The relevant legislation on domestic violence in Hungary is as follows:

1) The Fundamental Law of Hungary

Article L) Protection of the institution of marriage

Article II) Right to human dignity

Article XV (3) Equality of men and women

Article XV (5) Special protection of families, children and women

2) Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code ("Criminal Code")

Chapter XIX Crimes against the freedom of sexual life and sexual morality

Section 196 Sexual coercion

Section 197 Sexual violence

Section 198 Sexual abuse

Chapter XX Crimes against the interests of children and the family

Section 208 Abuse of a minor

Section 212/A Domestic violence

Section 222 Harassment

3) Act XC of 2017 on the Criminal Procedural Code ("Criminal Procedural Code")^[1]

Section 280 Civil protection order

4) Act LXXII of 2009 on Restraining Orders due to Violence Among Relatives ("Civil Protection Act")

Chapter III Temporary preventive civil protection order and protective order

The minimum threshold to establish a criminal offense of domestic violence, is that the criminal offense must be committed "on a regular basis."^[2] The courts have provided the following guidance on what constitutes "on a regular basis":

• The regularity required to commit the crime of domestic violence excludes the occasional nature of the offense. It means more than repetition, as it requires the perpetrator's consciousness to connect the individual occasions, it expresses that the perpetrator makes a system of his/her behavior and his/her behavior is not extraordinary, so it can be established in at least two offenses. Regular perpetration is based on bodily harm committed to the detriment of the same victim and even a consecutive, repeated defamation according to the reasoning given in Section 212/A of the Criminal Code. If the offense occurs once, the person might have committed battery;^[3] if the abuse is committed against different victims once and if there is no physical harm, the criminal offense of slander^[4] or the violation of personal freedom^[5] can be established according to the reasoning given in Section 212/A of the Criminal Code.^[6]
• The legal condition "on a regular basis" in the definition of domestic violence stipulated in the Criminal Code does not mean that the offense has to occur numerous times; the commission of the crime can be established even after two offenses, depending on the circumstances of the case. According to the Curia, the criterion of "on a regular basis" is in line with the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence standards.^[7]
• The purpose of the civil protection order due to violence between family members is to provide victims with official protection for the enjoyment of their fundamental human rights, even in cases where their situation does not allow them to act in their own interests. Therefore, in the pretrial detention proceedings, the prosecutor is entitled to make a motion for a temporary preventive civil protection order.^[8]

In the Hungarian judicial system, the courts have general jurisdiction. The courts are hierarchically arranged in four tiers: district courts, regional courts, appellate regional court and the Curia. Cases are allocated to chambers within the courts. The courts have civil, criminal and administrative chambers.

Because domestic violence is a criminal offense regulated in the Criminal Code, domestic violence cases are adjudicated in criminal proceedings. Nevertheless, pecuniary or nonpecuniary claims deriving from or with regard to domestic violence may also be addressed in civil law proceedings.

Pursuant to the Civil Protection Act,^[9] a temporary preventive civil protection order is decided in civil nonlitigious proceedings by the court. Should the court notice a circumstance giving rise to a temporary preventive civil protection order in the course of a civil litigation, it must inform the police of this fact. In any other case, domestic violence cases are heard and adjudicated in criminal proceedings.

Actions with regard to criminal offenses committed against family members can be initiated based on the criminal offenses of sexual coercion, sexual violence, sexual abuse, incest, pandering, domestic violence, harassment and abuse of a minor. These criminal offenses are defined in accordance with international standards established by international documents. If the offense is not committed repeatedly, action can be brought based on battery, slander or the violation of personal freedom.