Search

Search Results

• Problems Concerning The State As a Legal Entity

  László Pribula

  Views:

  46

  Az állam a polgári jog egyik leggyakrabban szereplő jogalanya. A klasszikus magánjog egyik alapvető elve, hogy a jogalanyok között a jogképesség szempontjából nem tehető különbség (azaz valamennyi jogalany jogképessége egyenlő, feltétlen és általános), hiszen a polgári jog az egymásnak mellérendelt jogalanyok vagyoni és bizonyos személyi jogviszonyait tárgyalja. Az alapelvet azonban a szocialista jogi felfogás nem osztotta, hiszen az állam kiemelt jogalanyisága az egyébként klasszikus magánjogi alapokon (is) nyugvó Polgári Törvénykönyvbe is belekerült. Ennek értelmében a jogi személyek csoportjától eltérően – ahol a főszabály a korlátozott, tehát a feladathoz kötődő jogalanyiság volt – az állam volt a természetes személyek körén kívül eső egyetlen olyan jogalany, amelyik jogképessége korlátlan volt, lévén az államnak nincs behatárolt feladatköre. E felfogás a rendszerváltozás után túlhaladottá vált, azonban mintegy tíz évig tartott az államra vonatkozó Ptk. anyag „rendbetétele”. Az állam jogalanyiságának kiemelt vagy a többi jogalannyal azonos szerepének egyik nagy próbatétele volt a metróper, ahol lényegében két felfogás küzdött egymással: az egyik szerint az állam ugyanolyan feltételekkel vállal polgári jogi kötelezettséget, mint bármely más jogalany, a másik szerint az állam kötelezettségvállalása a költségvetési törvény keretei által behatárolt. Ez a két felfogás különbségét jól mutatják a metróperrel kapcsolatos ítéletek. A Ptk. legutóbbi, ez irányú módosítása ugyan igyekezett e kérdést részben rendezni, de hosszú évekig még sok jogvita várható az állam jogalanyiságával kapcsolatban.

• Regulatory issues of intellectual property rights

  27-33.

  György Csécsy

  Views:

  144

  The study finds that the regulation of intellectual property is dominated by civil law rules. The old Civil Code expressed the correlation with the law of intellectual property and regulated the legal protection of know-how, however, the legal material could be found in the separate legal acts organically related to it. The new Civil Code, Act V of 2013 is no longer entitled as intellectual property rights but “copyright and industrial property rights”, and know-how has been protected as a form of trade secret. The homogeneous nature of copyright is broken by Act XCIII of 2016, which provides for collective rights management. In the field of industrial property protection, the most problematic legal institution was know-how. The LIV Act of 2018, which was born after the rules of the new Civil Code, opens a new chapter in the regulation of know-how. In this connection, the law transposes Directive 2016/943/EU into the Hungarian law. The legislator therefore chose the solution that it has incorporated the new conceptual approach, legal institutions, and rules of procedure for the protection of business secrets into national law not by creating them in the Civil Code but by creating new legislation. In this way, the private secrets of natural and legal persons will continue to enjoy the protection of personal rights, while trade secrets and know-how will enjoy protection based on the logic and sanction system of intellectual property protection.

• Rethinking principles of civil procedure - expectations and experiences:

  118-127.

  Tamás dr. Molnár

  Views:

  192

  The central topic of the present study is certain features of the principles re-regulated during the codification of the Hungarian Code of Civil Procedure. It can be said that the number and content of the principles have also become more concentrated as a result of codification.

  The Act CXXX of 2016 on the Code of Civil Procedure (hereinafter “CPC”) brought a number of conceptual changes, which can also be observed in terms of principles. The principles chapter of the CPC has been renewed, some principles that are not yet known in Hungarian civil procedure law have been laid down. The present study reviews these changes and also seeks to take a position on the content of the principles, with a separate examination of the Principle of Concentration of Proceedings, which has also been identified as a priority objective by the legislator.

  The paper analyzes the academic debates on the principles and attempts to answer whether the experience of the period since its entry into force has met some of the expectations for the reform of the principles. The study examines the changed regulations that have led to opposing views in the literature.

  An important topic of the study is that, in line with the divided structure of the proceeding, the court's intervention activities have also changed. This change can also be observed in the principles, as the Principle of Court's Obligation to Intervene has emerged as a new principle. Some features of the Principle of Truth-telling and Principle of Good Faith are also analyzed.

  The study seeks to shed light on the fundamental issues of civil procedure through foreign examples, in which certain elements of German legislation are mainly mentioned.

• Periodic Property in the Regulation of the Romanian Civil Code

  Irina Sferdian

  Views:

  86

  Időszakos vagy megosztott idejű tulajdonlás a közös tulajdon speciális esete új szabályként került a román polgári törvénykönyvbe 2011. október elsejétől.

