Concluding contracts by remote identification

• identification of the client and signature of the instrument via an electronic communications network (remote identification and remote attestation)
• attorney’s countersignature of a declaration authenticated by a qualified electronic signature or by document authentication based on identification (AVDH), with electronic administration throughout
• handling the Hungarian matters of clients living abroad
• prior examination of whether remote identification may be applied in the given type of matter

What the law makes possible

Under Act LXXVIII of 2017 on the professional activities of attorneys-at-law, a party who has previously been identified by the countersigning attorney-at-law may, when signing the instrument or acknowledging as his own the signature appearing on the instrument, also act via an electronic communications network, by means of a device transmitting and recording moving images and sound simultaneously. The recording made is retained by the countersigning attorney-at-law together with the countersigned instrument.

For a client who is abroad this means that a Hungarian instrument can be signed without travelling to Hungary. Two separate steps are therefore involved. One is the identification of the client, the other the making of the signature at a distance. The law makes the latter conditional upon the identification having already taken place.

What the countersignature certifies

By the countersignature the attorney-at-law certifies that the instrument complies with the law, that the parties have declared that the content of the instrument corresponds to their intention, that he has carried out the identification of the parties named or of their representatives, and that the parties signed the instrument in his presence or acknowledged the signature as their own in his presence. The remote procedure does not relax any of this: the same matters must be certified, merely through a different channel.

Signature of an electronic instrument

In the case of an electronic instrument, the signature may be made by the party’s qualified electronic signature, or by an advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate, or by means of the document authentication service under the Code of Civil Procedure. In the case of an electronic instrument drawn up in the information technology system of the real estate register, the electronic authentication may, on behalf of a party not using an electronic signature, also be effected at an administrative office, at a diplomatic or consular mission or before a notary public.

Limits

This solution cannot be applied in every type of matter and in every case. The rules governing the identification of clients are laid down by the Act on the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering and by the regulations of the Hungarian Bar Association as well, and requirements also apply to the devices that may be used. For this reason, the first step in every enquiry is to examine whether the remote procedure may lawfully be applied in the given matter. Where it may not, I indicate this before accepting the retainer.

Frequently asked questions

I live abroad. May I sell my Hungarian real estate in this way?

Following examination of the type of matter, typically yes. If you do not use an electronic signature, the signature of an instrument drawn up in the real estate register system may also be authenticated at a diplomatic or consular mission.

Do we need to meet in person once?

The law makes the making of the signature at a distance conditional upon the identification having taken place earlier. Whether this requires a meeting in person depends on the identification rules applicable to the given matter — we clarify this in advance.

What happens to the video recording?

The recording must be retained together with the countersigned instrument; the attorney’s obligation of confidentiality extends to it as well.