In addition to the fact that litigation frequently involves disputes over substantial monetary claims, litigants might also have to pay various expenses during the proceedings, e.g. court fees, expert fees, attorney fees and expenses. The beginning of 2025 saw significant changes pertaining to the fees and costs associated with litigation.
1. Court fees of civil proceedings at first instance
Prior to 28 January 2025, the court fee of civil proceedings at first instance was 6% of the value of the subject matter, but it was capped in the amount of HUF 1,500,000.
As of 28 January 2025, no capped amount applies and the court fees are linked to the value of the subject matter, as follows:
| Value of the subject matter | Court fee |
| up to HUF 300,000 | HUF 18,000 |
| from HUF 300,001 up to HUF 3,000,000 | HUF 18,000 plus 4.5% of the part of the subject matter’s value exceeding HUF 300,000 |
| from HUF 3,000,001 up to HUF 10,000,000 | HUF 139,500 plus 5% of the part of the subject matter’s value exceeding HUF 3,000,000 |
| from HUF 10,000,001 up to HUF 30,000,000 | HUF 489,500 plus 7% of the part of the subject matter’s value exceeding HUF 10,000,000 |
| from HUF 30,000,001 up to HUF 50,000,000 | HUF 1,889,500 plus 4.5% of the part of the subject matter’s value exceeding HUF 30,000,000 |
| from HUF 50,000,001 up to HUF 100,000,000 | HUF 2,789,500 plus 2.5% of the part of the subject matter’s value exceeding HUF 50,000,000 |
| from HUF 100,000,001 up to HUF 250,000,000 | HUF 4,039,500 plus 2 % of the part of the subject matter’s value exceeding HUF 100,000,000 |
| from HUF 250,000,001 up to HUF 500,000,000 | HUF 7,039,500 plus 0.5 % of the part of the subject matter’s value exceeding HUF 250,000,000 |
| from HUF 500,000,001 | HUF 8,289,500 plus 0.5 % of the part of the subject matter’s value exceeding HUF 500,000,000 |
Another important change is that if the claim concerns residential real estate or related rights and the value of the property is between HUF 10,000,001 and HUF 250,000,000, the court fee is 50% of the otherwise applicable amount set out in the above table, but at least HUF 489,500.
To illustrate the difference between the previous and the new rules:
In case of a monetary claim of HUF 15,000,000,
- under the earlier regime, the court fee to be paid was HUF 900,000;
- under the currently applicable rules, the court fee would be HUF 839,500.
In case of a monetary claim of HUF 50,000,000,
- under the earlier regime, the court fee to be paid was HUF 1.500.000;
- under the currently applicable rules, the court fee would be HUF 2,789,500.
It can thus be concluded that, in cases of lower value, the court fee rate has decreased, but for higher-value cases, the court fee has been increased.
2. Right of prenoting costs for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Subject to certain conditions, SMEs may be granted the right to prenote costs in full or in part in civil proceedings unless the enterprise in question is under liquidation. As a general rule, SMEs which are granted such right, are exempt from the advance payment of court fees and other litigation costs and fees, or a specified proportion thereof. These amounts are advanced by the state. However, the prenoted court fee and the advanced costs are ultimately reimbursed to the state by the losing party.
3. New regulation on fees of attorneys in court proceedings
The winning party of a lawsuit may ask the court to order the losing party to reimburse the winning party’s costs and expenses incurred in relation to the civil proceedings, including attorney fees.
In the past, courts, when ruling on the reimbursement of the winning party’s expenses, were allowed to reduce attorney fees, if they deemed them disproportionate to the tasks performed. Even though courts were obliged to provide justification for such reductions, this justification was, in practice, frequently only based on the number and length of submissions lodged and the duration of hearings.
From 2025, when courts reduce attorney fees, they shall explain in detail those circumstances on the basis of which they found that the attorney fees are unproportionate to the work performed and support such explanation with material analysis. In addition, attorney fees cannot be reduced by more than 50% unless they are extremely exaggerated and they are in contradiction to the market or common sense.