  A tulajdonjog részjogosítványai nem feltétlenül egyformán és egyidejűleg gyakorolhatók. A tulajdon részjogosítványai közül a birtoklás annak ellenére folyamatosnak tekinthető, hogy egymást követő időszakok, szünetek vannak az ingóságok használatában.

  Külön fejezetben kerül bemutatásra az időszakos tulajdon fogalma, meghatározása.

  Az időszakos tulajdon több módon is keletkezhet, így megállapodással vagy végrendeleti örökléssel. Bemutatásra kerül, hogyan gyakorolhatja a tulajdonos ebben a tulajdonosi formában a tulajdoni részjogosítványokat. A polgári perrel kapcsolatos szabályok körében ismerhetjük meg a jogviták elrendezési lehetőségeit, így a társtulajdonos kérheti a közös tulajdon megszüntetését, de pénzbeli kompenzációt is követelhet a társtulajdonostól.

• The role of interest in civil processes

  42-46

  Tibor Kiss

  Views:

  256

  The study reviews the enforcement of various interest-related claims in civil litigation and their special litigation rules, emphasizing that there are few specific norms in the Code of Civil Procedure from a procedural point of view compared to the enforcement of pecuniary claims. The study compares the interest provisions of the Act III. of 1952 and the Act CXXX of 2016, and seeks to provide adequate answers to enforcement issues arising from regulatory gaps. The article states that the law generally sets out some specific procedural provisions for contributions to be enforced together with the principal claim, which are also subject to interest as a contribution to the principal claim. The number of purely interest-specific provisions in our current law is negligible. The analysis covers the following specific legal provisions concerning interest: the amount in dispute, appeal against the interest provisions of the judgment at first instance, the admissibility at second instance of an increase of the claim for payment of interest, the admissibility of an application for review only of the provisions of a final judgment concerning interest. The study evaluates trends in court practice through analysis of ad hoc court decisions. The author states that uniform and coherent case law is in the best interests of the claimants based on clear legal provisions.

• Interpreting freedom of contract in modern civil law

  Ágnes Enikő Béky

  Views:

  133

  A szerződések joga a polgári és kereskedelmi jog egyik legdinamikusabban fejlődő jogterülete napjainkban. A szerződéskötési technikák, a szerződések teljesítése, valamint a szerződéstípusok köre is új tartalommal telítődik. A jogterület fejlődésének és népszerűségének alapköve a római jogban gyökerező szerződési szabadság mai napig fenntartott tétele. A szerződési szabadság négy fő aspektusa (szerződéskötés szabadsága, partnerválasztás szabadsága, típusszabadság, tartalom szabadsága) biztosítja, hogy a szerződések jogának szabályai könnyen alkalmazkodnak a társadalmi, gazdasági változásokhoz. A szerződő felek jogviszonyukat személyre szabottan alakítják, az e köré keretet építő kontraktus szabályait nagyfokú szabadsággal formálhatják. A szerződések jogának alapelve a modern jogrendszerek alappillére, azonban értelmezése, megítélése államonként és időszakonként változik. Ez a változás sosem tekinthető visszalépésnek, vagy az alapelv lényegi jelentését átértékelő, lerontó változásnak. Az azonban kétségtelen, hogy a szerződési szabadság alapelvi szintű elismertsége egyes nemzetek jogrendszerében valódi operatív alapelvként jogvitát eldöntő, joggyakorlatot fejlesztő mozgatórugó, míg más nemzetek jogalkotásában és jogalkalmazásában az állandóság megtestesítője e gyorsan változó jogi környezetben.

  A tanulmány a szerződési szabadság aspektusainak jelentéstartalmát elemzi a kontinentális és az angol-amerikai jogrendszerek írott szabályainak és jogalkalmazási gyakorlatának függvényében. A jogtudomány értelmezései, konkrét jogesetek szentenciái, valamint az írott jogforrások indokolása adja a tanulmány kiindulópontját. A szerződési szabadság korlátlan érvényesülését „lerontó” szabályok (pl. szerződéskötési kötelezettség, formakényszer, stb.) az alapelv céljának és létének fényében kerülnek vizsgálat alá. Az angolszász rendszerekben az alapelv által generált jogfejlesztő értelmezés a kontinentális jogok lassan változó szemléletével ütközik.

  A tanulmány célja, hogy a szerződési szabadság alapelvének funkcióját megvilágítva bemutassa azt a lineáris jogfejlődést az európai jogi tudományosságban, mely a mai tartalommal ismert alapelvet alkalmassá teszi a szerződések jogában fejlődést generáló és iránymutató szerepkör betöltésére.

• Is the COVID-19 Really a Technical Question on the Part of the Attorney?

