Companies who are the victims of trade secret thefts by their employees in Hungary are protected on more levels: in addition to relying on the Business Secret Act, they can invoke the Labour Code, as well.Less clear is to which court should employers turn to in case they decide to sue their former employee and the competitor, employing the latter. Is the commercial court or the labour court the right forum? We analyse the question in the light of a recent judgment of the Hungarian Supreme Court.

Noerr has advised Saint-Gobain on its acquisition of plasters, paints, and coatings producer Revco Hungary. CEE Attorneys advised the sellers.

Hungary has been traditionally the go-to hub for filming in Europe.

Since 2010, the regulations and practices relative to the ESG requirements in the EU have been rapidly evolving. The EU has implemented significant rules by adopting the Taxonomy Regulation, the Non-Financial Disclosure Directive (NFRD), the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). These regulate the disclosure obligations of certain companies and private equity funds in connection with their sustainability obligations and their commitment to respecting human rights.

Under Hungarian law if someone’s right to the protection of personal data is infringed, the person may be entitled to compensation for non-material damages. But does the unlawful processing of personal data always mean the infringement of the right to the protection of personal data, triggering the right for compensation? A fresh decision of the Hungarian Supreme Court analysed in this article provides answer to these questions.

It is well known that the legislation on agricultural land and forestry is very strict and diverse, especially in comparison with the legislation on other private law matters. However, complying with these regulations must be even more difficult if the person who wants to acquire the ownership of a land is a citizen of another country and therefore is not familiar with the relevant Hungarian legislation. With the following, we offer a brief summary of the mandatory aspects of land acquisition in Hungary.

When the Russian military launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) responded immediately by amending their legal framework to provide shelter for Ukrainian refugees. These neighboring nations not only provided immediate humanitarian help, but also changed their immigration law to allow Ukrainian refugees to work and live in their country.

From 1st July 2023, a new law on the registry of legal persons, including companies and civil law organisations (“Registration Act”) will enter into force in Hungary. What are the key features of the new law? Will it be possible to register a company within 1 hour in Hungary from July 2023? This article highlights the major changes that the Registration Act will introduce.

Schoenherr, working with Morgan Lewis, has advised Pathlight Capital on its term loan to Lumos Holdings US Acquisition Co. Baker McKenzie advised Lumos in Hungary and the UK.

Contributed by Baker McKenzie.

The Hungarian government is actively shaping the market and there are both positive and negative effects on many levels, according to Wolf Theiss Managing Partner Zoltan Faludi.

Probably even the chatbot ChatGPT would be “surprised” to see how many new articles, essays, blogposts, personal posts and videos discuss issues around AI, and specifically, generative AI.

Schoenherr has advised Robert Bosch Investment Nederland on its acquisition of a minority stake in Hungarian thermo-technology company Kazantrade and the related asset deal that saw RBIN sell its Serbian thermo-technology business to Kazantrade's Serbian subsidiary. Sole practitioner Zsolt Simanyi reportedly advised the Hungarian seller and target company.

Schoenherr has advised both the lending group and the borrower on a deal that saw ODDO BHF and GLAS Trust Limited finance Afinum's acquisition of the Christian Koenen Group. Germany's Astera Legal and GLNS Rechtsanwaelte reportedly also advised the lenders and the borrower, respectively.

Do employers have to pay for overtime if it was not expressly ordered by them? Can employers legally exclude in company documents the payment for overtime performed without their consent? In our article we examine these issues based on the case law of Hungarian labour courts.

Gender equality in the workplace refers to the fair and equal treatment of individuals of different genders in all aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, pay and job duties. Achieving gender equality is essential to creating a diverse, inclusive workplace that supports all employees.

Greenberg Traurig has advised the Cromwell Property Group Poland on its sale of the Wisniowy Business Park office complex in Warsaw to an unidentified Hungarian investor through a share deal. 

Did You Know that, according to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, two CEE lawyers have already authored or co-authored eight thought leadership articles published on the CEE Legal Matters website this year, more than anyone else in the region?