E-lawsuits

From 1 th July 2016 it is compulsary to communicate with the court with electronic documents, and with legal representative.

An overall eGovernment law, the Act No. CCXXII. of 2015. on general rules of electronic administration and trust services has been adopted by the Parliament. This new eGovernment law sets out the general rules of electronic administration, the relationship between the citizen and the public administration bodies providing e-administration services, their contacts, the renewal of interoperability rules, the legal provisions necessary to implement the eIDAS regulation (910/2014/EU), as well as the rules on authenticity of electronic and paper-based documents. It will gradually enter into force until 1 January 2017.

 

eSignature Legality Summary

Under Hungarian law, a written signature is not necessarily required for a valid contract – contracts are generally valid if legally competent parties reach an agreement, whether they agree verbally, electronically or in a physical paper document (Section 663 of the Hungarian Civil Code). To prove a valid contract, parties sometimes have to present evidence in court. Leading digital transaction management solutions can provide electronic records that are admissible in evidence under Hungarian’s Civil Code to support the existence, authenticity and valid acceptance of a contract.

Use Cases

Parties can use any form of electronic signature to create valid contracts and documents of any kind that are not subject to a specific statutory form requirement. Possible use cases include:

  • Some HR documents (such as non-disclosure agreements, privacy notices, benefits paperwork and other new employee onboarding processes, except employment agreements and termination notices);
  • Commercial agreements between corporate entities (including non-disclosure agreements, purchase orders, order acknowledgements, other procurement documents, sales agreements, distribution agreements, service agreements);
  • Consumer agreements (including new retail account opening documents, sales terms, services terms, software licenses, purchase orders, order confirmations, shipment documentation, user manuals, policies);
  • Service agreements;
  • Software license agreements;
  • Patent and trademark licenses; and
  • Intangible property transfers (e.g., patent and copyright assignments).

Certain types of documents require specific forms of electronic signature. For example, the following documents require a handwritten signature or an AES[1]