  5-19

  Judit Balogh

  Views:

  129

  Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our daily lives in spring 2020. Many of the effects of the closures and home-working practices that accompanied the epidemic are still being felt in civil procedure today, whether positive or negative. On the positive side, the courts and authorities have recognised the potential of online communication, so that some of the proceedings can be moved online even in periods when there is no epidemic, saving time and energy. There are mixed views on the benefits of the fact that courts are ordering more only written preparation for the commencement of civil litigation proceedings than in the past. Lastly, it is negative that, to date, no satisfactory solution has been found for dealing with cases of absence due to sudden illness. This study examines the practice in the field of sickness absence: on the basis of an order of the Hungarian High Court (Curia) of February 2021, issued under the specific circumstances of a case of emergency, it seeks to shed light on the real content and role of the right to representation (and the substitution of the attorney) in civil proceedings.

• Judicial practice regarding the compensation for personal injuries caused by the circumstances of penal institutions, violating the fundamental rights of convicts and detainees of other dues

  49-62

  Botond Nagy

  Views:

  299

  The studied topic is the judicial practice regarding the compensation for personal injuries caused by the circumstances of penal institutions, which violate the fundamental rights of convicts and detainees of other dues. Dual research questions have been posed because of the characteristics of the covered topic. The first one is related to civil law and is about demandants’, defendants’ and courts’ attitudes and tendencies relating to the topic in question. The second question, inseparably stemming from the previous one, is from the field of penal execution: what kind of traits can be abstracted from the judicial decisions when it comes to the condition of Hungarian penal institutions.  To answer these, empirical methodology must be applied. Accordingly, I examined 91 judicial decisions from 2014 to 2020. Thus, this study depicts the entirety of the relevant time range, meaning that the demandants’, defendants’ and courts’ characteristics are introduced in their arc of development, rather than pointwisely. In my study I delineate the demandants’ actions firstly: their claims, their supposedly violated rights and the ontological phenomena causing harm. Secondly, as displaying the defendants’ statements of defence, I specify the legal arguments brought on in order to support the claim that the penal institutions caused no harm to those held captive, or that they cannot be obliged to pay compensation. Afterwards, I examine the judicial practice. Firstly, I write about the ways courts treat the claims of ascertainment, namely whether or not the rights of those who are captivated were violated. Subsequently, I portray the claims of detain, about which I illustrate the relevant regime of liability and its partial requirements. Then I write about the matrix of the compensation for personal injury and the indemnification for the prison circumstances, the relation and the delimitation of the two. Finally, I answer the research questions. I draw an ideal model about the first question, in which the parties adduce correctly and make fair judgements.  By these the demandants can make sure that the violation of their rights is ascertained and that they are given compensation.  By following the model, the defendant can achieve the lowest amount of compensation possible, while the court can make the correct decision from a dogmatic point of view. As for the penal executive question, I give suggestions to solve the problem of the circumstances of penal institutions violating fundamental rights.

• A polgári jog és a munkajog összehasonlítása az alapelvek tükrében

  13-21

  László Bodó

  Views:

  169

  Without abstract

• Family businesses and shareholders' agreements - possible links

  99-124

  Zoltán József Fazakas

  Views:

  75

  The concept of a family company is not defined in current law. In the case of companies in which members of a family have a decisive influence, it allows only a formal approach. However, in addition to the formal approach, the substance of the company, the specific nature of family interests and values, justify an examination of the company from other points of view, which allow not only the long-term commercial economic activity but also the specific nature of family relationships to be examined on the basis of company law. It is therefore of the utmost importance that family companies should reflect family relationships, the need to operate intergenerationally and protect the family nature of the company, and ensure the family's long-term prosperity. The combination of the formal and substantive elements makes it possible to conclude that family companies are special legal entities in which a particular family community has a decisive influence, has and represents specific interests and values, among which the protection of family assets, the aim of intergenerational operation and the safeguarding of the long-term well-being of family members are to be highlighted. The Civil Code provides for multiple means of achieving these interests, in addition to the classic instruments of company law, including the possibility of shareholders’ agreement.

• A polgári eljárás elhúzódása miatt előterjesztett kifogás egyes jogalkalmazási kérdései

  Lóránt Vasady

  Views:

  48

  Without abstract.

• What are the limits? - Thoughts about Certain Issues of the Active Judicial Role

  61-73.

  Attila Dr. Kiss

  Views:

  177

  The Act CXXX of 2016 on the Code of Civil Procedure introduced the image of the managerial judge into the Hungarian civil litigation. This perception means that the judge has to take part actively in the litigation. It is not just the notion of the Hungarian legislator but it is also an international requirement. The new principle – so called court inducements – entitles and obligates the judge to offer some kind of support to the parties in order to faciliate to concentrate the actions. That means the judge has to conduct substantively the proceedings, which may expand on the merits, if the party’s case initiation statement is incomplete, not sufficiently detailed or contradictory. However, this support is not equal to giving advices like a legal counsel does. The judge can not overtake the function and task of neither the party nor the legal counsel. The judicial activitiy is meant to provide the party’s opportunity to enforce his claims and a proper level of legal protection. This image of an active and managerial judge originates from the Austrian social model of litigation which goes back to 1895. But it is also not unfamiliar to the Hungarian litigation because the Act I of 1911 on the Civil Procedure was based on an active role of the judge too. My goal is to ascertain what the essence and function of the active role of the judge is. I also examine that in what kind of situations and in what procedural phases the judge can offer support to the parties. Furthermore I intend to define the limits of the judicial management. In addition, I analyse how some interpretative organisations view the issues that appeared in the judicial practice.

