The Contract on the Transfer of Agricultural Holdings - Acta Universitatis Sapientiae

Acta Univ. Sapientiae, Legal Studies, 12, 1 (2023) 97–120

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47745/AUSLEG.2023.12.1.07

Abstract. At the end of 2021, the Hungarian Parliament adopted Act CXLIII of 2021 on the Transfer of Agricultural Holdings, which entered into force on 1 January 2023. The Act codified the agricultural holding transfer contract, defining its concept, essential elements, and types. This article presents and describes the rules of this new type of contract. The article also discusses the theories developed in Hungarian case law and jurisprudence on the classification of the contract. The author attempts to classify the new type of contract within the existing categories of contracts. The author points out that the practical application of the new type of contract as an atypical contract outside the Civil Code may raise problems, especially in view of the combined application of the provisions of several different legal norms and the mixed nature of the contract. Problems may arise from the fact that, in addition to the statutory provisions on business transfer contracts, the provisions of the Civil Code, the Act on the Turnover of Agricultural Land, and the Family Farm Act also apply.

Keywords: transfer of agricultural holdings, contract, Hungarian Civil Code, atypical contracts, categories of contracts, classification of contracts, farm, family farm, farmer