  • An agreement changing the limitation period (Section 6:22(3) of the Civil Code);
  • Revocation of a contractual offer made in writing (Section 6:65(3) of the Civil Code);
  • Power of Attorney granted by management to the employees of a legal person (Section 3:30(3) of the Civil Code);
  • Notice of termination of membership in an association (Section 3:68(2) of the Civil Code);
  • Resolution for the exclusion of a member of an association (Section 3:70(2) of the Civil Code);
  • Legal statements, decisions and communication of resolutions pertaining to a company (3:91(1) of the Civil Code);
  • Decisions by the founder in a single-member company (Section 3:109 (4) of the Civil Code);
  • Termination of membership in a general partnership (Section 3:147 (1)-(2) of the Civil Code);
  • Transfer of partnership shares in a general partnership (Section 3:148 (1) of the Civil Code);
  • Transfer of business shares of a limited company (Section 3:168 (1) of the Civil Code);
  • Objections against the holding of a general meeting of a stock corporation by conference call (Section 3:280 (3) of the Civil Code);
  • Requesting shares in place of bonds by the bond holder of a stock corporation (Section 3:305(1) of the Civil Code);
  • Contract between a single-member limited company and its sole member (Section 3:323(4) of the Civil Code);
  • Legal acts pertaining to the cooperative society (3:328(1) of the Civil Code);
  • Contract of assignment / transfer of interests in a cooperative society (3:332(4) of the Civil Code);
  • Withdrawal from the cooperative society addressed to the administrative body (Section 3:359 of the Civil Code);
  • Conclusion of pledge agreements (Section 5:89(6) of the Civil Code);
  • Arranging collateral security on dematerialized securities and payment account balances (5:95(2) of the Civil Code);
  • Appointment of a lien holder’s agent (Section 5:96(1) of the Civil Code);
  • Contracts on the transfer of the seceded lien (Section 5:100 (2) of the Civil Code);
  • Agreement on the sales method of the pledged object in a consumer pledge agreement (Section 5:128 of the Civil Code);
  • Waiver of a beneficial interest on real property or any right registered in the real estate register or in another public register (Section 5:154 of the Civil Code);
  • Legal declaration extinguishing an easement (Section 5:163(4) of the Civil Code);
  • Stipulation of a contractual penalty (Section 6:186(2) of the Civil Code);
  • Stipulation of a forfeiture clause (Section 6:190(1) of the Civil Code);
  • Notification of assignment of a debt to the debtor (6:197(1) of the Civil Code);
  • Contracts for the purchase of real property (Section 6:215(2) of the Civil Code);
  • Agreement on the retention of title (Section 6:216 (2) of the Civil Code);
  • Contracts relating to preemption rights, repurchase rights, purchase options and sell options (Section 6:226(1) of the Civil Code);
  • Contract of gift of a real property (Section 6:235 (1) of the Civil Code)
  • Contracts for travel services (Section 6:254(2) of the Civil Code);
  • Agreement containing a restriction imposed upon the agent in connection with exercising economic activities after the contract’s termination (Section 6:301 of the Civil Code);
  • Fiduciary asset management contracts (Section 6:310(2) of the Civil Code);
  • Leasehold contracts (Section 6:349 (2) of the Civil Code);
  • Contracts of suretyship (Section 6:416 (3) of the Civil Code);
  • Contract establishing and the statement of a guarantee (Section 6:431 (2) of the Civil Code);
  • Request for payment addressed to the guarantor (Section 6:435 (1) of the Civil Code);
  • Notice of termination of an insurance agreement (Section 6:466 (1) of the Civil Code);
  • Designation of a beneficiary in a life insurance policy (Section 6:478 (2) of the Civil Code);
  • Conclusion of a maintenance (support) agreement (Section 6:491(2) of the Civil Code);
  • Transfer of securities made out in the form of printed certificates (Section 6:569 of the Civil Code);
  • Residential and commercial lease agreements and legal declarations (such as termination notices, warning letters, lease exchange contracts, sub-lease agreements) relating to residential and commercial lease (Section 2 (5),Section 33 (2) and Section 36 (1) of the Act LXXVIII of 1993 on Residential and Commercial Leases);
  • Conclusion of financial services agreements and auxiliary financial services agreements (Section 279 (1) of the Act CCXXXVII of 2013 on Credit Institutions and Financial Enterprises);
  • Insurance consultancy agreements (Section 51 (1) of the Act LX of 2003 on Insurance Institutions and the Insurance Business);
  • Outsourcing policies and outsourcing agreements of an insurance company (Section 76 (5) and 77(9)(b) of the Act LX of 2003 on Insurance Institutions and the Insurance Business);
  • Consent of the data subject to the processing of his/her sensitive data (Section 5(2) of the Act CXII of 2011 on the Right of Informational Self-Determination and on Freedom of Information; “Information Act”);
  • Contracts for the processing of data between data controller and data processor (Section 10(4) of the Information Act);
  • Legal statement on the rights relating to the restriction of personal rights of an employee (Section 9(3) of the Act I of 2012 on the Labor Code; “Labor Code”);
  • Power of attorney granted by an employee to an authorized representative (Section 21(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Legal acts made by the employer if the employee requests a that those be presented in written form (Section 22(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Notification of the other party regarding the execution of a legal statement for contestation (Section 28(8) of the Labor Code);
  • Agreement on the rights and obligations of the parties arising from employment where the written form is required under employment regulations (Section 43(4) of the Labor Code);
  • Employment contracts (Section 44 of the Labor Code);
  • Measure imposing detrimental legal consequences in the event of any infringement of obligations arising from an employment relationship (Section 56(5) of the Labor Code);
  • Response of the employer to an employee’s proposal for the amendment of his/her employment contract (Section 61(2) of the Labor Code);
  • Agreement concluded in the course of negotiations between the employer and the works council, if a collective redundancy is planned (Section 72(5) of the Labor Code);
  • Assessment of the employee’s work (Section 81(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Permission granted by the employer to the employee to schedule his/her working time in the interest of autonomous work organization (Section 96(2) of the Labor Code);
  • Agreement of the parties about the extended work schedule of the employees who are working in stand-by jobs or are relatives of the employer or the owner (Section 99(3) of the Labor Code);
  • Request for leave of absence without pay (Section 133(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Agreements of parties about the extended work schedule with respect to:

