The anti-LGBTI law in Hungary, formally Act LXXIX of 2021 on taking more severe action against paedophile offenders and amending certain acts for the protection of children, is a law of Hungary which prohibits the public promotion or distribution of any content relating to LGBTI people or culture to minors. It was the subject of the landmark international human rights judgement European Commission v Hungary.

The original text of the law as first introduced in the National Assembly concerned only an increase in penalties against pedophiles who create, distribute, or possess child pornography, or commit child sexual abuse. The original law enjoyed broad support across the political spectrum in Hungary. However, a government politician filed a last minute amendment that targeted the Hungarian LGBTI community. Opposition politicians boycotted the final vote in protest of the surprise amendment. Government politicians from Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (Fidesz), the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), and Jobbik – Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik), passed the amended law over the opposition boycott.

The amended law is seen a political ploy by the Christian nationalist government of Viktor Orbán, which presents itself as an adherent of "traditional Christian values", as a means to falsely conflate pedophiles with LGBTI people, whom the Christian nationalist government portrays as a threat to Christianity in Hungary. The law was condemned as an attack on fundamental freedoms, discrimination against LGBTI people, and a violation of the laws of the European Union by the European Commission and the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission, the majority of liberal democracies, and human rights organisations.

The law became the subject of European Commission v Hungary, which pitted the European Commission, the European Parliament, and a majority of the member states of the European Union against Hungary. The European Court of Justice ruled that prohibiting minors from accessing content depicting LGBTI people or regarding LGBTI rights violates "the very identity of the Union" as inscribed in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, which concerns the founding values of the European Union, and also violates Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which concerns the inviolability of human dignity. It is the first time in the history of the European Union that either article has been implemented in a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Amendments

The legislative amendments to the law ban sharing LGBTQ-related information with minors, considering it to be promoting homosexuality or gender reassignment. The amendments touch upon multiple legal fields and domains. The provisions of the anti-LGBTQ law included amendments to five Acts of Parliament: (1) Act no. XXXI of 1997 on the protection of children and guardianship administration; (2) Act no. CCXI of 2011 on the protection of families; (3) Act no. XLVIII of 2008 on the basic conditions of and certain restrictions on economic advertising activities; (4) Act no. CLXXXV of 2010 on media services and mass communication; and (5) Act no. CXC of 2011 on national public education.

Main argument The basis of the following amendments is the added section to the Act XXXI of 1997 on the protection of children and guardianship administration, stating that "the State shall protect the right of children to a self-identity corresponding to their sex at birth."Act LXXIX of 2021 (as promulgated in the official gazette Magyar Közlöny 118, 23.6.2021, p. 4942) on taking more severe action against paedophile offenders and amending certain Acts for the protection of children. (1) Amendment to Act XXXI of 1997 on the protection of children and guardianship administration (in English). https://njt.hu/jogszabaly/en/2021-79-00-00 On the pretense of the rights of the child, it is then "forbidden to make accessible to persons who have not attained the age of eighteen years content that is (...) propagates or portrays divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality.”

Sex education Against this background, the bill lays down two sets of obligations concerning education. It prohibits the provision of courses on sex education, biology, natural sciences or health that mention anything other than the biparental, heterosexual image of the family. The law specifically provides for the following amendments regarding sex education courses. First, the law establishes a prohibition to expose minors to any pornographic content and to any content that portrays other than the conservative image of family and sex, for instance, gender reassignment, non-heterosexual orientation, homoparental family or single-parent family. Second, the law introduces a system of registration and accreditation for NGOs that provide sex education courses to minors, thus hindering in practice the provision of comprehensive, science-based and inclusive courses, especially for LGBTQ-led organisations. Third, the law amends Act II of 2012 on Petty Offences and criminalises teachers and headteachers that allow the provisions to students of comprehensive, science-based, inclusive courses, especially by LGBTQ-led organisations.RECLAIM. Legal Opinion: Hungary's 2021 anti-LGBT law

As a result of the anti-LGBTQ law, access to schools by external experts and organizations for the purposes of holding classes – among others – on sexuality is limited. The anti-LGBTQ law prescribes that only experts and organizations that are registered by a special public body may conduct sexual education in schools. However, since the passage of the law, no public body facilitating such registrations had been established. In the absence of the implementing legislation, currently no civil society organization or external expert may hold sex education classes in institutions of public education. As a result, teachers are unable to invite any experts to talk about sexuality. This de facto ban has been implemented so broadly that even an NGO with a human rights educations program that does not focus on LGBTQ issues was still banned from schools that they have been working with for many years.

