Arbitration clauses, in their nature, impose on the parties an obligation to refer their disputes to arbitration as set forth in the arbitration agreement. Such agreements are vastly symmetrical – they provide both parties with the equal right to invoke arbitration proceedings.

There is nothing new in fancying competitiveness. There is also little that one can meaningfully add to the dialogue. Yet, it is surprising how the subject of “Europe’s competitiveness” climbs up the ladder of timely discourses, and repeatedly does so; finds its way onto the list of “final novel plans”, “last grand projects”, or, for the matter of pure practicality, to agendas of the European Union’s presiding troika.

The Regulation Amending the Regulation on Principles and Rules to be Applied in Retail Trade ("Amending Regulation") published in the Official Gazette dated December 14, 2023, and numbered 32399, introduced certain amendments to the Regulation on Principles and Rules to be Applied in Retail Trade published in the Official Gazette dated 06.08.2016 and numbered 29793. These mainly cover (i) unfair commercial practices in the supply chain and (ii) payments related to commercial activities between the producer, supplier, and retail business.

Aiming to create a modern, transparent, and unified regulatory framework by replacing the current fragmented regime, the new Hungarian Construction Act was adopted in December 2023.The new Act makes such substantial changes that most of its provisions will enter into force in phases between 2024 and 2027. In the following, we outline the basic features of the new Act.

On 24 December 2023, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a Law of Ukraine No. 3494-IX (the ''Law''), which amends the procedure for granting vacations and their duration. The Law applies to the following:

The current rules on foreign direct investments (FDI), which are already quite restrictive, will be tightened further from January next year: the current exemptions will be narrowed, and the Hungarian State will have a right of first refusal for solar power plant investments. The government is trying to address a long-standing and sensitive issue for domestic energy policy, while also affecting other non-renewable investments by tightening the exemptions.

In its recent judgment, the Supreme Court of Hungary examined the right of the employer to unilaterally determine the employee’s place of work, within the geographical area stipulated in the labour contract. In our article we examine what aspects shall the employer take into account and what are the employee’s rights in such cases, based on Hungarian case law.

The UK has not been a member of the European Union and thus of the comprehensive European framework for cross-border civil litigation since 1 January 2021. Within the EU, the Brussels I Recast-Regulation (Regulation [EU] 1215/2012) not only provides a set of common rules on the jurisdiction of the courts but also ensures rapid and simple recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters issued in the Member States. Under the Brussels I Regulation, judgments are enforceable without any declaration of enforceability. A judgment rendered in France or Romania can be enforced in Austria without much trouble and vice versa.

As of 1 January 2024, the Hungarian Parliament is expected to introduce a new framework for the conditions of residence and employment of third-country nationals in Hungary, significantly rewriting the existing rules.

Business activity generates thousands of documents, contracts, letters, invoices, and the like. This constitutes documentary material. This means that every entrepreneur and company in the Republic of Serbia, in one way or another, is either a creators or possessor of documentary material.

According to the opinion released yesterday by the advocate general of the European Court of Justice, the Hungarian regulation that prohibits foreign taxpayers from submitting their documents in the second instance (appeal) procedures in VAT refund cases violates European law. If the final judgment will align with this opinion, it would not only simplify the process for foreign businesses to claim VAT refunds in Hungary but would also open the possibility to reclaim previous VAT payments.

Dispute resolution clauses in contracts include arbitration agreements stating that the parties will attempt to resolve their disputes through mutual negotiation before going to arbitration proceedings, and if the dispute cannot be resolved in this way, arbitration proceedings will be resorted to.

In Hungary, adherence to regulatory requirements is pivotal for the operations of domestic legal entities or businesses. Recently, there have been discussions regarding the significance of possessing a domestic bank account as mandated by Hungarian law, and the implications for companies failing to meet these criteria.

On 15 December 2023, Austria's National Council of the Parliament (lower house) adopted the Flexible Company Act (Flexible-Kapitalgesellschafts-Gesetz, FlexKapGG), which introduces a new company form, the "Flexible Company" (FlexCo) as of 1 January 2024.

Technical guidance published on the websites of the Hungarian Competition Authority (HCA) and the Public Procurement Authority in November 2023 on corruption risks and cartel agreements affecting the fairness of public procurements.

In early September of this year, the President of Ukraine signed the Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving Legislation on Protection of Economic Competition and Activities of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine” (the “Law”). 

Do defendants need to make a formal setoff statement against the creditor’s claim in front of the judge to extinguish the claimant’s claim? Or is it enough to refer informally to an earlier setoff made by them prior to the litigation? A fresh decision of the Hungarian Supreme Court, analysed in this article, gives answer to these questions.

In the summer 2022, the United States unilaterally terminated the US-Hungary double tax treaty with Hungary.