Entering into force on Saturday, the new Civil Code stands out from the last few years’ legislative processes, as it is the first Civil Code in Hungary what was created and comes into force under democratic conditions or have grown on soils of private property and market economy and supports these as well – said Lajos Vékás, the academic in charge of controlling the codification process at the press conference held in the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice this Thursday.

A Civil Code normally regulates the fundamental relations of private property between people and institutions. From this point of view, the current Civil Code living its last days is remarkable since its creation was missing the necessary conditions for producing a Code as such. Lajos Vékás noted that the old Civil Code was formed between 1953 and 1959 and came into force in 1960, when the social system of Hungary was not based on private ownership. The professor added that the Code formed by great jurist predecessors was still liable for three decades to resolve issues of people regarding personal ownership, transactions and related sale of movable property up to 1990.

After the transition, terms of forming a new Civil Code came at hand, which stands out among the 252 laws ratified last year or from even all of the more than 800 laws adopted during the Government’s current term – said Lajos Vékás with the extension too that in compliance with his recommendation the new Code will enter into force on March 15, recalling that in 1848 the 15th Law Article has envisaged the creation of a new Civil Code, which is now becoming a reality.

The new Civil Code will enter force on Saturday and covers the widest possible range of private law relations in eight books:, the preliminary provisions, people as legal entities, the legal person, family law, property law, contractual law, law of succession and the final provisions. The new code has almost twice the size of the currently effective one with 1596 sections containing about ten thousand norms.

The old Civil Code can live on further in certain areas, as the new Civil Code of this March will apply on resulting relationships. The Parliament decided on amendments regarding 180 laws connected to the new Civil Code late last year. The new Civil Code was adopted in February 2013 and the fact that it just comes into force one year later is to provide law enforcers with time for preparation.

(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)