Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Government Said on Tuesday that Hungary’s 2021 LGBTQ law violates the EU’s founding values.
It is the first time that the top EU court has found a breach of Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union, which contains the values ​​on which the union is founded and are shared by all member states, including Hungary.
Several amendments to Hungarian law, the CJEU said, “constitute a coordinated series of discriminatory measures” against “the rights of non-cisgender persons – including transgender persons – or non-heterosexual persons”, the judges argued. According to the decision, the problematic parts also go against respect for human dignity, equality and human rights, “including the rights of persons belonging to minorities”.
Hungarian legislation included strengthening penalties against pedophilia, protection of minors, as well as limits on promoting LGBTQ and gender-related issues and topics to minors, primarily in schools.
The law was passed by outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been in power since 2010 and lost the recent elections held on April 12. It was the European Commission, one of the main institutions of the EU, which brought action before the Court for “failure to meet obligations”.
The court also regretted the “offensive and stigmatizing nature of the amendment law” as well as “discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation” and “preference for some identities and sexual orientations to the detriment of others”.
Furthermore, the Court underlined “particularly serious interference with several fundamental rights” such as private and family life and found a violation of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) as well as the right to protection of data.
orban reacted The verdict states: “Our patriotic government protected Hungarian children from aggressive LGBTQ propaganda. The Brussels Kingdom now strikes back.” The politician promised that he “will not give up the fight for the soul of Europe!”
Hungarian conservative media outlets noted That “Western mainstream media and politicians welcomed the decision,” while “many right-wing activists and political commentators criticized the court’s decision.”
The case “raises major concerns about whether courts are reducing the scope for states to legislate on moral or child-protection grounds”, according to a global network of natural law scholars. said in response to the decision.
The International Society of Natural Law Scholars also said that the Court’s decision highlights “the tension between national authority over education, culture and family policy” on the one hand, and “supreme enforcement of rights and non-discrimination norms” on the other.
Some have questioned the timing of the decision, coming so soon after parliamentary elections in Hungary. The winning party, Tisza, is led by former government insider Peter Magyar, who is expected to succeed Orbán.
Hungarian analyst Told the National Catholic Register on April 10 Magyar was a conservative, while others suggested he could bring about “dangerous trends”, leading to “worse legislation” in favor of “abortion, euthanasia and LGBTQ issues”.
Hungarian conservatives also said that “the future of child protection law is unclear” as Magyar largely avoided speaking about gender issues during her campaign, but said after her election: “Everyone can live with whomever they love as long as they do not violate laws and are not harmful to others.'”
