Act XLI of 1999
on territory organisation activity

On the administration of territory organisation related affairs determined under in the Constitution of the Republic of Hungary and Act LXV of 1990 on Local Governments (hereinafter referred to as Local Government Act (Ötv.), the Parliament enacts the following Act:

The scope of application of the Act

1. § The present Act shall be applied with respect to the following territory organisation related affairs concerning the State's territorial division:
a) annexing a settlement to another county,
b) establishing a new settlement, terminating the unification of settlements,
c) unification of settlements,
d) declaring a settlement a town/city,
e) transferring, taking over, exchanging parts of territories between settlement municipalities,
f) declaring a settlement a city with county rights,
g) determining the territory, name, seat of a county,
h) the territorial division of the capital city, annexing a part of the territory of a district of the capital to another district of the capital,
i) separating a district of the capital or the municipality of a part of the city from the capital and declaring it an independent municipality,
j) a settlement municipality joining the capital.

Common rules

2. § Initiatives on territory organisation concerning the State's territorial division shall be decided by the Parliament, the President of the Republic once a year, except for the year of the election of the Members of Parliament and the general municipal elections.
3. § (1) Regarding affairs that fall within the competence of the Parliament, in order to prepare the decision in a well-founded manner, local initiatives may be addressed to the Minister of the Interior until 30 April each year, except for the year of the general election of the Members of Parliament.
(2) On the grounds of the submission of the Minister of the Interior made until 30 August, the Government will present the local initiative or its own initiative to the Parliament until 30 September, which decides them until 31 December.
(3) The Parliament's decision concerning the election of the Members of Parliament will enter into force on the day of calling the next general election of the Members of Parliament, concerning the municipal elections on the day of calling the next general municipal elections; if necessary the Parliament will adopt a resolution regarding same simultaneously with making a decision on territory organisation.
4. § (1) Except for declaring a settlement a town/city, initiatives concerning matters that fall within the competence of the President of the Republic may be addressed to the Minister of the Interior until 30 April in each year, except for the year of the general municipal elections.
(2) The Minister of the Interior will submit his/her proposal until 30 November; the President of the Republic will adopt a decision until 31 December, and will publish his/her decision in the Official Gazette of Hungary.
(3) The decision shall enter into force on the polling day of the general municipal elections.
5. § If any municipality for ethnic minorities are operated on the territory of the local government concerned, in the territory organisation procedure the Mayor shall request the opinion of the local municipality for ethnic minorities during the preparation procedure, and shall inform the body of representatives about it.
6. § (1) The Mayor, the Mayor of the capital shall address the initiative together with the preparatory documents to the Minister of the Interior through the head of the metropolitan, county administrative office.
(2) The head of the metropolitan, county administrative office will check the legality of the procedure, assess compliance with the legal conditions of initiatives. The head of the metropolitan, county administrative office will address the documents to the Minister of the Interior in eight days from receipt thereof.

Annexing a settlement to another county

7. § (1) In their initiative aimed at annexing a settlement to another county bordering its territory, the body of representatives of the settlement shall describe the detailed reasons for this annexation, show what advantages this annexation will bring to the development of the settlement, the majority of the population.
(2) Usually a settlement may be annexed to another county together with its entire administrative territory. Proposals different from that may be made in the event that a different establishment of the new county border is justified by a natural boundary (river, public road, railway track, etc.).
(3) To the submission of the initiative the body of representatives of the settlement shall attach the description of the boundary and sketch map produced by the land office, which represent the new county border subject to a decision made in favour of the initiative.
(4) The general meetings of the county municipalities concerned will take a stand on the initiative at their session following the receipt of the initiative of the body of representatives of the settlement, the latest in 3 months; in this standpoint they will give their own detailed opinion on the reasons of the initiative.

Establishing a new community, terminating the unification of settlements

8. § (1) The preparatory committee initiating the establishment of a new community, the termination of the unification of settlements (hereinafter jointly referred to as "declaring a settlement a community") shall draft a written informative document on the reasons of the initiative, on compliance with statutory conditions for the voters.
(2) The informative document shall contain the preparatory committee's proposal on the territory of the new community, and, on the grounds of qualified opinion, on the name of the community, the division of the assets, and rights to assets, bearing costs.
(3) The preparatory committee will produce the calculation material of the budget of the municipality to be established subject to a decision made in favour of the initiative.
9. § (1) The preparatory committee will request the body of representatives' standpoint on its proposal, and inform the voters about its proposal together with the budget calculation material, before the local referendum.
(2) At open meetings for the general public organised by the body of representatives as part of the preparation of the local referendum, the Mayor will present the standpoints of the body of representatives on the preparatory committee's initiatives, proposals.
10. § (1) In 30 days after the valid and conclusive local referendum, the body of representatives will enact the results of the local referendum in a resolution, will take a stand on the preparatory committee's proposals under a resolution.
(2) The Mayor will address the resolution of the body of representatives, together with preparatory documents to the Minister of the Interior in 15 days after the meeting.
11. § (1) The Minister of the Interior will call the concerned party to supplement the initiative, if the submission is incomplete, and if in the event of completion the initiative may still be submitted until the date defined by law.
(2) The Minister of the Interior will decide until 30 May that he/she will not present the initiative for lack of compliance with statutory conditions of declaring the settlement a town/city, or of adherence to the rule of procedure set forth in rule of law. The Minister of the Interior will send the resolution in 3 days after it is adopted to the preparatory committee and the Mayor of the municipality concerned.
12. § (1) In 30 days after receipt, in an application lodged with the Minister of the Interior, the preparatory committee, the body of representatives may request the Metropolitan Court to review the resolution of the Minister of the Interior. The Minister of the Interior will send the documents to the court in 3 days from receipt of the application.
(2) The court will decide the matter in 30 days from receipt in out of court procedure. In its decree it will either dismiss the application or will abrogate the resolution of the Minister of the Interior. Against this decree no appeal lies. In the event the resolution is abrogated, the Minister of the Interior shall submit the initiative until 30 November to the President of the Republic.
13. § For declaring a settlement a community, the latest in 6 months after the elections, the bodies of representatives concerned will agree upon the division of the assets, the administrative territory and the new administrative boundary. In the absence of such agreement, on the grounds of the claim of any body of representatives concerned the court will decide the matter.