LexBlog (LexBlog Hungary)

My most recent article on blockchain fraud, The Inadequacy of Equitable Remedies for Blockchain Fraud, 95 Miss. L.J. 1144 (2026), was recently released by the Mississippi Law Journal. Written for the 2025 Remedies Forum hosted in Budapest, Hungary, this article follows on an earlier work I featured here on the BLPB in June, co-authored with...

A recent decision by Hungary’s Data Protection Authority (NAIH) offers a deceptively modest outcome, a €5,000 fine, but sends a much stronger signal on the evolving expectations around data minimization under the GDPR and ultimately, the US State Privacy laws. The decision reflects a strict, controller-centric approach, making clear that the key question in a...

In our latest episode of Bad News, Good Lawyers, host Tom Firestone, head of our Government Investigations & White Collar Practice, speaks with David Kostelancik, a longtime U.S. State Department diplomat and former chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, about the political shakeup following Hungary’s 2026 national elections. On April 12, opposition candidate...

In European Commission v. Hungary, (CJEU, April 21, 2026), the Court of Justice of the European Union held that Hungary’s Law on the Protection of Children and other provisions of Hungarian law adopted in 2021 violate the Treaty on European Union and other EU rules. Hungary’s Law on the Protection of Children provides in part: ‘In...

  Attila Szabó, PhD Head of Legal Aid Service, Hungarian Civil Liberties Union   *The author assisted the lawyer representing the person concerned as an advisor in the Hungarian case analyzed in the text.  The author also used artificial intelligence to prepare the English version of the text.   Photo credit: Jorge Franganillo, via Wikimedia...

When the Commission sets the criteria for releasing EU funds, can it later decide not to follow them? Advocate General Ćapeta’s Opinion in Parliament v Commission observes that the Commission prematurely released funds despite Hungary not fulfilling many pre-established conditions. The Commission itself had set these criteria. This is part of a broader pattern of...

Advocate General Ćapeta’s Opinion in Case C-225/24 of 12 February 2026 clarifies that, in contexts of systemic rule-of-law deterioration, compliance cannot be measured solely by legislative text, while also explaining the constraints of discretionary power in EU fund cases. This piece focuses on the first aspect of the Opinion: rule-of-law compliance must be assessed through...

Fewer organizations affected by the Hungarian NIS2 transposition Under the latest amendment to Act LXIX of 2024 (“Cybersecurity Act“), enterprises that qualify as large enterprises solely due to their partner or linked enterprises but do not, on their own, meet the thresholds for medium-sized enterprises are now excluded from the scope of the Cybersecurity Act....

What’s new in 2026? Important amendments to Hungarian Government Decree no. 13/2011 (“Decree”) on the authorization of trade in dual-use items have entered into force. Together with Regulation (EU) 2021/821, which establishes the Union regime for controlling the export, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items, the Decree forms the foundation of...

Later this year, parliamentary elections will be held in Hungary and Israel, two autocratizing countries, whose incumbents are close allies of Donald Trump. The prospects for democratic and constitutional recovery in both Hungary and Israel depend not only on domestic political conditions, but also on an increasingly permissive global environment in which systems of governance...

It is reported that Hungary has enacted its first Artificial Intelligence Act, known as Act LXXV of 2025, to create a secure and transparent legal framework for responsible AI use. This legislation aligns with the EU AI Act and Hungary’s updated AI Strategy from September 2025. The law designates specific authorities to certify AI system...

As international companies grow their footprint and tap into new markets, understanding local hiring laws and employment structures becomes vital to building sustainable operations. In this 17-part series, we guide foreign businesses through the legal and strategic aspects of employment in key global jurisdictions. This installment brings us to Hungary—a strategic Central European hub with...

We are happy to announce that Dr Gábor B. Szabó and Dr Ákos Menyhei, esteemed partners at Aliant-Menyhei-Molnár-B. Szabó, have once again been recognized in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2024. Dr B. Szabó has been honored by Chambers & Partners for the sixth consecutive year. Dr Menyhei has achieved the distinction of being...

Aliant-Menyhei-Molnár-B.Szabó Celebrates Landmark Achievement in Family Office Services with USD 2 Billion Success – released by WealthBriefingNews.   Budapest, Hungary – Aliant-Menyhei-Molnár-B.Szabó, the esteemed Hungarian office of Aliant, proudly announces the successful conclusion of its largest Family Office project to date, valued at a remarkable USD 2 billion. This milestone achievement...

