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Contents

PART I
1. Introduction
2. Fundamental Principles of Hungarian Civil Procedure
  2.1. Relevance of Material Truth
  2.2. Principle of Free Disposition of the Parties and Officiality Principle
  2.3. Principle of Orality
  2.4. Principle of Directness
  2.5. Principle of Public Hearing
  2.6. Principle of Equality of Arms, Right to be Heard
  2.7. Ensuring the Use of One's Mother Tongue
  2.8. The Principle of Procedural Economy
  2.9. The Proper (bona fide) Conduct of the Lawsuit
  2.10. The Principle of Adversarial Hearing
  2.11. Consequences for Failure to Appear at the Hearing
  2.12. The Principle of the Freedom of Proof
3. Evidence in General
  3.1. Admissibility of Evidence
  3.2. Means of Proof
4. Burden of Proof
5. Written Evidence
  5.1. General Rules of Documentary Evidence
  5.3. The Public Document
  5.3. The Private Evidence
  5.4. Electronic Documents
6. Wittnesses
  6.1. Ordering the Examination of the Witness and Summoning the Witness
  6.2. Witness Protection
  6.3. The Obligation to give Testimony
  6.4. The Capacity to Testify and the Refusal to Provide Evidence
  6.5. The Examination of Witnesses
7. Expert Evidence
  7.1. Appointing an Expert to the Case
  7.2. The Expert Opinion
  7.3. Common Rules Relating to Witnesses and Experts
8. Inspection
9. Taking of Evidence
  9.1. Evidence Based on the Principle of Party Control, ex officio Evidence
  9.2. The Ordering and Taking of Evidence
  9.3. Estimation of Evidence
  9.4. Preliminary Evidence
10. Costs and Language
  10.1. Prepayment and Bearing of Costs Relating to Evidence
  10.2. The Interpreter
11. Unlawful Evidence
12. International Aspects

PART II - SYNOPTICAL PRESENTATION
1. Synoptic Tables
  1.1. Ordinary/Common Civil Procedure Timeline
  1.2. Basics about Legal Interpretation in Hungarian Legal System
  1.3. Functional Comparison

REFERENCES

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Abstract

After a brief historical introduction, the short monograph reviews the system of evidence in Hungarian civil proceedings, approaching the topic from the aspect of the basic principles. Following changes in the role of material truth, it presents alterations in the interpretation of and re- nterpretation of the notion of the principle of free disposition of the parties. Then it deals with the following basic principles and their relation to evidence: principle of orality, principle of directness, principle of public hearing, principle of equality of arms, right to be heard, ensuring the use of one's mother tongue, principle of procedural economy, the proper (bona fide) conduct of the lawsuit, principle of adversarial hearing, principle of the freedom of proof. After examining the questions of admissibility of evidence and burden of proof, it discusses particular means of evidence, the taking of evidence, the preliminary taking of evidence, costs of evidence, the question of unlawful evidence, and finally, the cross-border taking of evidence.

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