New Economic Regulations in Hungary

Author: Halustyik Anna  

Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff

ISSN: 1875-2985

Source: Review of Socialist Law, Vol.14, Iss.1-4, 1988-01, pp. : 47-63

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

Economic reform regulation in Hungary in the 1980s was accomplished in stages, and its development can be observed not only in time, but also as a process of gradual improvement, e.g., in the field of company law. The development in time can be characterized as a slow start in 1981, involving relatively minor structural changes in the field of company law but also introduction of new forms of business organizations, (e.g., the possibility to establish sub- sidiaries and other small ventures in the different economic sectors, etc.); followed by efforts to facilitate access to domestic and foreign markets by means of the establishment of new types of joint foreign/Hungarian ventures, or "mixed companies", and by issuing more economic regulations necessary to ensure continuity in economic operations, (e.g., regulations concerning insolvency, economic associations, foreign trade, establishing shareholding and limited liability companies, etc.). A significant step forward was the law on public enterprises of 1984, and a series of related regulations which aim at introducing more structural changes, making thus the state sector of public enterprises more flexible. Although there were (and there continue to be) - amendments to the above-mentioned main regulations because of the still ongoing discussions concerning the scope of the new economic regulations, I shall try to present, in this article, my views on the new legal and organizational framework of economic activities and on how it operates. Basically, I shall focus on new developments and do not intend to describe the entire business environment in which they took place.