Regulations on Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land in Hungary

Abstract

Anyone might think that regulating the sale and use of property, including real estate and, within that, agricultural land, is a pure matter of private law under the regime of the Civil Code, since it involves private individuals who are equal and on the same footing. However, state intervention is justified on several grounds. On the one hand, agriculture has certain characteristics within the economic system that prevent the state from allowing the parties to exercise their private autonomy. On the other hand, the subject of legal transactions, agricultural land, is also a special commodity, for example, because it is not available in unlimited quantities and cannot be produced indefinitely, unlike most products. However, the need for specific regulations allowing state intervention is limited because agricultural land can also serve as a capital investment, and the European Union guarantees the free movement of such investments and investors, as well as the freedom of establishment. Which one of the two competing principles will prevail?