The so-called Integrated Legislation System (ILS; in Hungarian: Integrált Jogalkotási Rendszer) is planned to be implemented in Hungary by the end of 2018. The main purpose of the ILS is the reduction of the administrative burdens of the public administration and the increase of the quality of the services for citizens and companies by the administration.

Hungarian businesses have the “sword of Damocles” hanging over their head as the new European data protection regulation (“GDPR”) is applicable as of 25 May 2018. Due to the fact that the majority of the Hungarian companies are micro-enterprises, the administrative burdens cause an impossible obstacle to them.

Dentons will be joining forces with a team of former EY consultants in Hungary to launch Impact Advisory, a joint venture offering consulting services that will complement Dentons’ legal services. The business is being piloted in Hungary with the intention to expand into other countries.

Akos Fehervary has been promoted from Local Partner to "Principal" at Baker McKenzie, effective as of July 1, 2018.

Former Dentons Partner Milan Kohlrusz has joined forces with Csaba Bittera and Peter Toth, long-time legal advisors to Budapest Airport, to launch Budapest's new Bittera, Kohlrusz & Toth law firm.

Andras Daniel Laszlo, a former partner at Szecskay, has teamed up with Zoltan Titusz Fekete, who previously worked at RSM Hungary and for ten years with the Hungarian tax authority, and with Gaspar Bagamery, who worked with DLA Piper and Szecskay, to establish a new boutique in Budapest under the brand of LFB.

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation is, according to the EU-hosted GDPR website, “the most important change in data privacy regulation in the past 20 years.” The Act, which was approved by the EU Parliament on April 14, 2016 and will become fully effective on May 25, 2018, was designed “to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens’ data privacy, and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy.”

One week before the General Data Protection Act (GDPR) came into force on May 25, 2018, the Hungarian office of Schoenherr organized a one-day seminar to highlight some of the key elements of the regulation that companies in the real estate sector should keep in mind.

The winners of the 2017 CEE Deal of the Year Awards were announced at the first ever CEE Legal Matters Deal of the Year Awards Banquet last night in Prague. The biggest smiles in the joyous and music-filled celebration of CEE lawyering, perhaps, were on the faces of Partners from Avellum and Sayenko Kharenko, which, along with White & Case and Latham & Watkins, won the award both for Ukrainian Deal of the Year and CEE Deal of the Year for their work on the 2017 Ukraine Eurobond Issue (a story initially reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 2, 2017).

In The Corner Office we ask Managing Partners at law firms across the region important questions about their unique roles and responsibilities. The question this time around: What was your favorite course in law school, and why?

Under the Hungarian VAT Act, from 1 January 2016 instead of the general VAT tax rate of 27%, a reduced tax rate of 5% is applicable to the flats to be constructed or existing in a multi-unit residential building with a total net floor space not exceeding 150 square meters. This provision of the Hungarian VAT Act will remain in force only until 31 December 2019, accordingly, after this date the purchasers will pay for these flats a VAT of 27%.

Attila Peterfalvi, the president of the Hungarian Data Protection Authority, on 19 April 2018 made some relevant comments regarding the GDPR during an interview with a Hungarian online newspaper “Jogifórum”. He highlighted that one of the main novelties of the GDPR is the principle of accountability. The data controllers must be able to demonstrate their GDPR compliance in a documented way. This does not mean, however, that the burden of proof is on them in case of a NAIH procedure.

Oppenheim has advised IAD Investments, an independent Slovak asset management company, on the acquisition of the Dunaharaszti industrial park on behalf of its Prvy Realitny fond. The seller, IPD, was advised by CMS Hungary.

The Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation, „GDPR”) will be directly applicable as of 25 May 2018 in all organisations controlling personal data. The Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (“NAIH” / “Hungarian Authority”) receives thousands of questions on the applicability of the GDPR. For this reason, the NAIH has published answers to some of these questions.

HBK Partners and Bekes Partners have advised Novohot Kft. on the acquisition of Hotel Novotel Szeged from Accor Hotels. Jeantet and Dentons advised Accor Hotels in the sale.

Partos & Noblet in co-operation with Hogan Lovells has advised KPMG Global Services on negotiations for a new lease agreement for space in the Advance Tower Office Buildings on the Vaci corridor in Budapest. The landlord, Futureal, was advised by solo practitioner Roland Jabronka.

The European Commission has just published its comprehensive proposal for the so-called "New Deal for Consumers", which aims to strengthen EU consumer rights and enforcement. This includes the proposal for a new Directive enabling certain qualified entities to seek redress on behalf of consumers who have been harmed by an unlawful commercial practice.

CMS Prague has advised private equity-backed Waterlogic, a designer, manufacturer, distributor, and servicer of purified drinking water dispensers on the acquisition of Lux Aqua Czech s.r.o. and Lux Aqua Hungaria Kft., a Czech and a Hungarian company that provides drinking water solutions for B2B clients. The sellers reportedly were represented by Hogan Lovells.