The European Union's top court has ruled that Hungary's 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, and significantly that it also broke 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 also stigmatised and marginalised 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, it ruled.
John Morijn, a law professor, stated the Court's ruling was historic in its symbolism, asserting that the rights of a group in society could not be negotiated away.
Orbán's Fidesz party was able to push through the legislation with the help of a supermajority in parliament. Upon passing a further amendment, the government enabled a ban on public events involving the LGBTQ community, like Budapest's Pride march, which proceeded regardless of the ban.
The European Commission indicated the anti-LGBTQ law would be one of the issues discussed with the newly elected government.
New PM Péter Magyar has not commented much on LGBTQ legislation but called for a vision of Hungary where no one is stigmatised for their identity.
Katja Štefanec Gärtner of ILGA-Europe emphasized the urgency for the new government to act on this ruling, stating the EU should require Hungary to repeal its anti-LGBTQ law.
Prof Morijn noted that the ruling could serve as a precedent for addressing similar issues across other member states, potentially leading to enhanced accountability by the Commission regarding rule of law violations.
