Legal reform for Hungary's private sector

Hungary is in the midst of a fundamental transformation toward a market economy. Although it was formerly in the forefront of efforts to reform socialism, after 1989 the goals of reform changed from market socialism to capitalism, as the old communist regime lost power and the idea of widespread private ownership gained acceptance. The legal frame - the"rules of the game"-are now being geared toward encouraging, protecting, and rewarding entrepreneurs in the private sector. The authors describe the evolving legal framework in Hungary in several areas, including constitutional, real property, intellectual property, company, foreign investment, bankruptcy, contract, and anti-monopoly law. These areas of law serve to define property rights, the means of exchanging them, and the rules for competitive market behavior. In essence, they form the bedrock of a legal system for a market economy. In Hungary as in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, defining real property rights and creating the conditions for free and fair competition are perhaps the most contentious and confused areas in the current legal landscape - largely because they tread so heavily on existing vested interests. Other areas of law - including intellectual property, company, foreign investment, and contract law - are less problematic.