There are cases, where it is not possible to avoid engaging a lawyer, who is licensed in Hungary. In other cases, the hiring of a lawyer is not mandatory, but highly advisable.

1. Where you need a lawyer in Hungary?

• in front of the district court, the higher regional court and the supreme court

With very few exceptions, having a lawyer in front of higher Hungarian courts is mandatory. If you try to communicate with the court without a licensed lawyer, the court views this communication as invalid. Because of the relatively strict rules, not even foreign lawyers (e.g. Germany, Austria or even Hungarian speaking lawyers from the neighboring countries) are allowed to argue a case, if they don’t have a locally registered domestic lawyer.

• in front of the land registry

You mighty be able to get the documents (extracts etc.) you need yourself, but in most cases the land registry is only communicating with lawyers and notaries. That is the case, when a certificate (e.g. sales contract) constitutes a new right (e.g. right of ownership) that has to be registered. The same applies to the deletion of relevant registered rights or obligations (e.g. usufruct).

• Certifications

For the majority of cases, where you need to assign a notary in Germany, in Hungary it is only mandatory to be represented by an attorney. For these kind of actions (e.g. founding of a company, sale of a property) you can also assign a notary, but usually a lawyer is a much more flexible and cost-effective alternative.

• Company registrations and commercial registrations

In Hungary such registrations are only done in electronic form, after the attorney or notary has certified the documents and electronized them. For those tasks you need a specialized, qualified, electronic signature in order to communicate with the registration courts, so a layperson ist not even able to reach the authorities.

2. When is the commissioning of an attorney not mandatory, but advisable?

• in front of the local court

In front of the local court  claims can be up to 100.000,00 € (compared to Germany where the limit is 5.000,00 € ). Even though a lawyer isn’t mandatory,  we strictly advise against self-representation.

• to draw up a will

Theoretically, you can make a last testamentary disposition in form of a “certificate with full probative force”. The consideration of other aspects (like the compulsory portion) usually requires the commissioning of a specialist.

• the draw up of contracts

Not every kind of declaration needs to be certified. Nevertheless is it preferable to seek advice from a specialist in such cases.

Do you also have a matter in Hungary? We will be pleased to advise you.

Peter Taller, dr. iur. Univ. Budapest
ügyvéd (Hungarian: “attorney”)

00499119360090
peter.taller@nzp.de