What are the types of Courts in Hungary?

The Constitutional Court has it’s headquarter in Budapest and it is formed by fifteen members of the Court and one President who are elected by the Parliament with the vote of two-thirds of all representatives for twelve years. Only the President of the Court is elected by Parliament.

The Supreme Court of Hungary has it’s headquarter in Budapest and it is formed by 83 judges, assisted by 40 legal assistants. The Supreme Court has three departments: criminal, administrative and civil department, each being divided into various chambers: the ones responsible for hearing appellate cases, the ones responsible for passing uniformity decisions, the ones responsible for taking decisions on principles and working groups examining judicial practice.

There are five appellate courts situated in Budapest, Debrecen, Gyor, Pecs, Szeged and Itelotabla.

Besides the appellate courts, there are also 20 regional courts and 111 local courts.

What are the responsibilities of the Courts in Hungary?

The Constitutional Court is an independent court responsible for checking the conformity of the provisions not yet adopted (if a request is elaborated by the President of the Republic or the Parliament), the conformity of the already elected laws (if the petition is signed by the Government, by one-quarter of the Members of Parliament or by the ombudsman), the judicial decisions which may break the Fundamental Law, must check the conflicts with international treaties, must check the parliamentary resolutions Related to ordering referendum, verify the decisions regarding the dissolution of a local representative body operating contrary to the Constitution, withdrawal of the acknowledgment of a church operating contrary to the constitution, examination of local government decrees, normative decisions and orders, and decisions on the uniform application of the law, interpretation of provisions of the Constitution, Removal of the President of the Republic and the elimination of legislative omission.

The Supreme Court of Hungary is considered the highest judicial instance and hears the appeals raised against to the decisions of the regional and county courts, checks the final decisions taken by these courts (but only in exceptional cases), hears and emit judgments in cases where local government decrees violate legal rules, checks the cases when the local government fails to operate under the provisions of the law. Its decisions are binding for all other courts.

The Courts of Appeal are usually hearing cases already heard at the local and country courts and their decision can be appealed at the Supreme Court in exceptional cases.

The regional courts hears the cases already submitted at the county courts and may be the first instance courts in specific cases such as civil cases with a minimum value of HUF 5 million and criminal cases with a sentence up to life imprisonment.

The local courts are the first instance courts in minor civil and criminal cases.

The labor disputes such as employment relationship are usually settled by the labor courts.

What are the responsibilities of the Arbitrary Court in Hungary?

The Arbitration procedure is regulated by the Hungarian Arbitration Act, applicable to the institutional arbitral tribunals and ad-hoc tribunals. According to it, the disputes are arbitral where the parties have free disposal over the objective of the dispute. The jurisdiction of the arbitration is decided in the arbitration agreement which is signed between the parties. The parties can also freely choose an arbitrator to settle the dispute and the seat where the process takes place. An expert on the matter subject to arbitration can be appointed by the arbitration court, unless the parties decide something else. The decisions taken by the court are not public and cannot be disclosed to a third party.

How long does Litigation in Hungary take?