EU Court of Justice Recognizes Hungary's Anti-LGBT Laws as a Violation of European Values

The European Union's highest court issued an unprecedented ruling, according to which Hungarian laws targeting the LGBT community violate EU rules and undermine its fundamental values of equality and minority rights.

The Essence of the Court Ruling The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the reforms initiated by Viktor Orbán’s government violate not only specific EU rules, but also Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union, which enshrines the association’s fundamental values. The court found that Hungarian law:

• It discriminates against people on the basis of gender and sexual orientation.
• It violates the rights to respect for private and family life, as well as freedom of expression and information.
• It stigmatizes and marginalizes transgender and non-heterosexual people by equating them with individuals convicted of pedophilia.
• This contradicts the very essence of the Union as a legal order based on pluralism.

Political Context The court's ruling was announced nine days after Hungarians voted to end Viktor Orbán's 16-year reign. The country's new leader became Peter Magyar, whose party, “Tisa,” won the election and secured a constitutional majority of 141 out of 199 seats in the National Assembly.

Magyar has already promised to pursue a more pro-European course and to unblock billions of euros in EU funds, part of which had been frozen due to concerns about the rule of law in Hungary. In his victory speech, he outlined his vision for a country where "No one is stigmatized for thinking or loving differently than the majority.".

Significance and Consequences Legal experts are calling this decision historic. Professor John Morain noted that it symbolizes the impossibility of “negotiating away” the rights of a particular group in society. According to him, the European Commission will now be able to hold member states accountable not only for violating the letter of the law, but also for a violation of the very “spirit of the law” and the values of pluralism and equality.

The European Commission expects Hungary’s new government to bring its legislation into line with the court’s ruling. Human rights organizations, such as Ilga-Europe, are calling on Péter Magyar to make repealing these laws a priority during his first 100 days in office.