• “And who will desalt Carthage’s grounds?” – International environmental legal approaches of the Yugoslavian wars 1991-1999

  Károly Végh

  Views:

  29

  Általánosan elfogadott nézet, hogy egyetlen háború sem vívható meg anélkül, hogy ne ártana a természetnek, sőt, ne rombolná le azt; ennél fogva, hosszú időn át a háborúk e hatását elkerülhetetlen következménynek tekintették, melynek megakadályozására nem született átfogó, nemzetközi rezsim.

  A nemzetközi közösségben, az 1990-es években kiteljesedő értékrendváltozás nyomán, azonban egyre erősödött az igény a környezet védelmének háborúk idejére való kiterjesztése iránt is. E folyamattal egyidejűleg a világ számos régiójában törtek ki fegyveres konfliktusok, melyek sajátos esettanulmányokként mutatják be a nemzetközi jogi szabályozás és annak gyakorlati érvényesülése közötti, gyakran ellentmondásos kapcsolatot.

  A tanulmány középpontjába állított, a volt Jugoszlávia területén zajlott konfliktusok számos súlyos kérdésre és hiányosságra hívták fel a nemzetközi közvélemény figyelmét, elsősorban két területen: bizonyos, veszélyesnek tekinthető objektumok támadását, valamint a szegényített urániumot tartalmazó lövedékek használatát illetően, mindkét esetben felvetve a támadásokban közvetlenül érintett Észak-atlanti Szerződés Szervezetének (NATO), valamint tagállamainak esetleges nemzetközi jogi felelősségét.

  A tanulmány első részében vizsgált veszélyes objektumok támadását illetően átfogó képet az UNEP által készített jelentés biztosít, mely azonban maga is több tekintetben árnyalt, olykor ellentmondásosnak tekinthető megállapítást is tartalmaz. A támadások pontos környezeti hatásának tisztázatlansága mellett számos további kérdést hagy nyitva a releváns nemzetközi jogi szabályozás is. Az 1949-es genfi egyezmények és 1977-s kiegészítő jegyzőkönyveik szabályai alapján ugyanis a támadott objektumok nem minősülnek veszélyesnek, ennél fogva kiemelten védettnek, annak ellenére, hogy támadásaik kimutatható környezeti károkat okoztak.

  A tanulmány, és egyben a vizsgált jogterület kulcsproblémája azonban a jogsértés minimális határértékének tisztázatlansága, illetve ésszerűtlenül magasra helyezése, melynek révén csupán a rendkívül nagy területet érintő és páratlanul súlyos szennyezés minősül az egyezmények megsértésének. A szerző megítélése szerint e kritériumrendszer átértelmezése lehet az első lépés a környezet háborúk idején való hatékony védelme kidolgozásához.

  A második vizsgált kérdésként vizsgált szegényített uránium tartalmú lövedékek használata a megosztott és kiforratlan tudományos álláspont miatt további jogbizonytalanságot eredményez.

  Noha e lövedékek a hatályos nemzetközi hadijogi szabályozás alapján nem minősülnek kifejezetten tiltott fegyvereknek, az ilyen lövedéket alkalmazó feleket kifejezett körültekintési és elővigyázatossági kötelezettség terheli a polgári lakosságot érintő káros mellékhatásokat illetően.

  E kérdés tehát továbbra is lezáratlan, azonban a szerző nem zárja ki annak lehetőségét, hogy amennyiben a jövőben e mellékhatások tudományos alapossággal is bebizonyosodnak, a NATO, illetve tagállamai nemzetközi jogi felelőssége felmerüljön.

  Összefoglalóan megállapítható, hogy a hatályos szabályozás, az elmúlt évek fejlődési tendenciái ellenére továbbra is több hiányossággal küzd, különösen a felelősség megállapítása és a kikényszerítési eljárások tekintetében.

  Noha az elkezdett folyamatok a jövőben kiteljesedhetnek, mindaddig, amíg a jelen nemzetközi rendszerben a háborúindítás továbbra is az államok gyakorlatának része, a környezet háborúk idején való védelmének lehetőségei korlátozottak maradnak.

