The European Union's top court has ruled that Hungarian anti-LGBTQ laws violate EU rules and infringe its values of equality and minority rights.
The laws were brought in by Viktor Orbán's government in 2021 and banned so-called promotion of homosexuality or gender change to under-18s, arguing it violated child protection laws.
The European Court of Justice ruled that the Orbán reforms breached EU rules on a number of levels, significantly breaking the founding values of Article 2 of the EU Treaty - an unprecedented finding.
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.
The law stigmatized and marginalized people who were transgender or not heterosexual and associated them with people convicted of paedophilia, the court found.
The Hungarian law was 'contrary to the very identity of the Union as a common legal order in a society in which pluralism prevails'.
John Morijn, professor of law and politics in international relations at the University of Groningen, stated that the Court's ruling was historic in its symbolism, meaning the rights of a group in society could not be negotiated away.
Orbán's Fidesz party pushed through the legislation with a supermajority, controlling two-thirds of parliament.
Last year, it passed a further amendment enabling a ban on public events involving the LGBTQ community, such as Budapest's popular Pride march, which went ahead despite the ban.
The European Commission indicated that the anti-LGBTQ law would be addressed with the new government once in place. It’s up to the Hungarian government to abide by the ruling and resolve the issue.
Péter Magyar, the new Prime Minister of Hungary, has expressed a vision where no one is stigmatized for thinking or loving differently than the majority. He aims to adopt a pro-European approach to Hungary’s relations with the EU and reverse the controversial legislation.
Katja Štefanec Gärtner of LGBTQ rights group Ilga-Europe reaffirmed that there is now no excuse for the European Commission not to require Hungary to scrap its law swiftly.
Prof Morijn noted the ECJ ruling could set a precedent for actions regarding other EU member states, providing leverage against those breaching EU law.
