The legal system of Hungary
A civil-law system comprehensively rewritten after 2010: a new Fundamental Law in 2011, a new Civil Code in 2013, and a new Code of Civil Procedure in 2016. The constitutional order gives cardinal (two-thirds) statutes a special status, and EU rule-of-law proceedings under Article 7 TEU are part of the live legal context.
Legal tradition
Hungary belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system comprehensively rewritten after 2010: a new Fundamental Law in 2011, a new Civil Code in 2013, and a new Code of Civil Procedure in 2016. The constitutional order gives cardinal (two-thirds) statutes a special status, and EU rule-of-law proceedings under Article 7 TEU are part of the live legal context.
How power is divided
A unicameral parliament dominates: it elects the President, the Curia’s President, the Prosecutor General and the constitutional judges. Judicial administration is split between the National Office for the Judiciary and the elected National Judicial Council.
Where law comes from
- Fundamental Law
- Supreme law, with cardinal statutes immediately beneath it.
- EU law
- Applicable since 2004; precedence within its field.
- International treaties
- Promulgated by statute; Hungary must ensure conformity.
- Acts of Parliament
- Civil Code (Act V of 2013), Criminal Code (Act C of 2012).
- Government and ministerial decrees
- Secondary legislation; reviewable by the courts.
- Curia uniformity decisions
- Binding on all courts to ensure uniform application of law.
The legal profession
Attorneys (ügyvédek) belong to the Hungarian Bar Association after a traineeship and bar examination; notaries hold a public office and conduct non-contentious succession proceedings.
Law by topic in Hungary
- Employment & LabourA 2012 Labour Code that is unusually contract-friendlyAct I of 2012 rewrote Hungarian labour law with wide scope for the parties to derogate by collective agreement. Notice starts at 30 days and rises with service, and a large annual overtime allowance made the 2018 amendment politically explosive.
- Tax LawA 15% flat income tax, 9% corporate tax and 27% VATPersonal income tax is a single 15% rate with substantial family credits. Corporate tax is 9%, the lowest in the EU, while the standard VAT rate of 27% is the highest, and local business tax adds up to 2% of adjusted turnover.
- Constitutional LawThe 2011 Fundamental Law and a narrowed constitutional complaintThe Fundamental Law replaced the 1949 constitution in 2012 and has been amended many times. The Constitutional Court still hears individual complaints, but the 2011 reform removed the old actio popularis, so abstract review is now reserved to a defined list of applicants.
- Civil ProcedureThe 2016 code with a split written and trial phaseAct CXXX of 2016 divides litigation into a preparatory phase that fixes the framework of the dispute and a trial phase in which new claims and evidence are largely barred. District courts hear smaller claims and regional courts act as both first instance and appeal court.
- Human RightsA single Commissioner for Fundamental Rights and the ECHRThe Fundamental Law's Freedom and Responsibility chapter lists rights, and Hungary has been party to the ECHR since 1992. The separate data protection and minority ombudsmen were merged in 2012 into one Commissioner for Fundamental Rights with deputies.
- Business & CorporateCompany law inside the 2013 Civil Code with a court registryHungary abandoned a standalone companies act in 2014 and placed company law in Book Three of the Civil Code. The kft (limited liability company) needs HUF 3 million of capital, and registration runs through the county court of registration on electronic filings by a lawyer.
- Immigration & NationalityA 2023 recodification with tight quotas for third-country workersEEA nationals move freely, while third-country nationals fall under Act XC of 2023, which replaced the 2007 regime from 2024. Work-based residence is channelled into named permit types with annual government quotas, and the guest worker permit is expressly non-settling.
- Property & LandA constitutive land register and strict farmland rulesTitle passes on registration in the land register (földhivatal) rather than on the contract, so the deed is only the first step. Acquisition of arable land is confined largely to qualified Hungarian farmers, a regime repeatedly litigated before the Court of Justice.
- Family LawFamily law in Book Four of the Civil Code with registered partnershipFamily law moved into Book Four of the 2013 Civil Code. Marriage is constitutionally limited to a man and a woman, but same-sex couples may enter a registered partnership with most, though not all, marital effects, notably excluding joint adoption.
- Criminal LawThe 2012 Criminal Code with a three-strikes ruleAct C of 2012 introduced a markedly punitive code, including actual life imprisonment and a doubling of the penalty range for repeat violent offenders. The 2017 Code of Criminal Procedure added plea agreements and simplified routes to shorten trials.
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