• Product warranty – a new legal institution in the protection of the consumer interest

  2-7

  Zoltán Ambrus

  Views:

  48

  This study presents the product warranty, a new element of the Hungarian system of law. The author describes the main features of product warranty in comparison with warranty and product liability. The author states some comments on the regulation. In the end the importance of product warranty is presented by stating a case.

   

  Egy új jogi szabályozás megjelenésekor adott a lehetőség az elméleti és gyakorlati szakemberek számára, hogy a korábbi normaszöveghez történő hasonlítással tárják fel és elemezzék a változásokat. A Polgári Törvénykönyvről szóló 2013. évi V. törvény (Ptk.) nem vitásan érinti a civiljog teljes spektrumát, új elemekkel frissítve a már kialakult magánjogi intézményrendszert. Jelen írás a termékszavatosság szabályainak elemző bemutatására tesz kísérletet.

  A magyar jogi szabályozásban előzmények nélküli jogintézményről van szó, ezért a meghatározó jellemzők bemutatása más, a hibás teljesítéshez kapcsolódó jogintézményekhez történő hasonlítással történik meg. Ennek során a kiindulási alapot a hibás teljesítésből eredő igények „anyajogának” tekinthető kellékszavatosság jelenti, ezen túlmenően a hibás teljesítéssel okozott károk megtérítésére (a továbbiakban: kártérítés), valamint termékfelelősségre vonatkozó szabályok kapnak szerepet.

  A termékszavatosságra vonatkozó rendelkezések a Ptk.-nak a kötelmi jogi szabályokat tartalmazó hatodik könyvében, annak XXIV. fejezetében, a hibás teljesítésre vonatkozó rendelkezéseknél szerepelnek a kellékszavatosságra és kártérítésére vonatkozó szabályokkal együtt. A hibás teljesítésből eredő fogyasztói igények körében további igényérvényesítési lehetőséget teremtő termékfelelősségi szabályok ettől eltérően a szerződésen kívül okozott kárért való felelősséggel szabályai között, a LXXII. fejezetben kaptak helyet.

• A meghatalmazottakra vonatkozó szabályok a hatályos Polgári Perrendtartás és a 2008. évi XXX. törvény tükrében

  Ágnes Dóra Alföldi

  Views:

  41

  Without abstract.

• Historical overview of liability for materail effects and warranty regulations

  13-24

  Martina Bartha-Tóth

  Views:

  155

  The liability of material effects and warranty are classic legal institutions of civil law and they are both important in the field of consumer law. The present study essentially considers the regulatory system of these jurisdictions in Hungary.

  The review starts with the private-law cases, developed at the begining of the 20th century, wich legislative provisions finally remained outside of scope. Then the Code Civil of 1959 and the Code Civil of 2013 are assessed in the review. The study does not cover the examinition of the provisions of the lower level of legislation, such as the „ warranty based on legislation compulsorily”.

  The essay focuses mainly on identifying the specifities, potential shortcomings and the shortcomings of the regulatory models used in our country. It also seeks to find the points of turn and the points of motivations, of legal policy that have made significant changes in the lives of the legal institutions.

  On the bases of this reasoning, the next tematica is observed in the test. The first large structural element is described in a description of the 1900s, 1913 and 1928 private-law codices, wich have shown a significant similarity in terms of the legal institutions.

   

  Then it follows with the introduction of Code Civil of 1959. The point of view of the legal intitutions the code was modified only two times during its long term. The first modification was in 1977, the secound in 2003 with regard to the harmonisation of European Union law.

   

  Finally comes the summary of the current Code Civil, wich has enacted some innovations in the aspect of the topic. Altough previous legislation wich based on the harmonisation has not been required significant reforms.

• Szakértői bizonyítás a polgári peres eljárásban

  1-20

  Tamás Grósz

  Views:

  152

  Without abstract

• A büntetőjogi és a polgári jogi felelősség jogkövetkezményeinek összevetése

  47-60

  Nikolett Zoványi

  Views:

  75

  Without abstract

• Thoughts on the relation between the right to life and the reasons for excluding criminal responsibility

  3-9

  Viktória Deák

  Views:

  161

  A modern polgári demokratikus berendezkedésű államokban az élethez való jog alkotmányos alapjog, mely a legnagyobb értéket, az emberi életet védi. Bár e jog elismerése és védelme megkérdőjelezhetetlen a modern társadalmakban, mégis számos esetben merülhet fel az élethez való jog korlátozhatóságának problematikája.

  Munkámban arra a kérdésre kerestem a választ, hogy az élethez való jog a jogellenességet kizáró okok tükrében korlátozható alapjognak tekinthető-e, avagy sem. Miután megvizsgáltam e jog megjelenését az Alkotmányban, illetve az Alaptörvényben, illetve megvizsgáltam a kapcsolatát a jogos védelemmel és a végszükséggel, arra jutottam, hogy ezek a jogellenességet kizáró okok kétség kívül az élethez való jog korlátait jelentik. 