    • employees working as navigators, flight attendants and aviation engineers or engaged in providing ground handling services to passengers and aircraft, and participating in or providing direct support for navigation services;
    • employees working in travel-intensive jobs in the domestic or international carriage of passengers and goods by road;
    • carriers and traffic controllers working in a local public transportation system for the carriage of passengers or in a scheduled intercity transportation system inside a fifty-kilometer radius;
    • traveling employees and traffic controllers working in the carriage of passengers by rail and in the carriage of goods by rail;
    • employees working in harbors (Section 135(4) of the Labor Code).
  • Prior written consent of the employee responsible for inventory shortages for employment in the given job or workplace if an employee who is not subject to liability for inventory shortages also has access to the inventory stocks (Section 182(3) of the Labor Code);
  • The inventory liability agreement (Section 184(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Cancelation of the inventory liability agreement effective as of the last day of the inventory period (Section 184(5) of the Labor Code);
  • Agreement of the parties concerning an employee’s provision of a guarantee to the employer if the employee’s job involves the handling of cash or other valuables received from, or provided to, third parties; or the exercise of supervision of such transactions (Section 189(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Agreement between the placement agency and the user enterprise (Section 217(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Agreement of a school cooperative (as the employer) with its full time student (as the employees) concerning the person of the customer; the job to be performed; the base wage; the place of work; the date when work is to commence; the duration of work (Section 223(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Study contracts (Section 229(3) of the Labor Code);
  • Proposal to hold a vote concerning the dismissal of a works council (Section 253(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Proposal to hold a vote concerning the dismissal of a works council member (Section 256(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Statement of consent of the works council in the case of the termination of the employment relationship of the chairman of the works council by notice, or derogation from the employment contract affecting the chairman of the works council (Section 260(3) of the Labor Code);
  • Statement of prior consent of the higher ranking trade union body in the case of the termination of the employment relationship by notice of an union official, or derogation from the employment contract affecting said union official (Section 273(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Collective agreements (Section 278 of the Labor Code);
  • Payment notice to enforce the employer’s claims from employees arising from the employment relationship (Section 285(2) of the Labor Code);
  • Executive summary of the conclusion of the conciliation process between the conciliation committee of the employer and the works council or the trade union (Section 292(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Agreement of the employer and the works council or the trade union in advance to abide by the decision of the committee (Section 293(1) of the Labor Code);
  • Withdrawal of an author of his/her permission for the publication of a work (Section 11 of the Act LXXVI of 1999 on Copyright; “Copyright Act”);
  • The legal statements made by authors in connection with works made for hire that are created as a result of the author’s obligations within the scope of his/her employment (Section 30(6) of the Copyright Act);
  • License agreements under the Copyright Act (Section 45(1) of the Copyright Act);
  • Notice to the collective rights management organization of the agreement made by the author and the user that the work shall be considered as a work ordered for advertising (Section 63(4) of the Copyright Act);
  • The producer’s report to the author on the income arising from the use of a motion picture work relative to each means of use (Section 66(5) of the Copyright Act);
  • The producer’s notification whether he will accept the delivered work or ask for a revision from the author (Section 66(7) of the Copyright Act);
  • Statement of the rights-holder to the collective rights-management body objecting to the authorization under collective rights management of the use of his/her works or the subject matter of related rights protection (Section 87(3) of the Copyright Act);
  • Request of a user for providing a written statement of collective rights-management, as to whether the work specifically designated by the user and the subject matter of related rights are under protection. (Section 88(5) of the Copyright Act);
  • A major user and/or user representative organization’s notification to the IP Office of the former’s desire to participate in the consultation process (Section 92/H(6) of the Copyright Act);
  • Collective rights-management association’s notification to the IP Office concerning the convening of the supreme organ (Section 92/K (4) of the Copyright Act);
  • Establishment of a lien on a trademark (Section 20 of the Act XI of 1997 on the Protection of Trademarks and Geographical Indications; “Trademark Act”);
  • Statement by a proprietor listed in the Trademark Register surrendering trademark protection (Section 32(1) of the Trademark Act);
  • Power of attorney granted to a patent agent or an attorney relative to a trademark matter involving a foreign national and falling under the jurisdiction of the IP Office (Section 44(1) of the Trademark Act);
  • Request for the acknowledgment from the IP Office of rights or facts concerning trademark protection (Section 48(2) of the Trademark Act);
  • Contract for the transfer of collective trademark protection (Section 98(1) of the Trademark Act);
  • Request of the inventor to not indicate his/her name in the patent documents to be published (Section 7(5) of the Act XXXIII of 1995 on the Patent Protection of Inventions; “Patent Act”);
  • The royalty contract, the contract governing remuneration in case of the exploitation of an employee invention, and the presentment, declaration, notification and information prescribed in the Act, relating to service inventions and employees inventions (Section 15(1) of the Patent Act);
  • Filing of a lien on the rights originating from an invention and from patent protection (Section 25(1) of the Patent Act);
  • Declaration of surrender of patent protection of the applicant shown in the Patent Register, or the holder of the patent (Section 41(1) of the Patent Act);
  • Power of attorney granted to a patent agent or an attorney-at-law for representation of a foreign person in all patent matters which are in the jurisdiction of the IP Office (Section 51(1) of the Patent Act);
  • Waiver of the applicant of any claim for compensation in connection with having a patent classified (Section 53(11) of the Patent Act);
  • Request to the IP Office for the acknowledgment or the registration of rights or facts in connection with patent protection (Section 55(2) of the Patent Act);
  • Authorization of the organization of right-holders of plant variety rights to represent its members and other right-holders (Section 109/A(5) of the Patent Act);
  • Agreement between the holders of plant variety rights and the farmer about the amount of the remuneration and the terms of payment (Section 109/A(7) of the Patent Act);
  • Request of the holder of plant variety rights for information on the quantity of the product of the harvest for propagating purposes of either of the plant varieties, which is covered by a plant variety right on behalf of the right-holder, including the name and address (registered office) of the person for whom the processing service was provided (Section 109/B(4) of the Patent Act); and
  • In case of conclusion of off-premises contracts, upon request of the consumer, the information that is legally required to be provided to consumers by the traders (Section 12(1) of Government Decree No 45/2014. (II. 26.) on the detailed rules of the agreements concluded between consumers and traders;

