Hungary - Central Authority & practical information

Central Authority(ies):

Ministry of Justice

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, German, English, French

 

Practical Information:
(The following information was provided by the relevant State authorities or was obtained from the replies to the Service Convention Questionnaires)
Forwarding authorities
(Art. 3(1)):		 Ministry of Public Administration and Justice
Methods of service
(Art. 5(1)(2)):		 The special rules applicable to the service of official documents are available in Section 99 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Sections 27 to 32 of Government Decree no. 335/2012 (XII.4.) as well as Sections 35 and 35/A of Decree of the Minister of Justice no. 14/2002 (VIII.1.).

Formal Service:

Official documents are in principle served by post thus this is the method of service usually used for accomplishment of requests for formal service.
The official document is posted with a specific acknowledgement of receipt. The postal service provider attempts to serve the document on the addressee or any other authorised recipient.
If the addressee declines to accept the document, the document must be considered served on the day of the unsuccessful service. In that event the postal service provider returns the official document without delay to the sender with the notice "delivery refused" and the legal consequences in connection with the served document are to be applied.
If the first service attempt is unsuccessful (but the addressee's address is otherwise correct), the postal service provider shall leave a notice at the given address informing the addressee that 1) the postal service provider tried to serve an official document, 2) it will attempt to serve the document on the fifth working day following the day of the unsuccessful delivery and 3) the addressee can collect the official document at the post office upon proof of identity.
Should the second service also be unsuccessful, the postal service provider will leave a second notice informing the addressee that the official document can be collected at the post office within five working days of the second unsuccessful service. After five working days the postal service provider will return the official document to the sender with a notice indicating that it was "not claimed for" by the addressee. In this case the documents are deemed as served on the fifth working day of the second delivery attempt.

Informal Service:

The same rules apply as for formal service but the documents cannot be considered as served when the addressee refuses to accept them or they are returned by the postal service provider as "not claimed for".

For more information, see European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters - Service of documents - Hungary.
Translation requirements
(Art. 5(3)):		 Hungary has declared that service under Article 5(1) shall only be made if the document to be served is accompanied by a certified translation or a translation accepted by the law of the requesting State for the purposes of court procedures into the Hungarian language.

By official translation the Hungarian Central Authority means a translation that is accepted for the purposes of judicial proceedings in the requesting Contracting State under its law thus a certain quality and reliablity is ensured.

Click here to read all the declarations made by Hungary under the Service Convention.
Costs relating to execution of the request for service
(Art. 12):		 Accomplishment of requests for formal or informal service is free of charge in Hungary.
Time for execution of request: The average time frame of service is between two and three months that can be surpassed in problematic cases.
Oppositions and declarations
(Art. 21(2)):		 Click here to read all the declarations made by Hungary under the Service Convention.
Art. 8(2): Opposition
Art. 10(a): Opposition
Art. 10(b): Opposition
Art. 10(c): Opposition
Art. 15(2): Declaration of applicability
Art. 16(3): Declaration of applicability
Derogatory channels (bilateral or multilateral agreements or internal law permitting other transmission channels)
(Arts. 11, 19, 24 and 25)

Disclaimer:
Information may not be complete or fully updated – please contact the relevant authorities to verify this information.

 Council Regulation (EC) No 1393/2007 on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters

Bilateral agreements with Albania, Australia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Egypt, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France (overseas territories), Montenegro, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine.
Useful links: http://www.kormany.hu/hu/kozigazgatasi-es-igazsagugyi-miniszterium (Hungarian Only)

http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/serv_doc/serv_doc_hun_en.htm

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Conventions (incl. Protocols and Principles)