Authority

Hungary - Central Authority (Art. 2) and practical information

Central Authority(ies):

Ministry of Justice
Department of Private International Law  

Contact details:
Address: Ministry of Justice (Igazságügyi Minisztérium)
Department of Private International Law (Nemzetközi Magánjogi Föosztály)

Address:
Kossuth tér 2-4.
1055 Budapest
Hungary

Mailing Address: / Adresse postale:
P.O. Box 2
1357 Budapest
Hungary

Mailing Address for Delivery by Private Courier: / Adresse postale pour livraison par transporteur privé
c/o Postal Bureau of the Parliament (Országházi Levélátvevő, Honvéd utca 28, 1055 Budapest, Hungary)
Telephone: +36 (1) 795-5397, +36 (1) 795-3188
Fax: +36 (1) 795 0463
E-mail:

nmfo@im.gov.hu
General website: http://www.kormany.hu/hu/kozigazgatasi-es-igazsagugyi-miniszterium
Contact person:  
Languages spoken by staff: Hungarian, English, French, German

 

Practical Information
(The following information was provided by the relevant State authorities or was obtained from the replies to the Evidence Convention Questionnaires)
 
Blocking statutes: Yes, there are two European instruments of this nature:

Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 of 22 November 1996 protecting against the effects of the extra-territorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom (see, Article 5(1)).

Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (See, Art. 25(1)).

In addition, internal rules on data protection (Act LXIII of 1992 on the Protection of Personal Data and the Disclosure of Information of Public Interest) can affect the execution of letter of requests, even resulting in refusal to execute requests.
Chapter I
(Letters of Requests)
Transmission of Letters of Requests: Letters of Request are first sent to the Central Authority before being sent to the Central Authority of the requested State.
Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request (Art. 7): Central Authority.
Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): Yes, prior authorisation required (declaration of applicability).
Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution (Art. 11): No declaration of applicability.
Translation requirements (Arts 4(2) and 33):  Accepts Letters of Request written in, or translated into Hungarian.
Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request (Arts 14(2)(3) and 26): Reimbursement of costs of interpretation is usually required. Costs of experts or costs of videoconferencing would possibly be required to be paid if such a request arrived.
There are no constitutional limitations with regard to the reimbursement of fees and costs mentioned in Article 26.
Time for execution: It largely depends on the case.
Art 23 pre-trial discovery of documents: The Hungarian authorities will not execute Letters of Request presented in a procedure known as pre-trial discovery of documents unless the Letter of Request clearly identifies the document that must be made available by its holder and this document is directly connected to the objective of the procedure.
Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence:  European Judicial Network in Civil or Commercial Matters - Hungary.

Act no. CXVI of 2004 on transposing the Hague Convention of 18 March 1970 on taking of evidence abroad in civil and commercial matters

Law-Decree No. 13 of 1979 on International Private Law, sections 67 to 69
Witness examination under Chapter I
Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? No such requirement exists under legislation, but for practical reasons (in conformity with long-standing practice), the Central Authority does require specific questions to be listed in order to enable the requested court to carry out the examination.
Is it a public or private hearing? In principal court hearings are public. The court can order a closed hearing to:

- protect state, service, business or other type of secret protected by law;

- protect public morality or personal rights of the party;

- protect the witness.
Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? Yes.
Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? No.
Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? No.
Is an oath generally administered to the witness? No.
Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? Yes. Second Request necessary.
Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? Under paragraph 1 of section 185 of the Code of Civil Procedure, witnesses (experts), who - contrary to due summons - do not appear and have not justified in advance by well founded reasons their absence, as well as those who deny testifying without presenting their reasons or in breach of final judicial decision on their duty to testify, can be obliged to pay the costs occasioned by their behaviour and can be fined (even both can be applied at the same time). The court can also order that the police present the witness before the court.  
Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? Yes.
How is the testimony transcribed? The testimony is transcribed in minutes. It is also possible to register the testimony in other ways, namely by audio recording, but even in this case the audio recording must be transcribed within 8 days. The minutes contain a summary of the course of the hearing, verbatim if necessary.
Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners)
Article 15 Applicable, no prior permission required provided that the person affected is exclusively national of the sending state of the diplomatic officer or consular agent.  See declaration.
Article 16 Not applicable (see reservation).
Article 17 Applicable, prior permission required (see competent authority).
Article 18 Not applicable.

The Hungarian authorities do not give assistance to the taking of evidence of the diplomatic offer or consular agent in accordance with Article 15 of the Convention or the commissioner in accordance with Article 17 of the Convention by applying measures of compulsion.
Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter) 
Chapter I
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? No. Article 9 provides the legal basis for such request by allowing the application of special procedures. Section 62, paragraph 2 of the Law-Decree No. 13 of 1979 on International Private Law also allows using particular methods if they are not contrary to public order.
Technology used: No information available.
Level of interpretation required: No information available.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: No information available.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? No information available.
Who pays for the interpretation? No information available.
How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? No information available.
Chapter II
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? No. Article 21 is the legal basis for such requests, but reservations and conditions made to Chapter II must be respected. Nevertheless, Hungary does not see any practical relevance of this issue.
Technology used: No information available.
Level of interpretation required: No information available.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: No information available.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? No information available.
Who pays for the interpretation? No information available.
Bilateral or multilateral agreements Bilateral conventions on judicial co-operation: Albania, Algeria, Australia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, Fiji, Kenya, Lesotho, Mongolia, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Syria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Viet Nam.

Multilateral conventions on judicial co-operation:
Règlement (CE) No 1206/2001 du Conseil du 28 mai 2001 relatif à la coopération entre les juridictions des Etats membres dans le domaine d'obtention des preuves en matière civile ou commerciale.
Useful links:  

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Conventions (incl. Protocols and Principles)