The Civil Department of the Curia adopted on 6 February 2017 the summary report drawn up by the jurisprudence analysing working group of the Civil Department of the Curia in connection with the jurisprudence analysis on the liability of executive officers vis-á-vis creditors. As it is well-known, the new Civil Code amended the liability of executive officers on many points and it was capable of being known following the entry into force of the law that only jurisprudence will be able to decide on some open questions that remained unanswered by legislation.

If the relevant economic operator thinks during the public procurement procedure that the tenderer has acted unlawfully vis-á-vis it, then the first thing that comes to its mind is to initiate a so-called preliminary dispute resolution. This way, it may indicate its problem fast to the contracting authority that is obliged to examine the case with the greatest care. The requesting party must pay attention to the golden rules regarding applications for public procurement, and to meet the deadline and formal requirements.

In the event of financing constructions, it may often arise that foreign parent companies do not wish to give a guarantee for the debts of their indebted subsidiaries, but are willing to issue a so-called comfort letter (letter of endorsement, statement of confirmation). However, the legal institution of the comfort letter is not included in the Civil Code, so the question arises whether the obligation contained therein is enforceable at all under the Hungarian law or not.

Act CXXXVIII of 2007 on Investment Firms and Commodity Dealers, and on the Regulations Governing their Activities (“Investment Enterprises Act”) includes special provisions for the case of liquidation of investment firms. Under Section 136 of the Investment Enterprises Act, financial instruments deposited by clients with, and registered by, investment firms, the instruments owned by, or due to, the clients, as well as instruments forming the object of commodity market services, kept on the accounts maintained for the clients do not form part of the assets under liquidation, during the course of liquidation of investment firms. The investment firm is obliged to take prompt measures to provide the instruments to the clients regardless of the liquidation proceedings.

The Bankruptcy Act gives the liquidator and the creditor an opportunity to challenge before the court the so-called fraudulent transactions concluded by the indebted company prior to the liquidation within a period of time specified by the law.

The conference on preparation for capital investments was held on 3 February 2017 as a part of the conference series organised by KRS Attorneys-at-Law. Investors and advisors reported on their practical experiences relating to preparation for capital investments at the successful conference with the participation of nearly 50 investors and SME’s.

More than 60,000 companies must increase their registered capital till 15 March. Thousands of undertakings will be probably dissolved because they cannot or do not intend to fulfil this requirement. According to the Ministry for Justice, companies will not be granted an additional time limit, but according to the attorney companies are allowed to provide cash contribution even decades later.

The Hungarian Competition Authority occasionally analyses the market in order to facilitate the preparation for its tasks more effectively. At this time, it may also involve an external expert and analyses the impact of the market processes and the market practice in a priority sector on the competition. The most essential consequence of the market analysis is that if the Authority finds any indication that the competition has been restricted in a particular sectoral market, it will launch a so-called sectoral inquiry to assess the market.

Under Council Directive 89/391/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work, employers need to discuss all questions regarding safety and health at work with employees and their representatives. Its implementation appears in the provisions of Act XCIII of 1993 on Labour Safety (Mvt.), which specify this general requirement. These statutory requirements impose countless obligations on employers and grant rights to employees.

The amendments, entered into force on 1 January 2017, of the Act CLV of 1997 on Consumer Protection entail significant changes for electronic commercial service providers. On the one hand, in case of repeated infringement by such service providers, the rate of consumer protection fines to be imposed was increased; on the other hand, the database of companies liable for serious infringement will be established and become publicly available.