HUNGARY Trends and Developments Contributed by: Tamás Éless, Zsolt Farkas, Sarolta Szabó and Lili Bischof, Oppenheim Law Firm
Amendments to the Rules on Judicial Review Procedures From January 2026, further changes will be intro- duced to the judicial review procedure, reflecting the Curia’s evolving role, which increasingly focuses on ensuring the uniformity of law rather than acting as a third instance court in individual legal disputes. Under the current rules of the Code of Civil Proce- dure, a petition for judicial review – which is the legal remedy available against a final judgment before the Curia – is, as a general rule, available in all cases, unless the law expressly excludes it. The legislation specifies certain exceptions where judicial review is not permitted. In monetary cases, review is excluded if the disputed value does not exceed HUF5 million. However, this limitation does not apply to actions for damages aris- ing from the exercise of public authority or non-pecu- niary compensation, nor to cases concerning mainte- nance, alimony, or other recurring payments. Judicial review is also excluded in monetary cases where the second instance court has upheld the first instance judgment by referring to the same legal provisions and reasoning. Even in cases where judicial review is normally not permitted, parties may still apply for permission to seek review. If the Curia grants such permission, it will proceed with the judicial review process. The Curia grants permission if examining the alleged legal error affecting the merits of the case is necessary to ensure the uniformity or development of judicial practice, if the legal question raised is of particular importance or public significance, or if a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union is required. As of 1 January 2026, an amendment to the Civil Pro- cedure Code will introduce a new concept for regulat- ing the judicial review procedure. Under the new rules, judicial review in monetary cases will only be available with the Curia’s permission. The grounds for grant- ing permission will remain largely the same as under the current rules, with one addition: the Curia must also grant permission if there is a likely violation of a party’s fundamental procedural rights, or if another
procedural irregularity affecting the merits of the case makes review justified. The amended rules will extend the possibility of grant- ing the review – which under the current rules is limited to monetary cases – to all types of cases, thereby pro- viding a realistic opportunity for the Supreme Court to take a position on the legal question in dispute in any given case, where a significant legal question arises. Another important change concerns the Curia’s pow- ers in judicial review. If the second instance court has upheld the first instance judgment, and the Curia finds that the decision contains a legal error affecting the merits of the case, the Curia may annul the decision in whole or in part and instruct the first or second instance court to conduct new proceedings and deliv- er a new judgment. In such cases, the Curia will no longer have the power to annul and simultaneously issue a new judgment of its own. This limited cassa- tion power ensures that when the Curia adopts a new interpretation of the law that differs from the consist- ent rulings of lower courts, the parties’ right to a fair hearing and to challenge the decision is preserved. The clear intention of the amendment is to prevent the Curia from delivering “surprise judgments”. Digital Solutions in Hungary As a further aspect, Hungary has been gradually implementing digital solutions in civil litigation, such as electronic case filing and electronic communication with courts. The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences accel- erated the adoption of online hearings of witnesses, though their widespread use remains limited com- pared to traditional in-person hearing of witnesses. A recent amendment to the Civil Procedure Code introduced the concept of “simplified telecommuni- cation presence” ( egyszerűsített telekommunikációs jelenlét ), which allows parties or witnesses to partici- pate in hearings remotely using their own electronic devices. This new framework aims to facilitate more flexible and efficient remote participation in court pro- ceedings.
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