- The seizure of a thing and. ceasing the seizure of a thing in Hungary is regulated by the Criminal Procedure Code (sect. 101 and 102).
According to the new dispositions of this law a thing can be seized if it is a material proof, if it can be confiscated on the basis of other laws (provided by law n° LXXXVIII sect. 13 issued on 1998 applicable since March 1999) or if confiscation of property can be ordered relating to the concerned thing.
Police or other competent authorities (customs) may seize things (including stolen vehicles) considering the a/m dispositions of our a/m Act. It includes the cases when a vehicle is searched because it was earlier stolen. The vehicles requested for- search through Interpol channels are included in our national stolen property index by our NCB. On the basis of our search these vehicles are seized by the local police forces by whom the vehicle is by chance checked

- The owners are usually notified through Interpol channels but it is often used their notification through the Hungarian representatives of foreign federations of insurance companies (this works especially when a vehicle has become the property of an insurance company)

- If the victim has left details of where he can be contacted, the authority responsible for the investigation will contact him directly by mail or telephone. If the victim is a foreign national, he will be informed via Interpol or, in most cases, by the insurance company's Hungarian representative.

- According to our a/m law the seized thing is going to be left in safe custody. Responsible for the safekeeping of the vehicle is the private firm who is storing the vehicle or police / other authorities in case a vehicle is stored at penal parking lots.

- The procedure for returning vehicles is as follows: the officer responsible for the case faxes an order to the pound terminating the seizure of the vehicle. Within two days, the vehicle is prepared for restitution to the owner, who has to identify himself and produce a copy of the order terminating the seizure.

- The costs of storage of a stolen vehicle are usually considered criminal expenses but exceptions are always existing.

- If the vehicle has been found, the police are responsible for the costs of transportation, storage, maintenance and verification. If the owner does not collect the vehicle within two days of receipt of the order, he will be responsible for the storage costs for the subsequent days. If the owner does not take the necessary steps within the following 30 days, the vehicle is sold or destroyed. If the vehicle is sold, the proceeds are due to the owner, who may request payment.

a) Do the police have authority to restore the vehicle?

-If the vehicle is being seized by police it is going to be restored by police. There are many cases when it is not cleared to whom the vehicle should be handed over. In these cases the competent prosecutor should decide in the question of restoring.

b) Is it the local court who authorises release of the vehicle?

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c) Is it necessary to have a "commission rogatoire" to recover the vehicle?

- To recover a stolen vehicle a commission rogatory is usually not needed, but exceptions are always existing (in cases prescribed by our law).

d) What documentation does the owner have to provide in order to recover the vehicle?

- The documentation provided must prove the ownership of the owner. In case the vehicle is going to be recovered by an authorised agent he must be in possession of a power of attorney coming from the rightful owner (translated into Hungarian).

- The appropriate authority terminates the seizure by an order. The owner must justify his claim to the property, for instance, by producing the original registration document. If the owner has been compensated by an insurance company, the vehicle will be returned to him subject to his signing a declaration that he will refund the compensation payment to the insurance company.

- A vehicle is usually kept under seizure until the costs of storage cover the value of the vehicle but the time limit can be also less. After that, the vehicle is going to be sold out. A decision in this matter comes within the competence of the prosecutor / law court. This question is provided in the section. 102/A of the Criminal Procedure Code.

- When the seizure of a vehicle is terminated, the vehicle must be returned to the person who was its owner when the crime was committed. That person must prove beyond any doubt that he or she was the owner.

If there is no one to whom the vehicle must be returned, and no such reference is made in the provision above, the vehicle must be turned over to a person making a justified request. If no such person can be found, the vehicle must be returned to the person from whom it was seized. The vehicle can only be returned to the accused if, under the above provisions, it cannot be turned over to anyone else.

Even if it is certain that a vehicle seized from an accused person definitely belongs to somebody else, that vehicle will become State property if the true owner's identity cannot be established. If the true owner subsequently comes forward, he or she can request restitution of the vehicle, within the time limit, or of the amount for which the vehicle was sold.

If the vehicle is worthless, and nobody claims it after the seizure procedure has been terminated, it must be destroyed.

- See point 1 and 6.

- According to the section 102/subs. (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code the seized thing should be handed over to the person who owned it at the time of the offence (for example at the time of the theft) It means that a seized stolen vehicle should be handed over to the damaged party. However in practice sometimes there are so many problems with the question of the "owner in good faiths".

-Hungary has adopted the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Strasbourg 20.04.1959) which was included into our internal legislation with the Act XIX of 1994. We also have bilateral conventions in this matter with 42 countries around the world which have been included too into our internal legislation.

- Point of reference could be our NCB or the other usual channels.

Corporal-in-Chief Jozdef Toth (only for information as to whether the vehicle is in the pound). Telephone No.: 36-06-1-307-5208, mobile telephone No.: 06-209-466-529.

– The officer on whose initiative the vehicle was seized.

– If appropriate, insurance company representatives in Hungary, currently:
Zsuzsanna Majercsik
Repatria Budapest Ltd.
06-309-341-3131

Siba Edit
Klemm Karenyhito Ltd.
06-309-411-579.

Last update : May 2000