How much does a lawyer demand?
Full or partial reimbursement of the legal fees paid by the winning party to their lawyer during civil proceedings, based on the latest case law
Abstract
On February 7, 2025, Decree of the Minister of Justice 32/2003. (VIII. 22.) on attorney fees that can be determined in court proceedings (hereinafter: previous decree of the MoJ) was repealed, which had been in force for approximately twenty-two years and ensured a legal framework for courts to determine attorney fees. It was replaced on February 8, 2025, by Decree 17/2024. (XII. 9.) of the Minister of Justice on the fees of lawyers and in-house counsel registered with the Hungarian Bar Association in court proceedings (hereinafter: new decree of the MoJ), which in many respects placed the regulation of lawyers' and in-house counsel's fees in court proceedings on a new foundation. Under the previous decree of the MoJ, there were numerous examples of courts disregarding agreements between litigants and their attorneys and reducing the legal representative's fees, in some cases significantly. This was done despite the fact that the lawyer's fee stipulated in the contract of engagement was typically in line with market conditions and proportionate to the work performed. The legislator intended to remedy this contradictory situation, which was fundamentally criticized by the legal profession, by enacting the new decree of the MoJ, in such a way that the changes made in the decree narrowed the court's scope of action with regard to an essential element[2] of the contractual relationship between the litigant and his attorney, the determination of the lawyer's fees. In my study, I analyze the implementation of the new decree of the MoJ based on the judgments of the Budapest Regional Court, the Budapest High Court of Justice and the Supreme Court, in which the court has already ruled on attorneys' fees based on the rules of the new decree of the MoJ. My objective is to provide an overview of how the legislative intentions behind the decree are being implemented in judicial practice.
References
Irodalomjegyzék
Becker Tibor, Az ügyvédi munkadíj megállapításának egyes szabályozási kérdései. Ügyvédek Lapja, 2019/5.
Kiss Tibor, Útban a változás felé? A bírósági gyakorlat által el nem ismert ügyvédi munkadíj – joghézag vagy téves bírósági jogértelmezés? Pro Futuro, 2024/1. https://doi.org/10.26521/profuturo/2024/1/15326.
Aszódi László, A perköltség fogalma. In: Wopera Zsuzsa (szerk.): Nagykommentár a polgári perrendtartásról szóló 2016. évi CXXX. törvényhez; Wolters Kluwer Online Jogtár, a Pp. 80. §-ához fűzött magyarázat.
Leszkoven László, Ügyvédi díj felszámítása a perköltségben – értve alatta, ami értendő. Gazdaság és Jog, 2024/5–6.
Jogszabályok
A bírósági eljárásban megállapítható ügyvédi és kamarai jogtanácsosi költségről szóló 17/2024. (XII. 9.) IM rendelet.
A polgári perrendtartásról szóló 2016. évi CXXX. törvény.
A polgári törvénykönyvről szóló 2013. évi V. törvény.
Az ügyvédi tevékenységről szóló 2017. évi LXXVIII. törvény.
Indokolás a bírósági eljárásban megállapítható ügyvédi és kamarai jogtanácsosi költségről szóló 17/2024. (XII. 9.) IM rendelethez.
Magyarország Alaptörvénye (2011. április 25.).
Bírósági határozatok
Pfv.20.887/2023/6., 15.P.20.943/2025/8. 36.P.20.741/2025/5-II., 54.Pf.631.241/2025/17., 66.P.21.019/2025/6., 18.P.20.807/2025/10., 65.P.20.784/2025/7/I., 31.P.20.777/2025/7/II., 54.Pf.631.256/2025/3., 54.Pf.631.731/2025/6., 6.P.20.499/2025/12., 70.P.20.483/2025/9., 67.Pf.635.010/2024/9., 39.P.20.152/2025/8., 39.P.20.098/2025/9/I., 39.P.20.780/2025/9., 7.Pf.20.019/2025/6., 2.Pf.20.286/2025/4., 17.Pf.20.009/2025/8., 1.Pf.20.216/2025/6-II., 2.Pf.20.195/2025/4., 2.Pf.20.243/2025/4., 1.Pf.20.259/2025/6., 1.Pf.20.199/2025/4., 1.Pf.20.152/2025/8., 2.Pf.20.210/2025/4., 1.Pf.20.222/2025/7., 2.Pf.20.256/2025/4., 4.Pf.20.194/2025/8., 4.Pf.20.061/2025/11., 1.Pf.20.197/2025/4-II., 1.Pf.20.177/2025/4., 1.Pf.20.167/2025/6., 2.Pf.20.221/2025/8/II., 1.Pf.20.155/2025/6., 1.Pf.20.165/2025/4., 1.Pf.20.156/2025/6., 1.Pf.20.134/2025/4., 2.Pf.20.357/2025/4., 4.Pf.20.263/2025/5., 1.Pf.20.280/2025/5., Pfv.21314/2024/8., 2.Pf.20.297/2025/5., 2.Pf.20.284/2025/5/II., 2.Pf.20.245/2025/4/II., 1.Pf.20.277/2025/4., 1.Pf.20.356/2025/4., 1.Pf.20.248/2025/4-II., 1.Pf.20.250/2025/4., 2.Pf.20.268/2025/4., 6.Pf.20.207/2025/9., 6.Pf.20.207/2025/9., 1.Pf.20.234/2025/4-II., 1.Pf.20.244/2025/11-II., 1.Pf.20.212/2025/4., Pfv.20.425/2025/12., Pfv.20518/2025/6., Pfv.20.527/2025/9., Pfv.20.705/2025/13., Pfv.20.369/2025/9., Pfv.20.267/2025/6., Pfv.20334/2025/16., Pfv.20.434/2025/6., Pfv.20.388/2025/4., Pfv.20.631/2025/4.
