The Hungarian Ministry of Justice has submitted to the Parliament the bill on the new International Private Law Act on 28 February 2017.
For more than 37 years, Law-Decree No. 13 of 1979 on International Private Law has governed the conflict-of-law rules and procedural aspects in cases where foreign element was involved. The bill contains the results of the European and international legal developments, taking into account the political, social, legal and economic changes in the past four decades and the upturn in the number of international cases. The draft sets itself the goal to promote fair and equitable resolution of the cases.
The Ministry of Justice highlighted that it is a significant goal to eliminate problems relating to Hungarians with dual nationality or living abroad, (such as having different family status, name and family situation) resulting from conflicts between legal systems. The bill contains provisions to strengthen the best interest of the child in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child signed in 1989 in New York, and is in line with the reforms of rules on jurisdiction by eliminating exclusivity. Furthermore, the proposal introduces innovations in relation to businesses to grant predictable and more competitive legal environment.
By Levente Csengery, Partner, KCG Partners Law Firm