  Az Alaptörvény újítása, hogy a jogos védelmet alapjogi szintre emelte. Az Alkotmány és a régi Btk. hatálya alatt sem volt vitás, hogy az élet ellen irányuló jogtalan támadás a támadó életének kioltása árán is elhárítható. A problémát az jelenti, ha az egymásnak feszülő jogi érdekek, a védett jogi tárgyak heterogének, mely eset fennállhat a tisztán vagyon elleni támadások esetén. Különösen problematikus az új Btk. által bevezetett szituációs jogos védelemnek az az esete, mely felhatalmazást ad a lakásba éjjel történő jogtalan behatolás esetén a behatoló életének kioltására. Mivel ebben az esetben nem tisztázott, hogy a támadás az élet, avagy a vagyoni javak ellen irányul, véleményem szerint helyesebb lett volna meghagyni a bírói szabad mérlegelés lehetőségét.

  A végszükséggel kapcsolatban a bizonyos hivatást űző személyek megítélése a problematikus, ugyanis a törvény kizárja e jog hatálya alól azokat, akiknek a veszély vállalása foglalkozásuknál fogva kötelességük. Tekintettel arra, hogy mind a jogos védelem, mind a végszükség megengedhetőségének indoka az, hogy az emberi természettel összeegyeztethető, jómagam nem látom indokát annak, hogy ebből a jogból bárki is ki legyen zárva.

• Simplification of civil procedures in the European Union, the regulation of small claims procedures in particular

  Anna Nyilas

  Views:

  33

  Introduced to reduce obstacles to the free movement of goods and persons, judicial cooperation in civil matters has become part and parcel of the new European area of justice. Creation of this area is meant to simplify the existing legal environment and to reinforce citizens' feeling of being part of a common entity. The Conclusions of the Tampere European Council state in this respect that “in a genuine European Area of Justice individuals and businesses should not be prevented or discouraged from exercising their rights by the incompatibility or complexity of legal or administrative systems in the Member States.”

  At present, the judicial cooperation in civil procedures is based on the Hague Programme, adopted by the 2004 Europen Council in Bruxelles.The Hague Programme requires that the Commission should translate the Hague objectives into concrete measures. To this end, the Annex to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the. European Parliament on the Hague Programme, consists of an Action Plan listing the main actions and measures to be taken over the next five years, including a specific set of deadlines for their presentation to the Council and the European Parliament.

  The chapter dealing with this area is named „Strengthening justice”, and it includes amongst others the following tasks:

  • Specific Programme on Judicial Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Matters (2007)
  • Support by the Union to networks of judicial organisations and institutions (continuous)
  • Creating a „European Judicial culture”
  • Evaluation of quality of justice (Communication - 2006)
  • Creation, from the existing structures, of an effective European training network for judicial authorities for both civil and criminal matters (2007)

  The European Union has set itself the objective of maintaining and developing the European Union as an area of freedom, security and justice in which the free movement of persons is ensured. For the gradual establishment of such an area, the Community is to adopt, among others, the measures relating to judicial cooperation in civil matters needed for the proper functioning of the internal market.

  The Community has among other measures already adopted Council Regulation (EC) No 1348/2000 of 29 May 2000, on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters; Council Decision 2001/470/EC of 28 May 2001, establishing a European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters; Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters; Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004, creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims; Council Directive 2002/8/EC, of 27 January 2003, to improve access to justice in cross-border disputes by establishing minimum common rules relating to legal aid for such disputes; Council Regulation (EC) 2201/2003, of 27 November 2003, concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) 1347/2000; Regulation (EC) No 805/2004, of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004, creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims; Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council creating a European order for payment procedure; Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European Small Claims Procedure.

  The disproportionate cost of litigation for small claims has led many Member States to provide simplified procedures for claims of small value which are intended to provide access to justice at a lower cost, thus influencing one of the three factors that determine the rationales in dispute resolution. The details of these procedures have been investigated and documented in detail in studies prepared for the Commission. The evidence from these reports suggests that the costs and timescale associated with the domestic simplified measures, and thus their use and utility to claimants, varies widely. A 1995 study for the Commission found evidence of how costs of cross-border claims were significant compared to the size of most potential claims, and that these costs varied substantially between Member States. The total costs of pursuing a cross-border claim with a value of € 2.000 was found to vary, depending on the combination of Member States, from € 980 to € 6.600, with an average quoted figure of € 2.489 for a proceeding at the plaintiff’s residence. The study also showed that due to different and conflicting costing rules part of the costs have to be paid even by successful plaintiffs.

  On 20 December 2002, the Commission adopted a Green Paper on a European order for payment procedure and on measures to simplify and speed up small claims litigation. The Green Paper launched a consultation on measures concerning the simplification and the speeding up of small claims litigation.

