The European Union's top court ruled Tuesday that Hungary's anti-LGBTQ laws violated the bloc's values prohibiting discrimination and ensuring freedom of expression. The European Court of Justice said the law Hungarian lawmakers approved in 2021 violated EU values as set out in Article 2 of its treaty, marking the first time an EU member state has been found guilty of breaking EU law based on its founding values.
Key Takeaways
The European Union's top court ruled that Hungary's anti-LGBTQ laws violate EU values prohibiting discrimination and ensuring freedom of expression. The law, passed in 2021, restricted LGBTQ content for students under 18 and advertising deemed to popularize same-sex relationships or genderqueer identities.
- ECJ rules Hungarian law violates Article 2 of the EU Treaty
- Law stigmatizes and marginalizes non-cisgender persons
- Magyar's new government faces pressure to repeal the legislation
- Ruling could have wider legal implications for other EU member states
The Hungarian law was ostensibly put in place to protect children from sexual abuse but also restricted LGBTQ content for students under 18 and advertising deemed to popularize same-sex relationships or genderqueer identities. The law was pushed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose far-right Fidesz-KDNP alliance was defeated in an election earlier this month by Peter Magyar's center-right Tisza Party.
The ruling comes nine days after Hungarians voted to end Orbán's 16-year era of continuous rule. The ECJ ruled that the Hungarian law interfered with rights such as a ban on discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation, respect for private and family life, and freedom of expression and information. It also stigmatized and marginalized people who were transgender or not heterosexual by associating them with people convicted of paedophilia.
John Morijn, a professor of law and politics at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, said the ECJ's ruling was historic. 'You cannot equate what is totally natural -- that 10% of the population loves the same sex -- with egregious crime,' he told BBC. Magyar has promised to adopt a far more pro-European approach to Hungary's relations with the EU and it will be the responsibility of his government to reverse the legislation.
The European Commission said the anti-LGBTQ law would be one of the issues it would take up with the new government once it was in place. Katja Štefanec Gärtner of LGBTQ rights group Ilga-Europe said there was now no excuse for the European Commission not to require Hungary to scrap its law fast. 'If Péter Magyar truly aims to be pro-EU, he must place this at the top of his agenda for his first 100 days in office,' Štefanec Gärtner said.
How this summary was created
This summary synthesizes reporting from 4 independent publishers using AI. All sources are cited and linked below. NewsBalance is a news aggregator and media literacy tool, not a news publisher. AI-generated content may contain errors or inaccuracies — always verify important information with the original sources.