Hungarian Court Sentences Viking Sigyn Captain for Deadly Danube Collision Today, a court in Hungary sentenced the captain (master) of the Viking Sigyn river cruise ship to five years and six months in jail for his negligence in causing the sinking of a Hungarian sightseeing boat, the Hableany (“Mermaid”), on the Danube River during the evening of...

This week features a heavy dose of Booking Holdings’ updates, including updates on the story we featured last week regarding Hungary’s recent decision to launch a formal investigation into the country’s online travel industry.  Enjoy. AI Trip Planners Are Everywhere.  While we all have read stories detailing the major booking platforms’ adoption of generative AI...

Can I sue Chinese companies in Hungary and then enforce a Hungarian judgment in China? This post was first published in CJO GLOBAL, which is committed to providing consulting services in China-related cross-border trade risk management and debt collection. We will explain how debt collection works in China below. Most likely, you don’t want to travel so far away as to...

Two audits by the European Commission’s health and safety unit have looked at checks on the food of non-animal origin (FNAO) in Hungary and Bulgaria. A DG Sante audit, in May and June 2022 in Hungary, found a shortage of staff and experience was weakening the system of official controls. The focus was on primary...

A berry mix has been recalled across Europe after a number of people were sickened in Hungary by Hepatitis A. Two sizes of Ardo Fruitberry mix were recalled after the Hepatitis A virus was found. Ten to 15 people in Hungary were hospitalized after eating at a restaurant and subsequent testing by a Hungarian laboratory...

Sorry, folks.  Set aside thoughts of goulash, the Gabor Sisters, and nice chess games at a thermal bath… you’re litigating here, not sightseeing.  But with a Hungarian defendant, the procedure before you really isn’t overly challenging.  Service in Hungary is subject to the strictures of the Hague Service Convention.  This holds true regardless of which...

Hungary’s food agency has launched a survey to find out more on people’s habits related to quick-frozen vegetables. The National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih) said it would provide the authority with a picture of the risks at the consumer level for the product category. An online questionnaire can be completed until March 31 and...

Harry Houdini, the most famous “escape artist” in America, was born in Hungary. He came to the U.S. with his family at the tender age of four. When he was eight, his father became a U.S. citizen. This was in 1882 and, while I don’t know the historical laws on the books at that time,...

The impact of Salmonella infections on consumers’ wellbeing has been estimated to be “very significant” by researchers in Hungary. Salmonellosis is one of the most frequent foodborne illnesses in Hungary. Based on data from 2014 and 2018, Hungarian rates of confirmed Salmonella cases were more than two times higher than the European average, according to the research report...

 AP reports that on Tuesday, Hungary’s National Assembly adopted legislation (full text of law in Hungarian) that bans school sex education programs, as well as films and ads aimed at minors, from presenting information about non-heterosexual sexual orientation. It also bans presenting information about gender reassignment. The legislation began as a bill to battle pedophilia, but...

An analysis of a Salmonella control program has found it was cost-effective in Hungary, according to researchers. The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of the Hungarian Salmonella Control Program (HSCP) for 2007 to 2017 to assess the cost-effectiveness of it as a food safety intervention. Findings were published recently in the journal Food Control. They...

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has issued a strong statement on the suspension of certain aspects of the General Data Protection Regulation in Hungary. Per the EDPB: Restrictions adopted in the context of a state of emergency suspending or postponing the application of data subject rights … without any clear limitation in time, [is...

Hungary’s Data Processing Authority offers a GDPR compliance to do list for employers. Collect and process only what you need  Abide by the emergency laws  Devise a pandemic contingency plan  Adopt full transparency Read my detailed analysis on the Hungary Nemzeti Adatvédelmi és Információszabadság Hatóság guidance.

A foreign audit report for Hungary has been released to the public by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The in-country inspection occurred from July 22 through Aug. 2, 2019, and earned approval for Hungary’s system. The audit’s purpose was to evaluate Hungary’s food safety systems governing meat products exported to the United States....

A system in Hungary to prevent a repeat of the deadly Listeria outbreak traced to a frozen vegetable factory in the country in 2018 is working well, according to those involved. The Hungarian Deep Freezing and Canning Association (MHKSZ) revealed the first-year operational experience of the system was positive. After the outbreak source was found...

Authorities in Hungary have not acted to strengthen the system of official controls for food businesses despite a deadly multi-country Listeria outbreak, according to DG Sante in Europe. The agency, which is responsible for the European Commission’s policy on food safety and health, found the system is not sufficient to verify food of non-animal origin...