The essence of the European Court of Justice’s ruling in the Tuleka case is that if defective performance of a contractual service is so serious that it essentially frustrates the purpose of the contract, the consumer is entitled to a full refund, even if certain elements were formally performed by the service provider.
The new European regulatory environment for sustainability claims is rapidly transforming how companies must communicate their environmental performance.
In civil litigation, it is common that the assessment of an important fact requires special expertise that the judge does not possess. In such cases, the court appoints an expert. This raises the question: may a judge depart from the expert’s opinion if other evidence—such as witness testimony—suggests otherwise?
In August 2025, the Hungarian government adopted a significant amendment to the so-called Plázastop Decree (Government Decree No. 143/2018 (VIII. 13.)). The amendment entered into force on 17 September 2025 and introduces new approval requirements within a narrower scope than before. The new rules apply exclusively to retail units with a sales area exceeding 400 square meters, where the primary business activity is the sale of daily consumer goods such as food, cleaning products, and drugstore items.
In the summer of 2025, the Hungarian government significantly amended the notification and approval system for foreign direct investments (FDI). The essence of the changes is that, in the name of protecting economic sovereignty, the Hungarian state has been granted new powers – which in practice may even mean that a Hungarian company targeted by a foreign buyer could ultimately be acquired by the state itself, on the same terms. This development is of particular importance for any company considering international expansion or seeking foreign investors, whether for an exit strategy or capital raising purposes.
One of the most significant rulings of the summer from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was the Michelin case, which marks the beginning of a new era in the enforcement of EU competition law. The Court confirmed that public investor communications do not enjoy any special protection but may themselves carry competition law risks. This means that when preparing public communications, companies must address both capital markets and competition law concerns together.
Under the new EU directive, employers will be required to include a salary range or at least a specific minimum wage for the advertised position in all job postings. In addition, every employee will be entitled, once a year, to request information on the average pay levels for their position, broken down by gender. And these are just some of the obligations to come. Is your company ready?
Until now, only individual consumers could rely on legal protection when receiving defective goods — but from now on, small businesses can too! The recent amendment to the law levels the playing field and finally allows SMEs to request repair or replacement, demand a price reduction, or even withdraw from the contract, just like private buyers.
The Supreme Court of Hungary (Kúria) has ruled that the grounds for interrupting the period of limitation cannot be expanded by contract.
A recent decision by the Kúria has once again drawn attention to the boundaries that the Civil Code (Ptk.) sets for the parties’ freedom of contract regarding periods of limitation.
The case centered on whether a claim of limitation could be validly raised in a lawsuit that had originated from a payment order procedure — when the parties had previously agreed otherwise in their contract.
The Supreme Court of Hungary (Kúria) has clarified that the “replacement purchase” duty allowance is not limited to traditional sale and purchase agreements — it may also apply to auction sales, potentially saving affected individuals hundreds of thousands of forints.