Media content The amendments provide that all media content, such as books and movies, which portrays "non-traditional families" or refers to "non-traditional gender identities" shall be immediately recognisable via a disclaimer or other similar message mentioning that they show a "non-traditional" family image.Act LXXIX of 2021 (as promulgated in the official gazette Magyar Közlöny 118, 23.6.2021, p. 4942) on taking more severe action against paedophile offenders and amending certain Acts for the protection of children, Sections 10 on the Amendment to Act CCXI of 2011 on the protection of families (in English). https://njt.hu/jogszabaly/en/2021-79-00-00 Families seen as "non-traditional" include monoparental families, non-heterosexual families, families with a member belonging to the LGBTQ community, etc. It includes restrictions on LGBTQ representation in the media by banning content depicting LGBTQ topics from television and prohibiting companies from running campaigns in solidarity with the LGBTQ community. Violations of the law can be punished with fines or a prison sentence.

Books sales On 6 August 2021, a resulting implementing regulationSection 20/A of Government Decree 210/2009 (IX. 29) on commercial activities as amended by Government Decree 473/2021 (VIII. 6) amending law regarding commercial activities was issued and published in the official journal of Hungary (Magyar Közlöny). It adds limitations to the sale of products intended for children, which display deviation from one's birth gender identity, gender reassignment or homosexuality and products portraying sexuality in a self-serving way. As per the new limitations, these products must be taken out of youth sections, put in closed foil packaging to prevent browsing, must not be placed in a store's window, and cannot be sold within 200 metres (approximately 656 feet) of schools, youth institutions, churches, and other places dedicated to the practice of religion. The new legislation will entered into force thirty days from its issuing, and compliance will be monitored by the consumer protection authorities. Under Section 27 (1) of the decree, the notary of the local government can suspend certain commercial activities or close the shop for a maximum of 90 days if such rules are violated. According to Section 27 (2), in case the owner does not comply with the requirements imposed by the notary, the notary can permanently close down the shop.

Use of vague language The Amendment to Act CCXI of 2011 on the protection of families (Act section 10) states that "[...] it shall be forbidden to make accessible to persons who have not attained the age of eighteen years content that [...] propagates or portrays divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality.” The vague language used in the law raised fears among same sex couples that simple acts like holding hands on the street would end up labeled as "promotion of homosexuality" and lead to arrests.

Background Previous attempts In April 2012, Jobbik, then a far-right nationalist party, tried to introduce a bill into the Hungarian parliament that would change the national constitution to allegedly "protect public morals and the mental health of the young generations" by banning the popularization of "sexual deviancy". The legislation was drafted by party spokesman Ádám Mirkóczki. This was to target "homosexuality, sex changes, transvestitism, bisexuality and paedophile behaviour". The proposed amendments would criminalise anyone who "popularizes their sexual relations—deviancy—with another person of the same sex, or other disturbances of sexual behaviour, before the wider public". The penalty would be three years in prison, or five years if 'popularizing' is done in front of minors. The draft legislation ultimately failed to pass.

The legislative process In the parliamentary session of 15 June 2021, Fidesz MP Csaba Hende, Chairman of the Legislative Committee in the Hungarian Parliament and Deputy Speaker for Legislation, submitted the bill. Members of the left-wing opposition parties (Hungarian Socialist Party, Democratic Coalition, LMP - Hungary's Green Party and Dialogue for Hungary), as well as some independent MPs such as Bernadett Szél, Ákos Hadházy and Szabolcs Szabó boycotted the session and didn't participate in the vote. The MPs who were present almost unanimously approved the legislation on a 157–1 vote. All present members of the ruling Fidesz party and of the right-wing opposition parties Jobbik and Mi Hazánk, as well as some independent MPs such as Imre Ritter voted in favour. Independent MP Sándor Székely voted against it. The law was signed by President János Áder on 23 June and went into effect on 7 July 2021.

Developments In Hungary Government Decree