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Based on the authorisation granted by the Fundamental Law and on the basis of the Act on the Containment of the Coronavirus, the government has implemented certain procedural measures.

The purpose of these measures is to guarantee legal security and the continuous availability of state procedures also during the state of danger declared due to the epidemic, and to ensure that any disruption therein should not be detrimental to members of the public and businesses.

For the purposes of the delivery of documents during the state of danger, the term of the state of danger is not included in the statutory time limits determined for the presentation of objections on grounds of delivery and petitions for the justification of omissions during the state of danger.

If the validity of personal security clearance documents, establishment security clearance documents or security expert opinions were to expire during the term of the state of danger, their validity is extended up to the 90th day following the end of the state of danger.

Until the end of the state of danger, payment orders cannot be referred to execution, with the proviso that the time limit for the delivery of a payment order to the bailiff will recommence on the day following the end of the state of danger.
If the appointment for a fixed term of a court executive expires during the state of danger, the fixed term will be extended until the end of the state of danger. After the end of the state of danger, applications for the position of the court executive must be invited with immediate effect. Until the assessment of the applications, the person entitled to make the appointment can fill the court executive’s position through an engagement.

In the interest of enforcing the bans and restrictions imposed during the state of danger, the provisions of the Act on Public Company Information, Company Registration and Winding Up Proceedings and the Act on the Court Registration of Civil Society Organisations and Related Procedural Rules, too, will be subject to departure. The registering court can only conduct documentary evidence procedures. The Company Information and Electronic Company Registration Service will only provide company information and other services electronically.

The decree also covers civil lawsuits, stipulating among others that during the state of danger no procedural actions can be carried out if they are to be implemented in a place which is under the effect of a disease control measure. During the state of danger, a party proceeding without counsel may only present a petition, a document containing a petition, a counter-petition, a set-off document or a written counter-application in writing, also without using the form prescribed by law. During the state of danger, petitions and other documents cannot be submitted at the court management offices in person; they can be deposited in the sealed collection boxes placed at the entrances of courts.

The decree contains rules applicable to notarial non-litigious proceedings, administrative proceedings and criminal proceedings during the state of danger, and also extends to the activities of attorneys during the state of danger. During the state of danger, a person obliged to take an attorney’s oath may commence activities as an attorney with the electronic signing of the oath document, with the proviso that he or she must take the oath within 30 days of the end of the state of danger and must also draft a signed oath document.