Hungary’s outgoing nationalist Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, has announced that he will not comply with a ruling from the European Court of Justice (CJEU) that condemned his controversial law discriminating against the LGBT community. In a letter addressed to President Tamás Sulyok, made public on Saturday, Orbán stated that “the Court’s decision represents a serious violation of both the sovereignty of member states and their constitutional identity.” He stated, “Given the political, legal, and constitutional concerns related to the CJEU decision, the Hungarian Government will not implement the decision.”
On 21 April, the European Court of Justice ruled that Hungary’s legislation prohibiting the display of LGBTQ+ content to minors infringes upon European Union law and violates a foundational treaty that ensures respect for human rights and equality. The Court emphasised that Hungary’s law, enacted in 2021 by Orbán’s nationalist-populist government, “stigmatises and marginalises” LGBTQ+ individuals and fails to align with the EU’s prohibition against discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation. This legislation not only restricts the exhibition of content relating to homosexuality and gender transition for minors, but also imposes stricter penalties for crimes involving pedophilia.
The Court further stated that Hungary cannot validly invoke its national identity to justify adopting a law that contravenes these fundamental values. The law has faced significant criticism both domestically and internationally, being labelled as homophobic due to its association of homosexuality with pedophilia.
On 12 April, Orbán’s Fidesz party, which has held power since 2010, suffered a notable defeat at the hands of the opposition Tisza party, led by conservative Péter Magyar. A new Hungarian government is expected to be established in the second half of May, with a two-thirds supermajority in the Budapest legislature.