If signed electronically, the following documents issued by a Hungarian court, authority or administrative body require a QES[2]:

  • A written legal statement made by a person who is illiterate or incapable of writing (Section 6:7(4) of the Civil Code);
  • A Power of Attorney in a court procedure (Section 69(2) of the Civil Procedural Code);
  • A General power of attorney (Section 6:16 of the Civil Code);
  • A power of attorney for representation in the decision-making process of a business association’s supreme decision-making body (3:110 (1) of the Civil Code);
  • The notification of the change of ownership in the register of shareholders of a limited company (3:168(2) of the Civil Code);
  • The acknowledging of the provisions of the memorandum of association by new shareholders upon the increase of registered capital (Section 3:200(2) of the Civil Code);
  • The contract between a single-member company and its sole member (3:209 (1) of the Civil Code);
  • A power of attorney for representation in the decision-making process of a cooperative’s supreme decision-making body (Section 3:337 of the Civil Code);
  • The statement of consent of the proprietor of earlier conflicting rights to the registration of a trademark (Section 7 of the Trademark Act); and
  • Any written legal statement relative to the employment relationships made by a person who is illiterate or incapable of writing (Section 22(6) of the Act I of 2012 on the Labor Code).

Use Cases Exceptions

For some types of deeds and other documents, parties may need to satisfy additional formal requirements under Hungarian law, such as hand-written signature requirements or formal notarization requirements before a public notary. In such cases, digital transaction management solutions may not be appropriate, including, for example:

  • All documents concerning family relationships and civil partnerships (regulated by the Fourth Book of the Civil Code); and
  • All documents concerning inheritance matters (governed by the Sixth Book of the Hungarian Civil Code).

[1] An AES is an “advanced electronic signature”, a type of electronic signature that meets the following requirements: (a) it is uniquely linked to the signatory; (b) it is capable of identifying the signatory; (c) it is created using means that are under the signatory’s sole control; and (d) it is linked to other electronic data in such a way that any alteration to the said data can be detected.

[2] A QES is a specific digital signature implementation that has met the particular specifications of a government, including using a secure signature creation device, and been certified as ‘qualified’ by either that government or a party contracted by that government.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is for general information purposes only. You use this information at your own risk. For legal advice or representation, contact a licensed attorney.Laws may change quickly.