HUNGARY Trends and Developments Contributed by: Tamás Éless, Zsolt Farkas, Sarolta Szabó and Lili Bischof, Oppenheim Law Firm
should only be reduced in exceptional cases, where the costs are genuinely excessive. Following the Curia’s guidance, the legislature responded to the situation. The new regulation on attorney fees, 17/2024 (XII. 9.) IM Decree, explicitly sets out in its preamble the criteria that must be con- sidered when determining the amount of reimbursable legal costs. While the decree still allows for the reduction of attorney fees that are disproportionate to the work performed or clearly excessive, it now ties such reductions to a detailed substantive analysis and a reasoned justification based on specific case data. Courts may reduce only those fees that are unrelated to the asserted legal claim or charged at an unneces- sary or disproportionate level, and only upon request. In its reasoning, the court must provide a detailed analysis demonstrating why the fees charged – tak- ing into account general costs included in the fees, the quantity of work performed, and its specific char- acteristics – are not proportionate to the actual legal work carried out. The substantial increase in both court filing fees and the legal costs recoverable by the winning party has made litigation more expensive in Hungary. This trend is already reflected in statistical data, as the number of newly initiated proceedings has decreased com- pared to previous years, and the resolution of cas- es, in general, has also become faster. Furthermore, the increase of costs associated with litigation may increase the popularity of litigation funding, which remains relatively uncommon in Hungary at present. The Simplified Civil Procedure A notable regulatory innovation, yet so far of limited practical effect, is the introduction of the simplified procedure. The amendment of the Code of Civil Procedure as of 19 August 2025 introduced a new type of civil proce- dure, namely the simplified civil procedure. The application of the simplified civil procedure is decided by the parties themselves by stipulating in their written contract that any dispute arising between
them shall be resolved by the court under the rules of this procedure. According to the Code of Civil Proce- dure, the simplified civil procedure may not be stipu- lated in disputes concerning personal status, employ- ment-type relationships, or consumer relationships, in view of the specific nature of such disputes. In a simplified civil procedure, the plaintiff must attach to the statement of claim – or, if the lawsuit is preced- ed by a payment order procedure, to the document containing the claim – all documentary evidence. Fur- thermore, if it is necessary for resolving the dispute, an expert opinion must also be attached to the state- ment of claim or the document containing the claim. Only documentary and expert evidence is admissible in this procedure. The simplified civil procedure is not divided into a pre- paratory and an evidentiary phase. The statement of claim cannot be joined with other claims, and amend- ments to the claim or the statement of defence are not permitted. Nor are intervention, counterclaims, set-off, suspension, hearings, oral sessions, supplementary appeals, or judicial review allowed. The procedure is therefore conducted entirely in writing and limited to the claim set out in the statement of claim, with the aim of achieving a final and enforceable judgment within a short time. In the simplified civil procedure, strict deadlines apply to both the parties and the court. The court proceeds on a priority basis, and its general time limit for proce- dural actions is a maximum of eight days. An appeal against a judgment may only be based on a substantial violation of the rules of the first instance procedure or on the incorrect application of the sub- stantive law serving as the basis of the decision. In the case of such an appeal, the opposing party may submit a statement of defence to the appeal within eight days upon the first instance court’s request. The first instance court forwards the case file together with the statement of defence to the appellate court, which must decide on the appeal within 30 days.
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