The Legal System in Hungary

The legal system in Hungary is regulated by 5 types of institutions:

·         the Curia

·         the regional courts of appeal,

·         the regional courts,

·         the district courts and

·         the administrative and labor courts.

The Curia in Hungary

As the highest judicial authority in Hungary, Curia is run by a President and composed out of the following departments: civil, criminal and administrative. It is also known as the Supreme Court in this country. The responsibilities of this institution are numerous and extremely complex. Its attributions include analyzing, adopting, passing and publishing all decisions related to the Hungarian civil law and criminal areas. Uniform law enforcement is guaranteed by the Curia and its decisions are binding for other courts.

The President of the Supreme Court of Hungary is elected by the Parliament, with a two-thirds majority of its members, on the recommendation of the President of the Republic. At the time of his election, the future President must already be a judge.

The Regional Courts in Hungary

The 20 regional courts in Hungary act as first instance courts and their role is to review appeals submitted against district and administrative courts. The regional Courts are run by a President and they have a status of legal entities.

Regional Courts of Appeal in Hungary

The 5 regional courts of appeal must review appeals in second and third instance submitted against the decisions of district and regional courts or other cases submitted in their jurisdiction. There are 5 such courts in Hungary and they are led by a President. Just like the regional courts, the regional courts of appeal have a legal entity status.

The District Courts in Hungary

The 111 district Courts in Hungary act as fist-instance courts. They are led by a President and don’t have legal personality. Their role is to hear the majority of criminal and civil cases in first instance and their competency must conform to the area of public administration.

Administrative and Labor Courts in Hungary

The 20 administrative and labor courts in Hungary must judge first instance cases regarding administrative and employment decisions. They are led by a President, without having the legal personality status

For legal consultancy regarding the opening of a new company in Hungary please contact our attorney partners in Hungary.