How long is too long in Hungarian courts? – Civil right
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As litigators, one of the most common questions our clients ask us is how long it will take to reach a verdict. Customers are wary of the speed with which Hungarian courts operate – and for good reason.
Over the past three decades, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg has ruled against Hungary in hundreds of cases due to long delays in legal proceedings and lack of remedies. to prevent such delays, despite the relevant requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights. The lessons of these rulings did not come cheap, as based on the ECHR rulings, the Hungarian state paid a total of HUF 2 billion in compensation to injured parties between 1992 and 2018.
But has the lesson been learned? The hope is, he has. The new Code of Civil Procedure entered into force in 2018 and one of its main objectives was to ensure the efficiency of the procedure at the systemic level. A split test system has been reintroduced to serve as the primary guarantee of the principle of concentration and efficacy. However, there is still a lack of effective remedy for protracted civil litigation, with aggrieved parties having to travel all the way to Strasbourg to seek financial compensation for violations of their fundamental rights.
To address this issue, after much delay, the Civil Proceedings Compensation for Delay (AoCD) Act came into force on January 1, 2022. The Act introduces compensation as a new legal remedy for delay as a as violations of fundamental rights. Its scope is expressly limited to civil proceedings and declares that if the duration of the whole of the civil proceedings or even only of one stage of the proceedings exceeds the period defined by the legislator as the upper limit of a reasonable time, the litigant will be entitled to compensation.
So what is a reasonable time? According to the new rules, the duration of the procedural phases must not exceed
- 18 months for the procedure at first instance,
- 24 months in the event of proceedings at first instance resulting from an order for payment procedure,
- 12 months for second instance proceedings, and
- 6 months for the revision procedure before the Supreme Court (Curia).
If the procedures exceed the above deadlines, the parties to the dispute may seek compensation under the AoCD in a simplified, non-litigious procedure before the courts. They say that time is money, but the compensation is rather symbolic with a statutory 400 HUF/day (approx. 1EUR/day).
However, the importance of the AoCD should not be underestimated. Even though the compensation scheme is disappointing in terms of money, expectations are now set by law and this should be seen as the new normal.
Originally published June 03, 2022
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide on the subject. Specialist advice should be sought regarding your particular situation.
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