  The European Small Claims Procedure is meant to simplify and speed up litigation concerning small claims, whilst reducing costs, by offering an optional tool in addition to the possibilities existing under the laws of the Member States. This Regulation should also make it simpler to obtain the recognition and enforcement of a judgment given in a European Small Claims Procedure in another Member State, including judgements which were initially of a purely domestic nature. In order to facilitate the introduction of the procedure, the claimant should commence the European Small Claims Procedure by completing a claim form and lodging it at the competent court or tribunal. In order to reduce costs and delays, documents should be served on the parties by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, or by any simpler means such as simple letter, fax or email. The procedure should be a written procedure, unless an oral hearing is considered necessary by the court. The parties should not be obliged to be represented by a lawyer. The court should be given the possibility to hold a hearing through an audio, video or email conference. It should also be given the possibility to determine the means of proof and the extent of the taking of evidence according to its discretion and admit the taking of evidence through telephone, written statements of witnesses, and audio, video or email conferences. The court should respect the principle of an adversarial process. In order to speed up the resolution of disputes, the judgment should be rendered within six months following the registration of the claim. In order to speed up the recovery of small claims, the judgment should be immediately enforceable notwithstanding any possible appeal and without the condition of the provision of a security. In order to reduce costs, when the unsuccessful party is a natural person and is not represented by a lawyer or another legal professional, he should not be obliged to reimburse the fees of a lawyer or another legal professional of the other party. In order to facilitate recognition and enforcement, a judgment given in a Member State in a European Small Claims Procedure should be recognised and enforceable in another Member State without the need for a declaration of enforceability and without any possibility of opposing its recognition. Since the objectives of the action to be taken namely the establishment of a procedure to simplify and speed up litigation concerning small claims, and reduce costs, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve those objectives.

  The European Council underlines the need further to enhance work on the creation of a Europe for citizens and the essential role that the setting up of a European Area for Justice will play in thisrespect. A number of measures have already been carried out. Further efforts should be made to facilitate access to justice and judicial cooperation as well as the full employment of mutual recognition. It is of particular importance that borders between countries in Europe no longer constitute an obstacle to the settlement of civil law matters or to the bringing of court proceedings and the enforcement of decisions in civil matters.

• The new civil law regulation on associations in the mirror of Constitutional Court Rulings

  Zsófia Kaprinay

  Views:

  84

  After the creation of the Basic Law of Hungary, and following a drawn discussion Act CLXXV of 2011 on the Right of Association and the Operation and Funding of Civil Society organizations has come into force (hereinafter referred to as Civil Act). The Civil Act repealed a lot former provitions, thus the Act II. of 1989 on the Right of Association, the law concerning non-profit status, and the provitions related to association of the previous Civil Code. The new Act V of 2013 in the Civil Code has also brought significant changes according to associations.

  The base of the rules has changed considerabely, as the permissive legislation, and the freedom of the parties has become the main line.

  At present to association the Civil Act, the new regulations about the court registration of associations – such as Act CLXXXI of 2011 –, and the provisions concerning legal persons and associations of the new Civil Code should be applied.

  Since the relevant legal regulation has changed, the previous judicial practice is not applicable, courts have to answer the questions among the new legal circumstances as well. However it is sure that the basis of association is the right of association which is a constitutional fundamental right. Due to these significant changes in this paper I have examined those important Constitutional Court Rulings which can be connected with the right of association, and I have tried to compare the decisions of the Constitutional Court with the new present regulation.

• Fragmentation and changes in Hungarian succession law

  81-103

  Tibor Kiss

  Views:

  219

  The right to inherit is recognized in the Fundamental Law, the detailed substantive legal rules are laid down in the Seventh Book of the Civil Code. In recent years, the legislator has formulated rules of substantive succession in other legislation beyond our private law code (the Civil Code). According to the Registered Partnership Act, the rules applicable to the spouse apply mutatis mutandis to the registered partner, which means that the registered partner is also a legal heir. The special rules for the acquisition of ownership of agricultural and forestry land by succession by will are laid down in the Land Traffic Act (Act CXXII of 2013). On 1 January 2023, a new law will enter into force (Act CXLIII of 2021), which will supplement the succession law provisions of the Civil Code in the case of joint legal intestate succession of undivided common ownership of agricultural land by several heirs. The designation of a public body to represent the State in succession matters is provided for in a separate ministerial decree. The present article analyzes how all these complex, fragmented regulations make it difficult to enforce the law and the extent to which it hinders the speedy execution of probate proceedings. The present article criticizes the fragmented regulation and proposes the integration of the rules of the separate laws into the Civil Code, as this could contribute to a more efficient application of the law.

