General rules

In Hungarian civil procedure, no pre-trial disclosure/discovery is required in litigation in the sense that these concepts exist in common law jurisdictions.

Parties to civil litigation are only obliged to present or specify the evidence on which they intend to rely. In addition, any party may request the court to require the other party to present a particular document to the court and the requesting party, but only if substantive civil law requires the document to be presented. For example, a party would be required to disclose a document which relates to negotiations concerning a legal relationship involving the requesting party. Failure to comply is not sanctioned, however, if the court finds it probable that (i) necessary data is held by the other party and the requesting party made the necessary efforts to obtain such data, (ii) the requesting party cannot prove the alleged facts, but the other party can be expected to rebut the alleged facts, or (iii) the other party hindered proof, the court is entitled to consider the fact alleged by the requesting party as true.

The presentation of documents in the possession of third parties may also be requested through the court. However, documents and information containing business or professional secrets may be exempt from the possible obligation to present them in the litigation if the holder of such documents or information does not consent to their disclosure.

Special rules

A limited disclosure regime applies to damages actions in cases of competition law infringement. Either party may request the court to order the other party to produce specific documents, evidence or data, or categories thereof, if these are not available to the requesting party, but it can prove significant facts or circumstances. The court has to assess the proportionality of the request, including the evidence already available to the requesting party and the volume and scope of the requested evidence. Confidential information may also be made available, even without the consent of the party. However, in this case access is limited: no copies or notes can be made and the evidence can only be used in the damages litigation. Documents falling under legal privilege, leniency statements and settlement submissions, as well as all information on the basis of which inferences can be drawn about the content of the leniency statement or the settlement submission, are exempt from disclosure.