1 Which law applies?
1.1. Which law is applicable to a couple´s property? Which criteria/rules are used to determine the applicable law? Which international conventions have to be respected with regard to certain countries?
The financial relations of spouses shall be governed by the law of the State of which both spouses are nationals at the time of evaluation. (The common nationality of spouses is the one held by both spouses. If the spouses have more than one common nationality, the common nationality with which the spouses have the closest connection having regard to the entire range of circumstances shall apply.) If at the time of evaluation the nationality of the spouses is different, the law of the State where the joint habitual residence of the spouses is located, or in the absence thereof, the State where the last joint habitual residence of the spouses was located shall apply. If the spouses had no joint habitual residence, the law of the State of the acting court shall be applicable (Art. 24 and 27 of Act XXVIII of 2017 on International Private Law).
Hungary has legal assistance treaties which are also relevant for the determination of the applicable law with the following countries: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Vietnam.
1.2. Do the spouses have the option of choosing the applicable law? If so, by which principles is this choice governed (e.g. the laws to be chosen, formal requirements, retro-activity)?
Yes, the spouses may agree to designate the law applicable to their property regime provided that it is one of the following laws:
a) the law of any State of which either party is a national at the time the agreement was reached;
b) the law of the State of the habitual residence of either party at the time the agreement was reached; or
c) the law of the State where the acting court is located.
Parties to the marriage (the future spouses) shall also have the right of choice of law. The choice of law shall be made at the latest in the preparatory stage within the court-imposed deadline. Unless otherwise agreed by the spouses, the choice of applicable law made with respect to the property regime of the spouses shall have legal effect for future considerations only. (A marriage contract shall be considered valid from a formal point of view also if it is in compliance with the law of the State where it was concluded.)
(Art. 28 and 29 of Act XXVIII of 2017 on International Private Law)
