The previously ordered extraordinary court vacation has been lifted and court procedures may continue but personal contacts shall be avoided. A handful of procedures have been adapted to the epidemic.
Terms of applying for excuse
Concerning all procedures it has been declared that the term of the state of danger shall not be calculated in the term for submitting a service complaint or applying for excuse after omission of an action. For instance, if a debtor fails, without any fault on his part, to submit an objection against a payment order within fifteen days, then he would have further fifteen days to apply for excuse under normal circumstances, but this period will now be extended with the duration of the state of danger.
Civil procedures
With regard to COVID-19 pandemic, the Hungarian government ordered exceptional court vacation from 15 March 2020. The point of a court vacation is that deadlines are not running and hearings are not held. It is important to note that the parties may submit statements and motions to the court which shall them into consideration.
Since then, the government decree on the court vacation has been abrogated and a new government regulation is in effect from 31 March 2020. This declares that the state of emergency generally will not affect deadlines. Acts requiring personal contact are to be carried out electronically.
Therefore, when filing a claim, no hearing shall be held in the preparatory phase and the court may ask the parties to make further statements in writing instead. If personal hearing is necessary, this shall be done preferably by electronic means that are appropriate for identification, and shall be recorded in minutes if necessary. No hearings can take place in appeal and revision phases. Further flexibility is provided by the provision that allows the parties to jointly request the interruption of proceedings without limitation.
Notarial proceedings
During the state of danger, acts that have deadline and require personal presence are postponed except for a few procedures such as issuing authentic instruments, guarding documents, depositing money, objects or investments upon request in order to hand over to the rightful person as well as the registration into the security interest register and the related issue of an identity declaration. The notary notifies each party about any postpones and if a non-postponed act is omitted, sanctions shall not apply.
Verification of signature and verification of oath or vowels in order to use in foreign procedures may be carried out using electronic devices capable of transmitting sound and picture.
During the state of danger, a notary upon request may be excused from his obligations by the president of the local chamber. Excused notaries cannot perform any actions and the duration of excuse shall not be calculated in the deadlines. The national chamber of notaries publishes the excused notaries on its website.
During the state of danger, the national notary chamber shall continuously provide for
- making public testaments and depositing them,
- the operation of the security interest database,
- the operation of the electronic system for payment orders