Costs 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation The Most Relevant Types of Litigation Costs A duty is payable by the plaintiff at the time of the submission of the statement of claim. The general amount of the duty is defined by the Duties Act, and it depends on the amount in dispute. As of Janu- ary 2025, Act XCIII of 1990 on Duties was amended and the rate of the duty for civil proceedings at first instance changed. As a result of the amendment, the duty is set differently in eight bands depending on the value in dispute. The upper limit of the duty (previous- ly HUF1,500,000) was abolished. In practical terms, the amendment has significantly increased litigation costs, particularly in high-value cases. Additional costs may arise in connection with the taking of evidence, the most substantial of which are typically the costs of expert opinions. These must be advanced by the party requesting the evidence. Legal representation also gives rise to attorneys’ fees, which are advanced by the represented party. The parties advance their costs upon their occur- rence, as set out by the CCP and described in 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/Motions . The alloca- tion of all costs and duties is determined by the court in its judgment. Allocation of Costs On the basis of the CCP, the losing party pays all the costs of the winning party, and if the plaintiff’s claim has only been partially successful, the plaintiff is entitled to costs in proportion to his or her success. However, the court can order the payment of only a part of the costs if the winning party caused some of the costs, or the costs are exorbitant, inequitable or unjustified. Challenging the Amount of the Costs to be Paid The parties may challenge the part of the judgment relating to the determination and allocation of costs in the same manner as they may appeal against the substantive part of the judgment.
10.5 Court-Imposed Conditions on Granting an Appeal Under the CCP, courts cannot impose discretionary conditions on granting an appeal. The right to appeal is a statutory procedural right regu- lated exhaustively by the CCP, and its admissibility depends solely on legal conditions, not on the court’s discretion. 10.6 Powers of the Appellate Court After an Appeal Hearing Setting Aside of Judgments If any of the reasons for terminating the proceed- ings as set out in the CCP occurred during the first or second instance proceedings, the court of second instance shall adopt an order setting aside the first instance judgment, and terminate the proceedings. Where such a circumstance exists – for example, a lack of jurisdiction that cannot be remedied by the defendant’s voluntary participation in the proceedings – the court shall take it into account ex officio. The court of second instance may set aside the first instance judgment with an order and instruct the court of first instance to conduct new proceedings and adopt a new decision if the first instance proceed- ings need to be repeated or supplemented due to a violation of the substantive rules of the first instance proceedings that affected the decision on the merits of the case, and remedying the situation in the second instance proceedings would be impossible or unrea- sonable. This latter reason for setting aside the judgment can only be taken into account by the second instance court if the appellant has expressly requested it. Upholding the Judgment If the appeal is groundless, the court of second instance shall uphold the judgment. Amendment of Judgments If there is no reason for setting aside the judgment, but the first instance judgment is not correct with respect to the merits of the case, it shall be amended in whole or in part by the second instance court.
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