It is a common misconception that the right to maintain personal relations with the child is the exclusive right of the separating parent. The child has the right to have contact with both parents, and maintaining a healthy relationship is not only a parental right but also an obligation. But this can often be made very difficult, or even impossible, by the cohabiting parent. This right can only be restricted in the child's own best interests - never at the arbitrary discretion of a parent. The legislator and the courts always put the child's interests first: the interests and rights of the child are always better protected in family law than parental rights.

The effects of divorce on children

The best thing for a child is to grow up in a healthy, loving family environment: a possible divorce with major disputes can cause serious damage to the child's mental health. As a result of prolonged divorce proceedings, it is not uncommon for children to suffer from depression, self-doubt and, in extreme cases, post-traumatic stress or borderline syndrome.

In order to avoid these problems, it is extremely important for parents to divorce in a dignified, amicable way and to continue to work together in order to raise their children. We often recommend the involvement of a mental health therapist/psychologist to achieve this level of cooperation. You need them just as much as you need a good lawyer!

Parental alienation

Unfortunately, peaceful divorce and cooperation between divorced parents cannot always be achieved. Parents tend to complain to their child about their ex-spouse. In more radical cases, they make up stories, using untrue or exaggerated characteristics to portray the other party in a negative light in front of the child. This is intended to manipulate the child's thoughts and feelings towards the other parent. This often puts children in a loyalty conflict, a situation where they feel like they have to choose between parents. This will not benefit neither the parents, nor the child.

In law and psychology, this phenomenon occurs so often that its most serious form has its own name. When a parent speaks negatively about their co-parent in order to influence their child emotionally, it is called parental alienation.

The Hungarian Civil Code states that the best interest of the child must be taken into account during the entire divorce process. A parent who repeats insulting expressions in front of the child, especially baseless accusations, indirectly prevents the child from maintaining a healthy relationship with the other parent, and often violates general principles of civil law such as the prohibition of abuse of rights and the requirement of good faith and honesty.

However, an irresponsible parents can cause an even more serious problems: a child who grows up in a lie and is raised by a single parent because the other parent has successfully "alienated", can suffer such a breakdown that hinders the child's healthy intellectual, emotional and physical development.

What should I do in such a case?

First of all, we recommend negotiation between the parties with the involvement of an independent mediator. The mediator can be a mutual, confidential friend, or even relative, but in most cases it is better to choose a professional mediator, or a mental health professional.

If peaceful negotiations with the ex-partner are unsuccessful, it may worth requesting legal advice and representation.

In case of further disputes, it is necessary to warn the other party that if he does not refrain from such and similar expressions in the future, the behaviour can result in a change of custody. Parental alienation can also be considered a form of child abuse.

It is therefore important to draw attention to the serious dangers of this behavior and to look for the real reason and motivation that leads to the use of children as tools in the battle of adults. In such situations, family members and friends also have an extremely high responsibility. In any case where it is suspected that a child is being exposed to parental alienation, immediate steps are needed to prevent any harm.

If you have any questions regarding custody, parental rights and obligations, or other family law topics, please feel free to contact us!

Government Decree No. 415/2025 (XII. 23.) on the amendment of consumer protection–related government decrees with a view to ensuring a higher level of consumer protection introduces substantial changes in the field of consumer protection as of 2026.

In this article, we briefly summarise those amendments which will be perceptible to consumers in everyday life and may be of particular practical importance from 2026 onwards.

Government Decree No. 415/2025 (XII. 23.) amends a total of six government decrees related to consumer protection.
The objectives of the amendments are, on the one hand, to strengthen consumer protection and, on the other hand, to reduce the administrative burden on businesses, while also ensuring compliance with EU law and legal harmonisation.

Government Decree No. 448/2025 (XII. 29.) amends Government Decree No. 327/2015 (XI. 10.) on the detailed rules of professional practice related to surveying and cartographic activities for non-cadastral purposes by introducing a new concept and new rules. These amendments will enter into force on 14 January 2026.

The most significant change is the introduction of the concept of the planning base map, the preparation of which now mandatorily requires the setting out of the property boundary.

In practice, the new regulation aims to ensure more uniform, more accurate and, from the perspective of the planning process, more reliable base maps, which may help prevent future conflicts and legal disputes. At the same time, the additional requirements are likely to slow down procedures and increase costs, and stakeholders should be prepared for this impact.

What Do Carriers and Affected Businesses Need to Know?

On 23 December 2025, two new pieces of legislation affecting public roads and freight traffic were promulgated, both of which entered into force on 1 January 2026. The primary objective of the new regulatory framework is to ensure that international and domestic transit traffic is conducted along uniform, legally designated routes, primarily using high-capacity dual-carriageway (2×2 lane) road networks. The regulation serves both to enhance road safety and to reduce the burden on residential areas and secondary roads.

The two relevant legal instruments are: 

• Decree No. 44/2025 (XII. 23.) of the Ministry of Construction and Transport (ÉKM), aimed at defining the Hungarian sections of the transit route network; and

• Government Decree No. 439/2025 (XII. 23.), aimed at curbing freight traffic diverted from expressways.

Opinion leaders, commonly referred to as influencers, have become key actors in modern communication as a result of the rapid expansion of the internet and social media.
The development of digital technologies, the widespread use of smartphones, and the global proliferation of social media platforms—such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch—have fundamentally transformed users’ content consumption habits, as well as their entertainment and purchasing behaviours. As a consequence, influencer marketing has emerged as one of the most significant and fastest-growing tools of the modern advertising market.

By way of an interesting observation, it should be noted that, from a legal perspective, the category of influencers is not limited to natural persons acting as opinion leaders. An influencer may also include a CGI or deepfake character, an animal, or even an object.

The rapid growth of this phenomenon and the intermingling of personal and commercial content on social media platforms primarily justify the need for regulation in this field. For consumers—particularly audiences younger or older than the average user—it is often not clear whether an influencer’s recommendation is based on a paid collaboration, the provision of a gifted product, or another form of material interest.

The Hungarian Civil Code recognises the existence of a domestic partnership in two distinct forms. It sets forth the institution of marriage, which several legal scholars have described in elevated terms as an “emotional and economic alliance,” and it also provides for the possibility of living together without entering into marriage, in the form of a cohabitation (élettársi kapcsolat). The law strictly characterises this latter form as an obligational legal relationship, regulated under Title XXV of the Book on the Law of Contracts.