• Prevailing regulation of the termination of parental control under the Civil Code

  12-18

  Tímea Csizmadiáné Pethő

  Views:

  171

  Being a judge practicing on the area of the law of crimes I rarely come across with the need to apply civil law. Nevertheless, a handful legal concepts may be applied also by criminal courts. One of these concepts is the termination of parental control. Before turning to relevant case analysis in my study, I focus on the principle of the "child's best interest" which is referred to under article 3 of the New York Convention on the rights of children and which has a general fundamental applicability in respect of all provisions of the Convention. This principle must apply not only in civil, but also in criminal proceedings and generally in all types of proceedings irrespective of the area of law such proceedings fall under. Special emphasis is attributed to the legal consequences of terminating parental control and to the distinction of cases where the termination of parental control by the court is mandatory and where such a decision is made in the discretion of the court. I pay separate attention to cases where the court has convicted the parent of a crime committed wilfully against the convicted person's own child and in which cases the convicted person is sentenced to prisonment and as a result of these the criminal court has competence to order the termination of parental control. I address also some issues relating to matters of proof and evidence in connection with crimes of domestic violence. Finally, I explain the nature of a child-focused jurisdiction through the presentation of the Hungarian system which ensures to respect and to give effect to the rights of children to the maximum extent possible. The ability of providing special treatment for children in court proceedings is of the utmost importance.

• Civil law dogmatic deficiencies and legislative hiatuses in a private law legislation: Short case study

  49-66

  Tibor Kiss

  Views:

  81

  Based on the Government Decree 383/2023 (VIII.14.) on the ministerial approval of lease contracts of companies directly or indirectly majority-owned by the state, the article presents a case study showing that the legislation suffers from numerous "legal errors" that violate the provisions of the Legislation Act and is not in line with the fundamental doctrinal principles of civil law. The case study describes in detail the provisions of Act CXXX of 2010 on Legislation that the Government Decree does not comply with and shows how imprecise wording leads to problems of interpretation. The paper points out the private law terminus technicus which the legislator did not apply correctly (the party of the lease contract, consideration, invalidity - ineffectiveness) and the author proposes to correct the errors and to clarify certain normative provisions.

• Functions and interpretation of principles in the German contract law

  Andrea Csécsy

  Views:

  46

  To describe the functions of principles we can say that all of them are fundamental basis of an area of law. They declare or solve concrete debates between the parties. If there is a problem with interpreting of a rule in the civil code, judges has this helping hand. In Germany the development of principles in the field of contract law has a really unique historical root. At the time of BGB’s birth, the German Civil Code did not accept any exculpation under the rule pacta sunt servanda. Moral philosophers acknowledged that a contract as private interest of the parties needs special protection from the state. It is not only a personal relationship, because self welfare leads to welfare of the public. The law has to regulate this field and give instruments of protection for both parties to ensure peace and equality in the field of public relations and moral.

  After the First World War, Rechtsmark (German currency) had its deepest point in its history. The inflation was so high that the performance of a contract made before the war was absolutely unfair for the supplier. For the cost of one galloon gas anyone could buy the entire stock after the war. There was a too late and too small reaction from the state for this situation. An Act had been accepted in 1925 about revalorization. The main fault of this Act was the strict and very small applicability in the field of contracts. The regulations of it were applicable only for contracts with large economic potential.

  German jurisdiction had to solve the problem. The most difficult part of this process was how to dissolve the strict paradigm of pacta sunt servanda. Oertmann, a German legal expert created the collapse of the foundation of the transaction. It meant that changed circumstances deprive the contract from its ground, the need of the party. Anybody who signs a contract has a need and tries to create all conditions of that specific contract to harmonize with his or her needs and interest. In case of an essential change of circumstances this interest modifies and the original transaction became tremendously onerous for him or her. The doctrine of Oertmann was insisted on pacta sunt servanda, so after the change of circumstances the whole contract failed.

  Jurisdiction in Germany accepted Oertmann’s doctrine with a completion. Judges vindicated the right for themselves to modify the contract to be suitable for the new interests of the parties. This modification meant the implementation of clausula rebus sic stantibus into German contract law. It became applicable worldwide in the field of long term relationship of the parties.

  In this essay I examine not only the development of these contractual principles in Germany but the effectiveness and functions of them. I describe and define the legal interest of regulating contracts and what is the connection between private and public interest in the field of the law of contracts. As a defect of the contractual procedure non-performance and other breach of a contract have special importance in civil law. Good faith is a basic principle of civil law in Hungary too and in most European civil codes. The interpretation of German good faith theory (Treu und Glauben) is significant from the viewpoint of the judicial modification of contracts. In case of clausula rebus sic stantibus if the party wants to ground his or her claim, he or she has to prove the good faith as a moral standard to be an exculpation under the heavy burden of pacta sunt servanda. The conclusion is that in Germany the basic element of private contracts is not the consent of parties but good faith of them. The socially excepted moral appears through the requirement of good faith of the parties. The law has to ensure that in any period of a contractual relationship this good faith exists.